Eclipse: Time Thief (Romantasy)

11. A Dream I Can't Remember

Shock smacked me. Nash had a kid? I snapped my mouth shut when I realized I was slack-jawed. Nash was old enough for a kid. Of course, he was. I had no idea why it surprised me. Well, maybe because he hadn't once mentioned one. And he didn't seem like a dad. Not with all the flirting. That didn't really make sense though, did it? Dads could flirt. I just hadn't expected this.

"You're surprised," Nash said.

"I... Yeah, I am." If the Prophet had his daughter, then Nash was just like Leif. And Leif would do anything for Rune. Anything. This didn't mean I could trust Nash, no matter how my heartbreak flared as empathy for him, or for how desperately I wanted to offer him comfort. If he truly suffered as we had, how could I treat him coldly?

"How old is your daughter?"

"Four. She lives in another village with her mother."

He didn't offer any more information and I didn't think I should pry. Except, I had to pry a little. "So what's up with you and Flare if you have the mother of your child out there somewhere?" Or maybe I'd pry a lot.

He snorted. "The mother of my child is bound to another man."

"Bound? Not just married?" In marriage, our people vowed their lives to one another, and breaking such a promise would dishonor life here. But being bound meant vowing the next life to one another, joining the gods in death as one soul and not two. It could not be broken. Doing so shamed an entire family, community, the gods themselves.

"Her family is very pious," Nash said. "As is his. Being bound absolves her of dishonoring the sanctity of life by creating it so carelessly."

The words made my stomach ache for him. Nash was the sin from which the mother needed to cleanse from her soul. It was common to have children outside of marriage, but not for pious families. "What sin did the man she's bound to need to absolve?"

"Choosing the Prophet of the Valley to swear his life to." He shrugged. "No one will speak it plainly, but he clearly regrets this decision."

I would want to absolve myself if I gave my life to the Prophet. Just as we could bind ourselves to another, we also bound ourselves to a community, and the most devoted did so to their leader as well. If breaking the bond between two lovers meant an eternal disgrace, doing so to your people or leader all but ensured damnation. And execution. No doubt about that.

Of course, I knew better than to believe any of it, but it was all my people knew. Though I didn't share their faith, I respected their conviction

"Anyway," Nash said. "I'm not with Flare."

"Only sometimes."

"You sound jealous."

"You wish."

He smiled. "Maybe I do." Nash nudged my bow. His attitude unnerved me. "Are you going to teach me, or not, Sharpshooter?"

"Not for free."

"I have lessons of my own to offer."

My heart fluttered at his low voice. "So... You teach me a thing or two about your sword technique and I'll fix your shitty bow skills."

"Oh. That's how you want things to be then."

Time passed almost as quickly as our ale. I guzzled the last of mine, threw my mug high into the air, and whipped my bow up. Even with the dizziness of drink, my arrow whizzed through the air smoothly, the iron tip glinting before striking its target. Glass shattered and disappeared.

I passed the bow to Nash. "Why is the Prophet working with a demon like Flare when he has disciples?"

He threw his mug and aimed. The shot went wide. "Damn." He sighed. "Demon spies are better than human spies."