I was going to have to have a word with my husband. The problem was, he understood, at my count, two of my words and I didn’t understand much more of his.
I laid my cheek against my hand on his thigh and stared without interest at the fighters. But my gaze kept drifting back to Dortak and I caught it when one warrior leaned over to Dortak, jerked his head at me, telling him something while smiling, something Dortak didn’t think was worthy of a smile if the ferocious frown he aimed my way was anything to go by. Therefore, I knew my cheering and drinking had been recounted and Dortak would not have been amongst those shouting my title in approval.
I pulled in a steadying breath to stop myself from having a visible reaction to the hate coming my way and my eyes went back to the fighters.
Minutes later, I heard a cry from his direction and it wasn’t from a warrior. My eyes moved there and my torso shot straight.
Dortak had his hand in his wife’s hair, he was yanking her head this way and that at the same time pulling his sex out of his hides.
No, he wasn’t going to…
He pushed her face into his lap, forcing himself into her mouth.
I surged to my feet and took a flying step forward but two iron arms clamped around me, one at my belly, one at my chest and Lahn’s mouth came to my ear. He spoke quietly, even gently but I didn’t hear a word he said (regardless of the fact I probably wouldn’t understand them) as I stared in shock and tried to get venom to spew out of my eyes and fly with precision at Dortak who held my angry stare and used his meaty fist in his wife’s hair to force her mouth back and forth on his shaft.
“Stop him,” I whispered as Lahn pulled me back then sat, not pushing me to the ground but settling me in his lap. “Stop him,” I repeated louder and he turned me in his arms and shoved my face in his neck so I could no longer see. “Kay me ahnoo!” I snapped into his neck.
“Rayloo, kah fauna,” Lahn murmured and kept my face in his neck with his hand cupped on my head and my body in his lap with his strong arm clamped around it.
I lifted a hand and curled it around the other side of his neck.
“Kay me ahnoo,” I told him and his arm gave me a squeeze. “Kay me ahnoo,” I repeated on a whisper but he didn’t do anything except for the fact that he didn’t let me go.
I knew it was over when his hand loosened on my head and dropped down to become an arm wrapped around my body.
He still didn’t let me go and he didn’t shove me off his lap and force me between his legs. He just kept me where I was, holding me in his lap. I carefully took my face out of his neck and looked at his profile. He was silently watching the fighters. Then I chanced a look at Dortak. His bride was still between his legs, body facing the fighters but her head was bent, her cheeks flaming and her eyes were directed to the ground.
I turned back and shoved my face in Lahn’s neck.
I felt his chest expand with a big breath that he let out very slowly.
I didn’t want to be there anymore and I curled into him and tried to shut everything out, hoping it would be over soon.
This became impossible when I heard taunting, loud words hurled in what seemed to be our direction. I lifted my face out of Lahn’s neck, turned my head and saw Dortak standing before us, jeering at Lahn, spittle coming out of his mouth, his face red and his fist beating his chest. My eyes darted to his wife who was where he left her on the ground but now curled into herself, arms tight around her legs, eyes peeking from behind her knees.
Lahn said something calmly and I looked up at him to see he looked as calm as his voice then swiftly I looked to Dortak who had not taken to Lahn’s calm very well. He was red in the face and the veins in his neck were standing out as he continued to shout.
What was going on?
Lahn asked him a question to which Dortak spat out a, “Meena!”
Lahn nodded. Then he stood, me in his arms, he set my ass on the bench, his eyes coasted across mine then he straightened and turned.
The instant he did the warriors all rose from their seats, arms up, shouts deafening and they were saying only one word.
“Dax! ”
Oh fuck.
Was Lahn going to fight this guy?
Dortak immediately swung a punch, connecting with Lahn’s jaw.
I rose to my feet.
Lahn took two steps back, pointed at me, his finger moved to the bench and he clipped out, “Lutoo! Boh!”
Dortak closed in and connected again, this time with Lahn’s ribs.
I sat, not wanting to divert his attention again but I sat on the edge of the bench and how I stayed on the bench I had no clue since I was shaking like a leaf.
Dortak connected, again, again, again, a quick succession of blows that Lahn didn’t appear even to try to deflect.
Then another one to the face so brutal Lahn’s torso swung around and down, his hand going to the blood that was now dripping from his mouth. Dortak charged to attack but Lahn lifted an elbow, connecting with Dortak’s nose not only with the strength of his arm but Dortak’s momentum. Dortak stumbled back and Lahn went in, palm to throat. He lifted Dortak clean off his feet and slammed him flat on his back on the stone, the crack of his skull hitting the stone sounding with a sickening thud that made my stomach to turn.
The warriors went wild.
Lahn had gone down on a knee to take Dortak to his back and he swiftly moved one leg to put his knee to Dortak’s arm in order to incapacitate it, the other calf he shoved in Dortak’s neck as he twisted the rest of his body to Dortak’s legs. He caught a flailing ankle, yanked the man’s hides back and then he pulled a small knife out of a sheath.
All cheering silenced instantly and I rose again to my feet, the fingers of both hands coming to my mouth.
None of the other fighters had weapons. They used their fists, their feet, their wits… not steel.
Lahn removed his legs from Dortak but swiftly turned and kept him down, one hand wrapped around his throat, the other hand holding the knifepoint aimed a half an inch from his eye.
Then he growled something in his face.
Dortak’s only response was to choke. Lahn was strangling him.
