Tykar approached, took the glass of wine from Yuki's hand and placed it on the table, before helping her up.
"You mustn't repeat this ritual story to anyone, Yuki. Don't try to find out who Selytha's father is. He... If you ran away before the end of the ritual..."
"Yes. We had to be at the disposal of the businessman's son for a month. We were just a toy for him to lose his innocence, and some priests would keep an eye on us, as if waiting to make sure that this adventure didn't generate..."
"Illegitimate children." Tykar added and took a lock of Yuki's hair, as if a rare jewel were hidden there. "Did you say 'we'? Were there any other young women at the ritual?"
"Yes. Me and Dhari. I never saw her again..."
"Two girls for two boys..."
"Do you know this ritual?" Yuki said, uncomfortable with how she felt with Tykar approaching.
"I know it and I believe that you running away is the reason you're still alive."
"I don't understand."
"Yuki, in this ritual, the month you're at their disposal... The son of that 'manager' could never touch you again. All the young women are sacrificed."
"What?" Yuki pulled away and hugged herself. "I had cousins who took part in that ritual! They're all... Dead?"
Tykar shook his head positively with regret and put his hands in his pants pockets.
"If the 'businessman's' son could only dream that one of those young women survived and that she carried a seed for all those years... Yuki, your life is an aberration that could be causing a wound in the course of history. This has never happened before."
"You mean if my daughter's father finds out I'm alive..."
"He'll send the priests after you to finish the sacrifice."
"What do you know about Ice Island? I realized you weren't surprised that I was from there."
"I know that all the girls sent to be raised on that island have only one purpose. To be prepared for the day of the ritual."
"I was born on that island..."
"No, Yuki. Do you remember ever seeing any woman other than the young girl you were raised with? Do you know your mother or any of the older women on that island?"
"My mother... I saw her a few times."
"The woman who took you to Ice Island is not your mother. She's a recruiter."
"I'm an orphan?"
"Yes. That explains the absence of your mother, Yuki. But it doesn't explain the absence of older women." He said and realizing that Yuki was believing every word he said, he added: "You were chosen to be the offering of the businessman's son."
Yuki's eyes glistened with the tears that threatened to wet her face.
"I can't believe it. I remember..."
"Do you remember or did someone tell you?"
Yuki took a deep breath, trying to control the tears stuck in her throat.
"Help me protect my daughter, please."
He reached up and touched her face.
"You need to protect your own daughter, and there's only one way to do that."
"Keep Selytha's existence a secret?"
"Exactly." He said as he grasped Yuki's chin and brought his lips close to hers.
Yuki had been waiting for that contact. She wanted that kiss. She closed her eyes.
"What's going on here?"
Durin's voice thundered behind them and for the first time, Yuki saw an evil smile on Tykar's lips after he slowly released her.
"Hello, brother. I was just explaining to Yuki how things work here." He said with a debauched look.
Durin looked coldly at Yuki.
"I think you're tired, wife Ra. Go to bed." He ordered, holding back his fury.
Yuki was embarrassed. She ran past them and went to her room. Durin followed behind her.
...
"Did you hear everything?" Tykar asked when he felt the lawyer step out of the shadows of the office.
"He didn't fulfill the requirements demanded by Pharaoh." He said sadly, but conclusively. "I realized that Yuki possessed magic as soon as I saw her for the first time. I thought Durin realized it too, but your perceptions are different. Did you notice the magic when you saw her, or did you find out afterwards?"
"I discovered it when Selytha began to manifest her magic. She had to have inherited it from someone."
"It could have come from her father, don't you think?" Mycon asked, looking suspiciously at Tykar.
"We'll never know."
"If the marriage isn't consummated in a few days... Durin loses his right to the throne."
"Lucky for you, there's still time." Tykar turned to Mycon. "How can he be so stupid? He chooses the ice queen to marry and doesn't know that the day he consummates his marriage, it will be known to all? His pupil is a joke and Mahagah will sink like a ship with a rotten hull under his direction." Tykar said angrily and walked away.
Mycan didn't know what to do, for the first time in his life. If Durin consummated that marriage, the ice queen would extinguish the fire king's flame. And if Durin didn't consummate the marriage, Tykar would be the new Pharaoh. And both things could have overwhelming effects on every life in that country.
Mycan had to admit that maybe, this time, the Great Pharaoh had erred in his judgment and Durin wouldn't be ready to sit on the throne in less than two decades and that Tykar was the right choice for his people. After all, Pharaoh had produced two sons. With a difference of a few seconds, Tykar was older than Durin and the ice queen would not negatively influence Tykar's magic.
But Mycon knew that his considerations were no more important than the will of the Great Pharaoh and he needed to warn Durin of his obligations. As for nullifying the power of fire, he could consult the priests, so that Yuki's magic would remain dormant inside her forever and would never be a problem.