And again, here we go.

I braced for him to be rude, bark orders and ignore me.

But he did not do this.

His eyes came right to me and then he did. Right in front of everyone, he carefully turned me (and Ghost, who made a purry mew and looked up at him) toward the side of the bed and then he leaned into me, fists on either side, body bent down at the waist, face super close.

Then he spoke softly.

“Erm…” Diandra whispered, “your king asks how you are.”

He didn’t take his eyes from mine as Diandra translated and I couldn’t take mine from his.

“I’m fine,” I said softly and Diandra translated, speaking one word.

Lahn spoke more and Diandra interpreted, “Did you do as you were told and rest?”

“Uh… yes,” I replied.

“Meena,” Diandra said.

“Good,” Lahn rumbled then said more words.

When he was done, Diandra spoke. “When you take lunch, he wants you to take more medicine. Do you understand?”

I nodded.

“Good,” he repeated on another rumble then spoke more.

He had finished talking and Diandra didn’t translate for a few seconds then she said haltingly and with humor in her voice, “Your king wants to be between your legs tonight, Dahksahna Circe. He commands you get better in order that that can be so.”

My eyes got wide, my cheeks again flamed and I snapped,

“Lahn!”

He grinned at me, totally unrepentant.

“I change my mind, you’re not sweet in this cham,” I declared irately, Diandra translated and Lahn’s hand moved swiftly, cupping me at the back of my neck, he squeezed hard as he threw his head back and roared with laughter. “I wasn’t being amusing,” I informed him, Diandra translated and his waning laughter instantly waxed.

Brute!

I was glaring at him when his eyes came to me. He took one look and the smile remained fixed to his face. Then he spoke.

Diandra interpreted, “It is clear my tigress feels well or at least well enough to bare her claws.”

“Damn straight,” I snapped, Lahn grinned and Diandra asked, sounding perplexed, “Pardon, my queen?”

“He’s absolutely right!” I snapped again, Diandra translated and Lahn chuckled.

Then his face sobered and he whispered, “Neesoo, kah rahna fauna.”

“Rest, my golden doe,” Diandra whispered and I pulled in a breath but even though I tried to keep up the glare, I knew my face had gone soft.

My eyes slid away and I whispered, “All right.”

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.”