She lay on her side, her back toward him. He slid his arm free from under her neck. His arm felt numb, and he worked his fingers until the tingling disappeared. Lani didn’t wake, just kept whispering unintelligible words in some strange language.
Eskkar glanced up at the dark outline of the tiny window. The blackness it framed seemed a shade lighter, and he knew the sun would soon be up, the household rising with it. He turned onto his side, so that his face rested against Lani’s hair, and caught the last trace of her perfume, or perhaps just her scent. Her closeness soothed him, and he had no desire to arise.
Wide awake now, and refreshed by a long night of sleep, he knew he should be thinking about the coming day, the dozens of tasks that needed his supervision. Instead he found himself worrying about Trella-what she would say about this woman, what he would tell her, how she would look at him. He knew she would not be pleased, not so much because he took a woman while away from her. That would be expected from a soldier on campaign.
No, Trella would be concerned because she would see in Lani more than a mere bed companion. In fact, Lani seemed in many ways like Trella.
The similarities between the two made him uncomfortable. Perhaps he should have taken Tippu to his bed, merely to quench his lust. Tippu, who could be forgotten in the morning, a pretty face frightened for her life and eager to please. Trella would not be concerned with a woman like Tippu, any more than she worried about the other women in Akkad who offered themselves at every opportunity to her husband.
Since that first night when he’d bedded Trella, he had ignored those offers, no matter how beautiful or willing the woman. Trella had made him aware of how satisfying a strong-minded woman could be, someone who could share and understand his feelings. Lani possessed much of that awareness, yet was somehow different. Eskkar should have sent her away last night, even packed her off to Akkad, or simply given her to one of his men. But he’d sensed a quality in her, something that quickened both his desire and curiosity. He’d wanted her, wanted to keep her close to him. Now he couldn’t send her away, not after she had pleasured him so completely.
Even this morning his desire remained strong. Maybe the need would lessen in a few days, when the excitement of a new woman had worn off.
Eskkar hadn’t slept with anyone except Trella for many months, and even longer since he’d lusted after another woman. Trella always equaled his passion as she loved him, and he had not wanted any other woman, not even for an afternoon’s dallying.
Until last night. Now another woman troubled his thoughts, and what should have been a simple pleasure had turned into a problem. He looked toward the window, as the first gray light of dawn arrived, providing enough illumination to see inside the bedroom.
Lani twitched in the bed, and he knew her dreams troubled her. She spoke again, but he still couldn’t comprehend the words, soft and indistinct, like a sleepy child in its mother’s arms. Her head tossed about, then her arm, and she called out a word… a name, he realized.
“Namtar… Namtar.” She gave a small cry and sat up, her eyes wide but empty. Her hand covered her mouth, as if to prevent herself from speaking further. Lani remained motionless, until he reached out and touched her arm.
“Oh!” She whirled in the bed, pushing herself away from him. She seemed confused to find him beside her. “Please don’t hurt me! Please!”
“Why would I hurt you, Lani?” She still wasn’t fully awake. “You’re safe here. Nothing can harm you now.”
She took a deep breath and tried to speak, but all he heard was a chok-ing sound. “You’re safe, Lani,” he repeated, and this time his words seemed to calm her. “Who is Namtar?”
She jumped, as if he’d summoned a demon by speaking its name. Lani’s body shook, and she started sobbing. Eskkar had seen enough women cry before, but nothing to equal what he now heard and felt. Lani fell back on the bed, hugging her knees to her chest, her whole body trembling.
Until last year he’d never wasted a moment over a crying woman, walking away from whatever sorrows plagued them. He considered leaving Lani to her misery. Instead he remembered the times Trella had cried into his chest, those nights she’d felt helpless before the barbarians. Eskkar had sworn an oath that Trella would cry no more if he could help it.
So he stroked Lani’s head and held her lightly. Dawn had risen, and he heard people moving about the house. No one would disturb him, he knew, but they would hear Lani crying and wonder.
Her tears subsided, and her body sagged against him as whatever demons tortured her spirit faded with the morning’s light. She attempted to sit up, but he held her close, trying to give comfort.
“I’m sorry, lord,” she began, her voice so hoarse that at first he didn’t understand her. “Please forgive me, lord. I did not mean to ruin your night’s sleep.” Again she tried to sit up, and this time he let go, but kept hold of her hands. In the growing light, he saw her face red with tears, her eyes swollen and filled with blood.
“Who is Namtar?” he repeated. She shuddered, and he thought the tears would start again.
“Namtar was my husband, lord. Ninazu killed him in front of me.”
Her eyes closed, as she no doubt relived the moment. “After Ninazu captured us, he said he would put Namtar to the torture, if I did not pleasure him willingly… give him much pleasure.”
She turned her face away from Eskkar, her eyes staring at the wall.
“So I pleasured Ninazu, while his men laughed, and my husband watched, bound hand and foot to a cart.” Her lips trembled as she fought back the tears. “I had to please him… had to… do many things. We had already seen men and women put to the torture. Namtar never said a word. He just closed his eyes. After Ninazu finished with me, he stood naked over my husband, letting him smell my scent on his body, then Ninazu laughed and stabbed him in the heart with his sword.”
Eskkar let his hands drop from her arms. “There was nothing you could do, Lani. We’ve all seen men put to the torture. You saved your husband from that.”
She shook her head, letting her hair fall in front of her face, as if to hide her shame. “I did not kill myself, lord. I should have killed myself, thrown myself on the same sword that took Namtar.” Her voice hardened.
“Or I should have killed Ninazu in his sleep. But he told me he wanted Tippu to be as willing. Ninazu said he would put us both to the torture, if we did not please him. I did not want my sister to die. Though she has not been the same in her head since that day. But she obeyed my wishes, and we lived. We stayed alive and hoped to escape someday, or for someone to kill Ninazu. The goddess Ishtar answered my prayers. She sent you and your soldiers to free us from him.”
Her voice cracked with her words, and Eskkar heard the dryness in her throat. He got out of bed and looked down at the table, at the empty water cup. Lani followed his gaze.
“I’ll fetch water, lord,” she said, swinging her feet off the bed.
“Stay where you are,” he ordered, then strode to the door, unbarred it, and stepped out into the great room.
Most of the men had risen earlier, and Sisuthros already sat at the table with Hamati, no doubt talking about the coming day’s events. No one seemed surprised at the sudden appearance of their captain, naked.
“Have someone bring water to my room,” Eskkar said, then turned back into the bedroom. He stood by the door, waiting, and in moments Tippu stood there, a large goblet of water in her hands.
“Bring it in, Tippu. Give it to your sister.” He watched the younger girl, to see if he could detect any signs of her madness. She seemed calm, even more so than last night.
Lani took the cup and drank. He watched as she half-emptied the cup, gazing at her naked body, and he felt another stir of passion.
When Lani lowered the cup, she looked at him guiltily. “My pardon, lord. I should not drink your water.”
He returned to the bed and sat down, pulling the blanket over his lap, then accepted the cup from her hands and took a few sips. A mouthful remained, so he gave it back to her. “Finish it, Lani.”
She drained it and handed the empty cup back to her sister. Tippu started for the door.
“Tippu, stay a moment,” Eskkar said, studying her with care for the first time. Shorter than her sister, Tippu possessed swirling reddish-brown hair that floated around her tiny face, with features as delicate as a child’s. Her dress, the same one she’d worn yesterday, showed the full body of a woman.
A beautiful woman, he decided, but one without her sister’s sharp wits.
He knew that, given a choice, every one of his soldiers would have chosen Tippu over Lani, just as he knew
