This was such a bizarre notion, my step faltered and my head snapped around to look at her. “What?”
Her head turned to me and she stated, “It would not surprise me.”
“That’s… well, that’s crazy,” I told her.
“I see,” she grinned her wicked grin, “he pleases you much in your cham.”
He certainly did.
I felt my cheeks burn, she saw them and then she chuckled a wicked chuckle.
Then she stopped us, turned us to facing and I saw her eyes were not wicked and knowing but kind and understanding.
She wrapped her hand around my bicep and squeezed. “My beautiful Circe, your king is a ferocious warrior. He believes his spirit guides him into battle. It protects him. It keeps him strong. He would not allow anyone close to that. He would do anything to guard it and keep it safe just as he would do anything to guard his flesh and bone, his heart, his innards. He would no sooner allow a Xacto or whore or a girl he’s taken during plunder to come anywhere near that.”
Girl he’d taken during plunder?
Before I could ask, she started us walking again and advised, “And now, perhaps, he doesn’t even think of it. If it is not part of the…” she paused and said with a smile in her voice, “festivities, I would suggest, you introduce it to the…” her hand gave mine a squeeze, “festivities.”
“Maybe he doesn’t want me near his spirit,” I muttered, she chuckled and squeezed my hand again.
“Oh, my dear, from what I’ve seen, I think you have no worries about that.”
Hmm.
“Circe!” I heard, my head came up and I saw Narinda walking out of a cham her head turned our way.
“Narinda!” I cried, let Diandra go and ran to my friend.
When I got to her, I threw my arms around her, she threw her arms around me and we rocked each other back and forth as we embraced like identical twins cruelly separated by an evil stepmother and reunited after decades.
Then again, sharing the horrors of the parade, Hunt and wedding rite would do that to a girl.
Our torsos separated but we kept our arms around each other and smiled in each other’s faces.
“I don’t know, my queen, should I be touching you or bowed in a deep curtsy?” she teased.
“If you curtsy, I’ll have your head chopped off,” I teased back.
We grinned at each other then we sobered. My eyes moved over her face and I saw she looked healthy, fed, watered, her eyes were clear of the resignation I’d seen that night and she looked like she might even be happy.
I pulled her back in my arms and whispered in her ear, “You’re faring well?”
I felt her nod. “You?”
“Hanging in there.”
Her arms tightened. “He treats me well, Circe, I think… I think…” she paused and her lips came to my ear where she whispered, “I think he likes me.”
I giggled and moved my torso back but kept my arms around her. “Rumor has it, he’s kept you to your cham he likes you so much.”
I watched pretty pink stain her cheeks, she started then let me go and looked over her shoulder to the tall, handsome warrior I saw with her that night. He was standing just outside the cham looking forbidding and his arms were crossed on his chest.
“Feetak, Queen Circe, erm… Circe, my husband, Feetak,” she introduced, her hand moving back and forth between me and her husband in a shy way that was cute.
He bowed his head to me. “Kah rahna Dahksahna hahla,” he rumbled with an added thump to his chest then his eyes turned to Narinda. I watched them warm and he moved to his wife. He said some stuff to her softly and ended it with “Narinda sahna”.
She looked up at him and nodded but I knew by the semi-baffled look on her face (a look I was certain I’d adopted on more than one occasion the last few days) that she didn’t catch half of what he said.