Lahn gently pulled me toward him and I felt his lips at my ear where he murmured, “Rest, baby.”
I closed my eyes and shivered then shivered again when I felt his wet tongue on the hot skin of my neck. He pulled back, looked deep in my eyes a moment, straightened and walked right out of the tent without another word or glance to anyone.
There was silence in the tent and then Teetru came forward and placed a plate of cut pears and grapes on the bed between Diandra and I just as Packa handed us cups of cool water. I smiled at her, took a long drink and set my cup on the ground before I grabbed a slice of pear and popped it into my mouth. Then I looked at Diandra when she started talking.
“He always frightened me half to death, even as a young lad. So intense. So ferocious.” Diandra remarked, still staring at the cham flaps then her head turned to me. “But I’m beginning to like him.” Then she grinned her wicked grin. “I’m thinking he is sweet.”
I had to put a stop to this, pronto, mainly because of how it made my heart feel.
“He wasn’t sweet when he made me sit in the burning sun and close to roasting firepits for nine hours yesterday, saying not one word to me and not even allowing me to feed myself,” I reminded her mostly to remind myself.
Her face softened and so did her voice when she said, “I understand this would be upsetting to you but it is your place to sit at his side. It is at all times but especially during a ceremony and a celebration. His people spend all day working in the sun, riding in the sun. He had no idea it would make you ill. It is true, there are other women from other lands who are wives to warriors but there are few and King Lahn has certainly had no personal experience of any of them.”
It sucked but this was true.
Diandra kept talking. “And clearly, my dear, it cannot have escaped your notice last night… or just now… that your falling ill and his responsibility for that troubled him deeply. Seerim and I were dragged from our bed, the healer, The Horde does not ride and he visits you during the day when he normally attends his warriors.”
It sucked but this was true too.
“Okay, I’ll give him that,” I allowed and her lips tipped up. “But yesterday, he didn’t speak to me for hours and –”
“Did you starve?” Diandra cut me off to ask.
“No,” I answered shortly.
“Go without drink?”
I looked away and muttered, “No.”
“My queen, please, look at me,” she called and I did. “You were correct in what you said to him. In here, he is your Lahn. But out there, he is the Dax and the Dax is the mightiest of all warriors.”
“But –” I started to protest and she lifted a hand.
“There will be times, out there, when he shows you kindness, affection. But there will be times when he will not. I am sorry this distresses you, my dear, and I will tutor you now so, in future, when it happens, you will understand. A warrior does not ever show weakness and whether you feel it is right or it is wrong, these soft feelings are considered a weakness. Therefore, most times outside this cham, he will be who he is and if you are lucky, which it is clear you are, in this cham he will be who you need him to be. Your role as his queen but also simply as his bride is to understand that and find a way to live with it.”
I made no reply because I had none. She was making sense which also sucked.
She went on, clearly thinking I hadn’t yet gotten it. “There have been warriors who have fallen victim to their wives’ charms and have acted out there,” she pointed to the cham flaps, “in ways a warrior not only does not respect but they deride.” She leaned slightly toward me and whispered, “This, as I’m sure you can imagine, is not received well.”
I bet it wasn’t.
Diandra continued. “There are even warriors who stop acting on their own decisions and move to carry out the merest whim of their wife. This is even less well-received.”
I could imagine.
She carried on. “But this does not happen often. It is extremely rare and it is extremely rare because of how it is received and what befalls the warrior who succumbs to his bride’s charms. But there is another reason and that is simply because these men are warriors, that doesn’t happen often because they are who they are and they’re trained to be that way from the age of five. They don’t know how to be any other way.”
Fuck, that made sense too.
“Dahksahna Circe,” Diandra continued, “I urge you to listen and understand this. It will make your adjustment to the Korwahk and to your new husband go much faster and it will make you far more content.”
I bit my lip.
Then I nodded.
She smiled her approval.
Then I pulled in an unsteady breath and decided I was here, this was happening, I wasn’t leaving, I needed to find a way to cope until that happened so I might as well know it all.
“Okay, Diandra, can I ask you to explain more?” I requested and she nodded as she inclined her head.
“Certainly, it would be my honor to explain anything to you because you are my queen,” her eyes warmed, “and it would be my pleasure because you are my friend and I want you to be content.”
Yep, it was official. I definitely liked Diandra.
“Thanks,” I whispered then lamely threw out a hand. “And thanks for… everything. You’ve been very kind and I don’t know what I would have done if –”
She waved her hand and interrupted, “Let’s not speak of it. Just know that, too, was my pleasure.”
I smiled at her, reached out and took her hand to give it a squeeze.
She squeezed mine back.
Then I let her go, leaned back and she prompted, “You wanted me to explain something?”
I nodded. “It’s the, um… last night, late… the celebration…” I trailed off, she lifted her chin encouragingly and I went on, “There were women there, um… dancing and, uh… such with the warriors and they were not –”
I stopped talking when Diandra’s face changed. Her face was expressive but the look she was giving me I could not read.
“Xacto,” she said the word like she’d prefer not to say it.
“Xacto?” I asked and she nodded.
“Xacto,” she repeated.
“Uh –” I began.
“Warrior slaves,” she stated and I blinked.
“Warrior slaves?” I repeated and she nodded. “What –?” I began and she sighed.
“Suh Tunak, or The Horde, as a collective, own slaves. These are not owned by one warrior and they have no duties to anyone but the warriors as a Horde. They are always young and attractive and when they lose these traits, they are sold onto families who can utilize their services in different ways.”
I didn’t want to ask because I already pretty much knew. But I asked.
“And what are their duties?”
She answered swiftly like she wanted to get it over with. “They bathe the warriors, wash their hair and plait it or arrange it as the warrior sees fit. They paint them for battle or ceremonies. They massage the warriors after battle, campaigns or strenuous training. They also are available at all times to receive the attentions of the warriors should that warrior feel the need.”
I stared at her.
She continued just as swiftly. “They also have duties to the young warriors. They erm… teach them things that will… erm… eventually, in future, benefit their wives greatly should the young warriors be good learners.”
Oh my God. Lahn was good in our bed because those women taught him how to be so.
“This is not a bad thing, is it my queen?” Diandra asked then clarified, “The, erm… last bit, I mean.”
I didn’t answer because my heart started racing as my mind pulled up memories of Lahn dosing with water but he didn’t wash his hair, yet it was never dirty or greasy and it had been arranged in various styles. And he had
