Then he turned and walked away, his eyes coming to me briefly before he bowed his head for a second and then he stormed out of sight.
“What’s a tail?” Narinda asked softly while I tried to catch my breath but instead caught my husband’s eyes.
“It is their hair.” I heard Diandra answer. “After a challenge, the victor ties the head of the vanquished to his saddle and rides through the Daxshee. When he’s done celebrating, however long that takes, he releases the head from his saddle by slicing it off at their tail. After that, the head is at the mercy of whoever grabs it, they can do whatever they wish with it and the warrior’s body is burned headless on his pyre. It is important to anyone to have their pyre so their ashes can drift to the heavens, body joining spirit. The Korwahk, Maroo, any person from the Southlands has this same belief and any body not fired is thought to roam this realm as an unseen, unheard, powerless phantom. Not burning the head is a final indignity for a warrior’s defeat for they will wander eternity headless, a reminder of their humiliation.”
I was listening but I was also, weirdly, communicating with my husband. As Diandra talked, his eyes stayed on mine then he jerked his chin up, slightly, once. I knew he meant to ask if I was all right so I nodded. Once I did, he turned away.
And that was when I remembered I had the boy’s instrument, my body jerked and then I turned to him and smiled, offering it up to him and saying, “Shahsha.” Boy and mother were both clearly shaken by the events that took place and he swiftly took it back as I asked Diandra to tell him to come see me again, with his instrument, so we could play and sing together. The mother’s face beamed but the boy looked like he wanted to do this about as much as he wanted to be forced to run naked through the Daxshee with his hair on fire. So I decided when he came, I would play and he could take off and have fun with his friends.
They wandered away as Narinda asked, “Do these… erm, confrontations amongst warriors happen often?”
“No, sweet Narinda, it happens, they are men, so it is bound to. But it isn’t frequent. Though Dortak is not a favorite of anyone and I have seen warriors get impatient with him or he says things that force them to have words. Bohtan is a good man, a good father, Seerim says he is a good warrior. He and Nahka didn’t leave their cham for nearly two weeks after her claiming; he was that taken with her. The Horde rode after the selection, leaving them behind. He is a good husband and cares for his wife.” Diandra smiled gently at Narinda, a smile that spoke volumes about the warrior who had claimed her. “There are some men, no matter what blood flows in their veins or what teachings were drilled in their heads, who are just good men.”
Narinda smiled back and there was nothing small or weird about it.
Gaal came forward and set a plate of candied fruits on our hides. I smiled at her and she smiled back then scuttled away.
I watched her go thinking that Teetru was a little distant because she was older, she seemed to take her duties very seriously and I’d learned yesterday that part of her duties were keeping an eye on me. But Jacanda, Beetus and Packa were younger, friendlier and more talkative. As the days passed, even Packa was coming out of her timidity and becoming more outgoing. Our conversation was halting but, even with Teetru, I felt like we were all forming a bond.
But Gaal remained distant and watchful and after what Diandra said to me yesterday, I hated to do it, but I wondered about it.
Shit, I was going to have to keep an eye on my girls, especially Gaal.
Then I heard it, a rumble like distant thunder. It was familiar and yet seemed strange. It hit me what it was the minute the horizon filled with horses. It was the sounds of the hooves of a vast number of horses beating the earth. I’d heard it for the last six days but this was different and it was different because the horses coming our way didn’t number in the hundreds.
I stared as more and more came visible.
Holy fuck! There had to be thousands of them!
I tensed, my first thought was to run to Lahn when Diandra said calmly, “Oh look, The Horde arrives.”
My head snapped to her and I asked, “The Horde?”
She was reaching for some candied fruit; she popped a piece in her mouth and looked at me while she chewed. She swallowed then she said, “The Horde.”
“But,” I blinked, “I thought we were with The Horde.”
“We are my dear, some of them. Warriors who attended the Hunt, others whose sons were up for selection, trainers who’ll need to take charge of new warriors, others who enjoy or their wife enjoys the celebrations. But the rest are out patrolling or on campaign.”
