Fantasyland 02 The Golden Dynasty (45 page)

I felt my eyebrows shoot up. “Not
close?”

“No.”

“
Wow,” I whispered. “Maybe you
are
a god.”

He burst out laughing and he did this a
long time, his massive body shaking with it, moving mine as it did
in a way that I didn’t like, I
loved
.

Then, still chuckling, he dropped his
forehead to mine and whispered, “Kay
lapay
el Pahnsahnak, kah Pahnsahnalla.”
I
am
a
god, my goddess.
“And I
will prove it to you.”

Then his mouth took mine and he proved it to
me.

Boy, did he ever prove it to me.

I thought my man kicked ass on a field of
battle, and he did, I was in awe.

But I was more in awe at what he could do in
our cham.

Much,
much
more.

The Decision

A month later…

“
Circe, oh,
Circe,
I couldn’t,” Diandra breathed as she stared at the heavy
gold bracelet inlaid profusely with garnet and amethyst that she’d
been examining with obvious yearning but, being so weighty with
gold and gems, likely could not afford – a bracelet that I’d just
cuffed on her wrist.

“
You can, my friend, and you will,” I
whispered and her head tipped back from her study of her new
bracelet, I saw wet shimmering from her eyes and I finished, still
whispering, “As you promised me, you stood by my side and I know,
my sweet friend, I
know,
” I shook
her wrist once for added emphasis, “that there were times it wasn’t
easy. But I want you to know there will be times when being at my
side will provide you with the bounty you deserve because you are
kind, you are patient and you are generous. I want you to have this
gift, from Lahn and me, as a token of our gratitude for all you
have given us.”

I watched one tear slide down her cheek as
her hand not captured by mine lifted to cup my cheek.

“You made every minute, even the difficult
ones, a pleasure, my true, golden queen,” she whispered back, I
felt the tears fill my own eyes and I smiled at her.

Then, to lighten the mood before I burst
into unqueenly tears, I joked, “Even now, you’re being generous. I
know I can be a pain in the ass.”

She stared at me a second, probably not
knowing what a “pain in the ass” was but definitely understanding
it. Then she burst out laughing, pulled her wrist from my grip and
yanked me into her arms for a tight hug.

I gave it back as good as I got.

When we pulled away, I grabbed her hand for
one last squeeze, smiling into her shining eyes. Then I let her go
and smiled at Teetru.

“Give the man some coin, sweetheart,” I said
in Korwahk, Teetru jerked like she’d been pulled from a trance even
though her eyes were on Diandra and me. She nodded and jumped
toward the merchant, opening the drawstring leather pouch she
carried that was filled with Lahn’s coin.

I grabbed Diandra’s elbow and turned her
away from the stall, looking back and smiling at my entourage.

The night before a large travelling band of
merchants had approached and through the night set up on the
outskirts of the Daxshee. This morning, the people of the Daxshee
fell on it like it was the day after Christmas sales.

So, of course, I gathered my girl posse of
Diandra, Narinda, Sheena, Nahka, Oahsee, Claudine, Sabine,
Anastasie, and Nahka’s two BFFs who had been adopted by the troop,
Char and Vuntus and away we went… shopping.

Being queen, and followed by Bain who
carried weapons, was huge and muscular and barked orders, I or my
girls got to go to the front of any stall that caught our
fancy.

It was awesome, I was having a great time,
the vibe in the air was excited and I was happy. I was happy
because I was with my friends. I was happy because I was shopping,
something I loved to do. And I was happy because they were happy,
giggling, talking and buying.

But mostly I was happy because Lahn would be
home tomorrow.

* * * * *

Needless to say, I made my decision.

Magic or not. I had the power in me or not.
Savage nation or not.

I was staying.

This was because, here, I was queen.

This was because, here, I had awesome
clothes.

This was because, here, I held beautiful
magic.

This was because, here, I had great friends
whose friendships had been tested beyond anything I could ever
imagine and held strong and true.

