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.”