I looked to the horses moving our way and the wagons, vast numbers of them, could now be seen coming up the rear.
“The rest?” I whispered.
“Circe, my beautiful friend, a few hundred warriors cannot keep an entire nation safe. The Horde numbers at a little over seventy-five thousand, the last I heard. It could be more.”
My mouth dropped open and I stared at her.
My husband commanded an army of seventy-five thousand men?
Oh my God!
“That isn’t even all of them,” Diandra tipped her head to the approaching procession. “Not even half. Just the warriors who ride with the Dax. While he was presiding over ceremonies, they were taking care of business. They always join the Dax when he’s done with official matters. Further, there will be other large squads off on patrol throughout Korwahk or others executing campaigns the Dax has ordered. Why do you think he attends his warriors all day and into the night? Being a Dax, there’s a lot to do.”
I looked to Lahn who now had five warriors huddled with him and he had his hands planted on his hips, his eyes on the horizon, watching his warriors draw near. The men were talking to him and I saw that he was watching and listening when he nodded once to something one of them was saying. Then he crossed his arms on his chest, moved his gaze from the vista and turned his attention to the man who was speaking to him.
I had no idea. None. In fact, a savage, primitive horde of just a few hundred seemed enough for a savage, primitive horde, in fact, too many. I had absolutely no idea he commanded such a legion.
“Circe?” Narinda called, I shook my head, tore my gaze from my husband and aimed it at my friend. “Are you all right?” she asked.
“Yes, yes,” I said distractedly then looked to the horses getting ever closer. “I’m fine.”
“I see it is now penetrating,” Diandra said softly and my dazed eyes swung to her to see hers, not dazed but understanding on me. “I kept telling you, my dear, you are a queen. I see you now understand you are a queen. A queen of a vast number of men, their wives, their children and the nation of people who they protect…” she paused, “all of whom serve you.”
“Yes, Diandra,” I whispered, “it’s penetrating.”
She leaned into me. “You have saved a child’s life, and your people witnessed it; you have sung a beautiful song to a woman whose spirit has been tramped to death inside of her, giving her mind a brief moment of harmony and your people witnessed it. You make your husband’s laughter, something never heard before by those other than his brothers, as well as the sounds of his pleasure ring out from your cham and your people hear it. I tell you there are whispers and these whispers are soaring, Circe, with a speed that would astonish you. You don’t know it but your actions have already built strong bonds of loyalty in the hearts of people you’ve never even met and you’ve been our Dahksahna for two weeks. Your king builds loyalty through providing riches, safety and cunning; you, my beautiful Circe, are building yours, and therefore his, through matters of the heart. This makes you strong and it makes you weak. There will be those who will seek to target those weaknesses. Use caution, be watchful and stay safe.”
I swallowed and nodded, my eyes flitting to Narinda who was looking on, her own eyes wide and her face slightly pale.
Then I turned to the advancing procession and watched part of my husband’s ginormous army arrive.
> * * * * *
“Linas, rah,” he whispered before his lips moved over both of my eyes.
I was in trouble.
My king had just made love to me… yes, made love to me, slow, sweet, gentle, tender. It was, no other words to describe it, beautiful. And I liked it, a lot. So much, I didn’t think I’d ever forget it, not a touch, not a taste, not a stroke, not a second, not any of it.
And now he was lying on top of me, his weight on a forearm in the bed beside me, his other hand curled around my neck, thumb gently stroking my jaw and he was whispering to me.
Man, he was good.
“Yeah, I guess you could say that, but really, my eyes are more a very light brown,” I muttered to try to break the mood.
His chin tipped down, his eyes locked on mine and at the look in his, my belly melted.
Okay, message received, Lahn didn’t want the mood broken.
“Eyes, rah,” he whispered then his hand slid up my cheek, fingers sifting through my hair at the side of my head and down before he bunched a length of it against my neck. “Lipa, rah,” he muttered, his thumb back to stroking my jaw.