And this was because, here, I was in
love.

Perhaps not with the man of my dreams, but
with a man that was more man than any I’d ever encountered. He was
savage, no doubt about it. But, to me, he was unbelievably
sweet.

And he thought I was a woman beyond his
dreams.

And that worked for me.

* * * * *

I pretty much knew I had been denying the
pull of the crazy, Korwahk world for awhile.

And I had been denying, too, the strange
connection that held strong as steel between Lahn and me throughout
the weeks we’d been together, the dramas and the heartbreaks.

But after he defeated Dortak and celebrated
with me, I knew.

I knew I was in love.

What would happen the next day would only
prove it irrefutably.

* * * * *

He had woken me with a gentle, “Wake, my
Circe,” whispered in my ear.

When my eyes fluttered open and my head
turned to take him in, I saw something on his face I’d seen once
before – when he was looking at me after I sang to Mahyah.

God, that look was beautiful.

“What?” I whispered back.

“You will see,” he replied quietly then
bent, I heard water splashing and he came back to me with a wet
cloth. “We will bathe properly later. But you must see now and
Dortak does not share this with us.”

Then he set about tenderly washing the blood
from my skin and I saw that he’d already done it to himself.

I came up on my elbows and started, “Lahn
–”

His eyes went from my chest to mine. “Quiet,
my golden doe.”

His strange tone and that gorgeous look on
his face which hadn’t faded made me quiet. He didn’t wash off all
the paint but he made certain to wash off all the blood. Then he
dropped the cloth in a bucket by the bed, scooped me up and put me
on my feet. He walked to grab my robe from where it was hanging on
the back of a chair. He was already in hides. He held it out for
me; I slipped my arms through and tied it around my waist.

Then he took my hand and guided me to and
through the cham flaps.

I saw it was just dawn; the Daxshee was
still, most were asleep.

With his hand in mine, he took me around the
cham to the back where the creek flowed passed.

But I saw it before I got there and I
couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

All along the banks of the creek was a
riot of flowers like the one I’d put on Mahyah’s pyre. They had
been there before but not nearly as many and most of those had been
cut by the Korwahk to give to Mahyah. Now, those cut blooms had
been replaced,
overnight,
and
their number had more than tripled.

And they weren’t just the vibrant orange of
the bloom I gave Mahyah but also there were white, yellow and
scarlet, as far as the eye could see, trailing along the edges of
the creek. The willows dotted along the sides drooped their bowed
branches, the ends dipping into the gentle flow of water.

It was astoundingly beautiful.

Lahn stopped me on the rise behind our cham
just up from the creek and pulled my back to his front, one hand on
my belly, the other arm slanted across my chest, hand curled around
my neck the same as he had held me to him on his horse when we were
riding.

I vaguely noticed that there were people
about, not many, here and there on our side of the creek and on the
opposite one, all of them silent, all of them staring at the
spectacle.

Then Lahn bent so his mouth was at my ear
and he spoke quietly as he pressed my belly lightly.

“I see we did not make a warrior last night.
My golden goddess, I would hope, would not create a riot of flowers
if my seed produced a warrior.” His voice dropped, his hand pressed
deeper and his arm tensed. “We made a daughter.”

A shiver slid across my skin at his words,
another one following when it dawned on me he was not disappointed
at the thought of a girl… not at all.

He touched his mouth to the skin of my neck
then his head lifted and he rested his jaw at the top of my hair
and held me as I stared at what he thought I created.

Then something unbelievably cool
happened.

Without me thinking them, memories sifted
through my head.

Lahn relenting when I wanted Ghost.

Lahn lifting me to his back to carry me to
the games.

Lahn grinning down at me the first time I
drank the zakah.

Lahn holding me while I was trembling with
sunstroke.

Lahn preparing medicine for me and holding
it to my lips to drink.

Lahn checking on me during the day after I
was sick.

