Then it occurred to me that in all likelihood Zahnin was doing the same thing to his wife that Lahn had done to me. That was, he’d raped her during the Hunt, she either had no idea what was happening to her (my guess, she too was “sheltered”) or knew about it and hated it. She took that hit then kept taking it as he kept using her body for the last three weeks as any warrior would feel his due from his wife.

I studied her. She was clean and clearly fed. There were no signs of visible abuse, no cuts, bruises or swelling. Her sarong, bandeau, belt and jewelry were very nice. She was wearing quite a bit of silver. Her hair was artfully arranged and her makeup was expertly applied which meant she had a girl or girls who were taking good care of her. The entire package saying that her husband was doing what he knew how to do to provide for his wife.

He was just not providing for her the way a woman needed to be provided for.

And he didn’t understand it but he’d been forcing her to live a nightmare for three weeks.

Okay, maybe I couldn’t work with this.

Not, of course, without reinforcements.

I turned back to Zahnin and whispered, “I need my king. Can you send a messenger to him and, if he is not too busy to attend me now, can you ask that he does? It is not urgent but I would look favorably on him granting my request.”

Zahnin examined me, clearly uncertain about how he felt about Lahn being called into our current situation.

Then he grunted and slapped out of the tent.

I took that as a yes.

I also took that as a sign that Zahnin wanted his wife to settle in her new life with him.

Then I turned back to the woman to see Diandra had gotten close and was talking softly to her.

Then I sucked in breath and waited for Claudine and, hopefully, Lahn.

* * * * *

Standing with my husband outside of Zahnin’s tent, I watched his eyebrows knit ominously and his eyes narrow dangerously before he whispered angrily in Korwahk, “My tigress wants me to do

what?

”

I moved in close (or closer, I was already pretty close), put a hand light on his chest (a chest that he had his arms crossed over), got up on my tiptoes and bent my head way back to reply on a whisper as best I could in Korwahk and I essentially repeated (with more detail), “You need to talk to Zahnin. He requested this favor of me but he needs to do his part. He must stop taking her against her will.

He needs to back off, start wooing her, take meals with her, bring her presents, flowers, candy, jewelry. He needs to try to talk to her, teach her the Korwahk language. He needs to take her for rides and show her her new country. He needs to speak gently to her, look on her gently, touch her gently. And when he tries anything with her, he needs to do it like you did it with me and seek to give her pleasure before he takes his own. And I can’t tell him any of that, Lahn, you need to tell him all of that.”

Lahn stared down his nose at me. Then he asked, “My queen called me away from my warriors to ask me to tell another one of my warriors not to fuck his new wife,” there it was, I knew tooyo meant fuck, “but instead to bring her candy and take her for horseback rides? Do I have this right, Circe?”

I didn’t think this was going very well.

“Um… yes?” I asked back, now not so certain about my strategy.

Lahn kept staring at me. Then he looked over my head. Then he sighed. Then without looking at me again, he turned on his boot and walked away.

I was taking that as a no.

Great.

I walked back in Zahnin’s cham to see Diandra and Claudine (who was older than Diandra but she still held great beauty, maybe it was something in the water or just that the Korwahk scouts had good eyes) sitting on either side of Sabine on the bed, Claudine murmuring to her. This happened under Zahnin’s glower from where he stood a few feet inside the tent flaps, legs planted, arms crossed, eyes riveted to his wife and the two women.

If he kept glaring at her like that, she’d never calm down and let him in.

I got close to him, touched his arm, jerked my head to the tent flaps and then, without looking to see if he followed, I walked back outside.

He followed.

When he did, I got close, looked into his dark eyes and saw that he was scary but he was still handsome. He had a scar that slashed through his eyebrow which only served to make a hot guy hotter. If he didn’t constantly wear an expression that made him look like he wanted to rip someone’s head off, he’d be super hot.

I sucked in breath, hoped that he truly wished tranquility in his cham and then, in Korwahk, I told him exactly what I told Lahn. I faltered in the middle when his glower looked like it was flashing to

rage (this was around about the time when I told him he needed to stop taking his wife against her will) but I sallied forth.

I finished with, “Zahnin, my protector, I know you do not wish to hear any of this. But if you want peace in your cham, if you want to hear cries of pleasure and sounds of mirth, hers and,” I leaned in,

“your own, instead of the sound of tears and the feel of fear, then you must take heed to what I say.”

His pissed off stare didn’t waver so I kept on.

“I will do my best, with Diandra and Claudine, to teach her your language and the ways of your people, to help her to understand her new life and to be able to communicate with you and you her, but that is all we can do. You must do the rest.”

He continued to stare down at me angrily.

Shit. There was nothing for it.

I kept right on going. “Your king did not break through with me until his touch stopped taking and started giving and until, in our cham, he treated me with kindness. He is the mightiest of Suh Tunak, he recognized the battle he had on his hands, he analyzed it, created his strategy and then he went about winning that battle using any means necessary. And, Zahnin,” I edged closer and for the sake of this man who pledged to guard me even if it meant giving his life, who backed me against Dortak and who clearly wanted his wife to settle in her new life with him in his cham, I admitted to him at the same time I admitted to myself, “my Lahn won that battle. I now lay awake at night waiting for him to return. When he does not, I fall asleep looking forward to the morning when he will wake me with his hands. He is my king, he is my warrior, he is my husband and I am proud to say above all… he is mine. ”

Zahnin said not one word and kept staring at me.

I returned his stare, all out of ideas.

Then he grunted and jerked up his chin.

I took that as a yes.

I smiled up at him hopefully. He watched me smile, shook his head, the scowl left his face and I saw his lips twitch.

Yep, definitely hot. If Sabine had it in her, there were hints that, soon, she would think she didn’t do so badly.

Then, hopefully, Zahnin would share with her his greatest gift and she’d feel touched and loved.

Like I felt that morning.

Good news for Sabine and Zahnin, confusing and worrying news for me.

Shit.

* * * * *