“In my world, we don’t call it gold, we call it blonde,” I whispered, his eyes caught mine, that warm, sweet, contented look was still in the depths of his and my heart skipped.
Then his head dipped, I braced and his lips skimmed the skin on my cheek. “Leeka, rah,” he rumbled in my ear.
I wasn’t going to argue with that. That was true, with all the sun I was getting, my skin was gold.
His head came back up as his thumb swept over my lips, his fingers moving so his hand could cup my jaw, “Lapay nahna lisa rahna, kah Lahnahsahna?”
I knew what he was asking. Is your mouth golden, my tigress?
My heart skipped another beat.
Shit.
“Lahn,” I whispered then closed my lips as his head dipped again and he brushed his against mine.
Okay, he might not have kissed a woman before, but he did that really freaking well.
“Mm, kah rahna fauna?” he urged quietly, his mouth moving against my lips.
Oh yeah, he was good.
I just stared in his eyes which were all I could see and did my best to keep my mouth shut.
What I wanted to do was kiss him.
And I wanted it bad.
He stared back.
“Lapay tee?” he whispered, Is it?
I shook my head and watched up close as his eyes smiled at the same time I felt his lips do the same.
Then, his eyes never leaving mine, his tongue traced my lips.
I shivered and my limbs, all four of which were wrapped around him, tensed.
Oh shit, yeah, he wasn’t good. He was good.
“Yes it is, Circe,” he whispered against my lips, his tongue slid along them again and then he murmured, “rahna honey.”
Okay, I’d had some nice compliments in my life. One, I had to admit, was Lahn telling me I had rare beauty the like he’d never seen. Another was, of course, him telling me the spirit that shone from my eyes was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
But his telling me my mouth was golden honey just notched itself right smack in the middle of that list.
“Sahnahsoo kay neenkah,” he whispered.
I knew that too. Let me inside.
My belly dipped, my heart surged and the area between my legs tingled.
Shit!
I shook my head again and got another touch of his tongue.
Oh God.
“Sahnahsoo nahna Dax neenkah, kah Dahksahna,” he murmured.
Let your King inside, my Queen.
Oh God!
I had to stop this, like, now.
One of my hands slid up his back, under his arm, up his chest, his neck and I cupped the side of his jaw, sliding my thumb between our lips.
“No, Lahn, kah lisa lapay kahna,”** I whispered.
His eyes smiled again, a knowing smile, therefore a scary smile.
“No, baby, your mouth is mine,” he whispered back then his thumb swept across my cheek, my lips, taking my thumb with it and when he had access, he bent his head and touched his mouth to mine again.
I held my breath but he only lifted his head and whispered, “Okay, my Circe, anah na vatay. Anka, ta junay tooka.”***
I didn’t catch any of that but I felt extreme relief mixed with almost devastating disappointment when he slid off my side but tucked me close under him, tangled his legs with mine and muttered, “Trahyoo.”
I wanted to trahyoo, I needed to trahyoo.
But all I could do was feel the specter of his lips against mine and the phantom of his tongue.
So it took me awhile.
Then, tangled with my warrior king, I trahyooed.
*Translation: “This is not the part of me you love but it must do.”
**Translation: “No, Lahn my mouth is mine.”
***Translation: “Okay, my Circe, tonight you win. Tomorrow, we play again.”
Chapter Nineteen
The Judgment
Six days later…
“Poyah, kah rahna Dahksahna!” I heard, turned my head and saw Keenim, the boy who sang to me days ago in an open space. He was with a bunch of other boys kicking around what looked like a ball. It was bigger than a football but shaped like one without the pointed ends.
“Poyah, Keenim!” I called back, waved, he waved and his friends all stared at me in shock, their eyes then turning slowly to their friend in more shock that the queen would know his name and wave. Clearly, he had not told them he’d been to my cham twice since his initial visit (where I played his guitar and he played with Ghost) or they didn’t believe him.