Lahn giving me Zephyr.

Lahn holding me on his horse, asking me
about my mother, my father, telling me I was beautiful, explaining
to me how my claiming, something that had been hideous for me, had
been, to him, a gift he held precious.

Lahn’s eyes holding mine, asking nonverbally
if I was all right after Dortak extended his challenge.

Lahn taking care of me after Mahyah’s
death.

Lahn offering me the greatest gift I’d ever
received, more than once, his spirit.

Lahn telling me he was pleased my heart
guided me back to him.

And Lahn telling me last night he couldn’t
have dreamed a better me.

And as each memory shimmered in my brain, I
watched in stunned silence as a new blossom sprouted out of nothing
and bloomed in a flash of color somewhere along the bank.

Except for the memories of Lahn giving me
his spirit and the last of him telling me I was better than a
dream, both of which caused dozens of flowers to explode and grace
the banks with astonishing vibrancy.

Holy
shit.
I
totally had magic.

And it wasn’t noble.

It was awesome and it was freaking
beautiful.

The eyes of those sharing this turned to me
in wonder and Lahn’s arms gave me a squeeze as he murmured over my
head, “My wife thinks happy thoughts.”

Yes. He was right, I did.

I…
so…
freaking… did.

And I did because I was in love with a
savage, warrior king and I knew straight to my soul that he loved
me.

My arms crossed over his hand at my belly
and stared at the beauty I created.

That made me happy too.

And I smiled when a bloom burst to life at
that thought.

Lahn chuckled.

He was happy too.

Another bloom burst open.

Freaking cool!

“Loolah,” I heard the tired mew and twisted
my head to look around Lahn and my bodies to see Gaal emerging from
the tent she shared with all the girls, Ghost padding toward us,
still blinking sleep from her beautiful blue eyes and I noticed
with the weeks passing, my cub was becoming less of a cub and
growing into a tigress.

“Poyah, kah teenkah lahnahsahna,” I called
to her, she made it to us, bumped her head against Lahn and my legs
then her booty collapsed and she sat leaning against them.

Lahn’s arms gave me another squeeze and I
knew another bloom had opened but I was looking down at Ghost and
didn’t see it.

One of my hands twisted so I could wrap my
fingers around his at my belly.

Then I whispered, “I love you, my Lahn,” and
heard the swift hiss of his intake of breath.

Then he buried his face in my neck and
whispered back, “Loot kay hansahnalay na, my Circe.”
And I love you, my
Circe.

At his words, the banks of the creek burst
forth in a riot of blooms, so many, no bank could be seen as one
blossom crowded the next.

And that was when I knew, I loved my father,
I loved my friends, I had a good life at home in Seattle and I was
happy there.

But nowhere near as happy as I was here.

And I was never going back.

* * * * *

Life carried on as normal for the next two
weeks. I wandered amongst my people with Bain and Zahnin. I spent
time with my girls. My Korwahk improved to the point I no longer
needed lessons. My mornings were spent with my husband in bed then
at his bath, my evenings with him at our table then back in our
bed.

And I was not content, I was gloriously
happy.

Dark moments drifted through as I considered
exploring my magic, maybe finding out if I could go home and
explain things to Pop, say good-bye to him, his boys and my friends
and come back, maybe even plan trips back and forth but there would
be time for that, I decided. And I would know when that time came;
I would then speak to Lahn and Diandra and plan for it. But my
worry was, if I went home to Seattle, I couldn’t get back to
Lahn.

And in the now, I was happy just to exist in
a crazy dream that had become a beautiful reality.

* * * * *

After two weeks, when Lahn and I were taking
our evening meal together, he told me that the Daxshee would pack
up the day after the next and ride.

And we did, for eight days, until, on a
bleak cliff with not very much scrub but a lot of stone, dirt and
sand, we set up again. It was a weird spot and not very attractive,
especially compared to our spot by the creek, but what did I know?
I was no Dax.