This made me smile until I made my way back into the sea of chams then my smile faded and my thoughts wandered.
I was walking, thinking and most importantly, being seen. With the return of The Horde, there were thousands more warriors, their wives, their children, their slaves and other hangers on. The din of the Daxshee had escalated as had its sprawl.
The good news about this was that Lahn’s returned army kept my husband busy.
And the bad news about this was that his returned army kept my husband busy.
Therefore, for the last six mornings, he woke me with his hands then wasted no time getting me hot before he fucked me fast, hard and brilliant. He always forced my orgasm before he let his go. It was sweaty, it was energetic, it was heated, it was freaking great but it never lasted long. Then he’d demand my mouth, I’d refuse, he’d grin his knowing, scary grin that told me, clearly, he was biding his time. Then he’d drag me out of bed so I could give him a quick bath and braid or arrange his hair how he instructed. Then he’d pull me to him with one arm, wrap his other hand around my jaw to position my face so I couldn’t escape, touch my mouth with his and then he’d be gone.
As in gone. I didn’t see him all day and even though I tried to stay awake at night (though, I was not admitting this fact to myself); I was never awake when he slid in bed beside me.
The good news about this was it made it easier to resist his sweetness, his hotness and all other things Lahn.
The bad news about this was I missed him. It sucked to admit but there it was.
I missed my scary, savage brute, king of a marauding horde in another universe husband.
How whacked was that?
The other bad news about this was that it gave me plenty of time on my own.
Diandra had a husband, a daughter and a cham to see to and I wasn’t her only friend so although I spent time with her every day, as the days went by, I opened my eyes and saw cham, it seemed I was settling into this world and doing it on a permanent basis. This meant I actually had to find some way to settle into this world and I couldn’t have Diandra by my side every second.
The same with Narinda who had a very attentive savage on her hands and he didn’t have a legion to command. So she was tied up a lot of time (hopefully not literally, or, maybe, if he was sweet abou
t it, then hopefully literally).
Nahka, the same with cham, husband and two kids.
And my girls seemed to be always busy pounding rugs, rinsing out baths, cleaning my sarongs, polishing candlesticks, baking flatbread in a clay oven, roasting meat on a spit over the fire and the like. I tried to help (more than once) but Teetru had a fit when she saw me laughing with Jacanda and Beetus while pulling my tops and sarongs off a drying line and she lost her mind (in her quiet, solicitous Teetru way) when she caught me rinsing breakfast dishes at the creek with Packa so I stopped doing it.
I was a queen. I needed to do queen things. And queen things clearly didn’t include doing the dishes.
The thing was, I knew no other queens of primitive, savage hordes to tell me what queen things I should be doing and although Diandra was a great advisor, she’d never been a queen. My husband wasn’t around to advise me, I wasn’t sure he’d be good at it and his advice might be scary.
So I decided the best queen thing I could do was to get out amongst my people, smile, nod, talk (as best I could), get to know them and let them see me. Therefore, every day I took walks through the Daxshee followed by whoever was guarding me that day.
Today it was Bain, or the grinning warrior, who was friendly, unlike Zahnin, the other warrior who kept watch over me (and the one who had plucked me off my horse twice that day we were riding). Bain walked with me and talked with me all the while scanning the people and chams. Zahnin walked two feet behind me and never looked at me. However, he did look like he was in a perpetual bad mood. The first time he was with me, I tried to engage him in conversation. This was so unsuccessful, I didn’t try again.
And talking with Bain was fun. He had no clue when it came to English so I was forced to try out my Korwahk on him. This made him laugh (a lot, my Korwahk was really bad) but after he quit laughing, he was a patient teacher. He would correct me and as we walked he would point things out and tell me what they were called (for instance, firepit, pahkah, torch, pahkan and just fire, pahk). He also intervened when I chatted with my people, often miming what they were saying which made me laugh.
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