Fantasyland 02 The Golden Dynasty (40 page)

Then I whispered, “I hope, beautiful Mahyah,
you’re over the rainbow.”

Then I threw the torch into the flower
strewn wood and instantly was pulled back by Zahnin as Seerim
pulled Diandra back to stand at the front of the crowd some feet
away from the quickly catching inferno, the flames coaxed to great
heat swiftly by the wind.

The tears stung my nose as the flames licked
Mahyah’s body then I froze as my eyes caught on something, lifted
to the sky and my breath stuck in my throat as I heard gasps all
around, felt the astonished shuffling of bodies and Diandra’s hand
came to mine and held tight.

This was because, as the flames danced high,
arching through the sky over the pyre, there was a brilliant,
perfect rainbow.

I stared at the rainbow with my mouth
hanging open.

Oh.

Shit
.

The Favor

Okay, it couldn’t be denied. Evidence was
suggesting I held magic.

Shit.

Our ride home was silent, everyone in their
own thoughts. It was also wired. This was because, for no reason at
all since the rain had stopped in the night and the wind and sun
were quickly drying the wet, there was no way a perfect arc of a
rainbow should grace the sky.

Unless I commanded it.

Shit!

Maybe I
did
have magic, as completely insane as that seemed. Maybe
I
did
command the heavens
accidentally last night. Maybe I filled the sky with a rainbow so
Mahyah’s ashes could drift over it to meet her soul.

And maybe this magic had brought me to this
world in the first place.

Maybe it was
me
who was responsible for bringing me
here.

Which would mean it was
me
who had the capacity to send
myself back (somehow).

In my world, thoughts like this would lead
me straight to my car where I would drive to the nearest psych ward
and voluntarily check in.

But in
this
world, apparently anything went.

And the point was, I was
in this
world
which meant I was
not insane but instead, screwed.

As we rode back into the Daxshee, horses
carrying my friends peeled off on a variety of trails winding
through the chams, quietly called farewells the only things
piercing our silence. When Seerim had lifted his chin at his wife
before his horse took him down another path and it was only Diandra
and I, I decided it was time to have a chat with my friend.

I didn’t get this chance. Zahnin barked an
order, the four warriors gave him chin lifts, peeled away and
Zahnin’s horse trotted up to me.

I looked up at him to see him glaring down
at me, his gaze swung to Diandra then back to me and then I watched
his jaw turn rock hard.

Oh man. I was thinking this wasn’t good.

Maybe he didn’t like rainbows. Or witches.
Even those who held noble magic who didn’t know they were
witches.

I braced before I asked, “Is all well,
Zahnin?”

His glare turned to a scowl. Then a muscle
jumped in his cheek.

Then he grunted, “Me.”

I felt my body get tight as I looked beyond
him to the winding paths that led through the chams, wondering, if
all wasn’t well, why he dismissed our guard.

“Um –” I started.

He interrupted me by forcing out between his
teeth, “I request a favor from my golden queen.”

You could tell he didn’t wish to request
this favor, like, he
really
didn’t wish to request this favor. Or, maybe,
any
favor.

My gaze slid to Diandra who was looking at
Zahnin. She felt my eyes on her; she looked at me and shrugged.
Then I turned back to Zahnin.

“What favor do you wish to request?” I
enquired.

He scowled down at me and a muscle jumped in
his cheek.

Then he grunted, “My new bride.”

These were not words I expected or
understood why he was saying them so I blinked at him and when he
said no more, I prompted, “Your new bride…”

His buckskin horse, catching his warrior’s
vibe, danced with agitation under him and Zahnin tightened his hold
on the reins so the horse stilled.

Then, so quickly it took all my
concentration not to miss any of it, he explained, “My new bride is
like you. She has great beauty. In the parade, I knew it was only
her for me. I fought four brothers to claim her. She is also not of
Korwahk, like you. She does not speak our tongue. She does not
speak…” he hesitated and his eyes narrowed, “
at all.
”

Oh man. That wasn’t good news.

I bit my lip.

Zahnin went on tersely. “Unlike you, she
does not settle into my cham and her new life. The favor I ask of
my true queen is that you speak to her and help her settle into her
new life as my wife as you have done with my king.”

I was sensing (rightly) this was why Zahnin
was in such a bad mood.

I was also sensing (rightly) that the
proud warrior before me didn’t often request favors, as in…
never
.

Therefore, I stated, “Take us to her.”

He stared at me then without looking at
Diandra, he said, “The wife of Seerim –”

I cut in. “She will accompany me. She is the
reason I have settled in my life with Suh Tunak. She will be of
great assistance with your bride.”

He scowled awhile longer, his jaw still
hard, that muscle jumped then he jerked his chin, jerked his reins
and Diandra and I pulled our horses around and followed him back
through the chams. As we did this, her eyes came to me and they
were twinkling. I pressed my lips together and tried not to
laugh.

Zahnin stopped in front of a cham that was
bigger than most, not as big as Lahn and mine, and a girl ran
forward as he dismounted. He tossed his reins to her without a word
and rounded his horse to spot me as I swung off Zephyr then, when
my feet were on the ground, he did the same to an already
dismounting Diandra. Once the girl had the reins of all three
horses, Zahnin stalked to the cham flaps and slapped them aside,
entering.

Diandra and I followed.

When we got inside and my eyes adjusted to
being out of the sun, I noticed instantly that Zahnin’s tent was
not like Feetak and Narinda’s nor Bohtan and Nahka’s (which was
slightly grander than Narinda’s). It was nearly like Lahn and mine.
Bigger bed (not quite as big). Silk on the bed and pillows. More
trunks (not as many as Lahn and I had). Nice furniture. Many
candlesticks and tall candleholders. And also there was the smell
of incense, the scent of musk and bergamot. It smelled lovely and I
instantly decided I needed to talk to Teetru about incense.

I decided this as I watched a girl scoot
with some alarm off the bed. So much alarm, she toppled over the
head of the bed and landed on her ass. Then she shot up and quickly
backed away, her eyes glued in fear to Zahnin, her body
shaking.

I studied her.

Yep, this was why Zahnin was in such a bad
mood. Three weeks and she was still like this? Not good.

I looked at Zahnin and he was watching his
bride and he was not happy. So not happy, he looked extremely
pissed off and that look on a huge, savage Korwahk warrior was
fearsome.

Okay, it was clear Zahnin needed a few
lessons in romance but I needed to focus on the girl first.

I looked back at her to see she hadn’t torn
her frightened eyes from her husband. I also recognized her as one
of the women in the pen who I thought was like me. She had been
visibly terrified back then and she was no less terrified now.

She was, however, as Zahnin had described
her, quite beautiful. Light brown hair, green eyes, a pixie-pretty
face and very petite. Her ass and breasts were not much to write
home about but her skin was peaches and cream all over and there
was something delicate about her, something graceful even as she
stood still. Something that many men, not Zahnin (I would have
thought before that moment), would be drawn to in a protective
way.

But clearly I was wrong about Zahnin.

Nevertheless, this would not help Zahnin. He
was not as tall as Lahn but he was still tall and extremely
muscled. Lahn dwarfed me and I was average height. This girl was
small and Zahnin must seem like a giant to her.

I stepped forward and her eyes shot to me
before going back to Zahnin.

“Hello,” I said quietly in English and her
gaze moved quickly back to me, “I am Circe, Queen of Korwahk.”

She stared at me.

I took another cautious step forward and
went on softly, “We’re here to help; you’re safe.”

I watched her swallow then lick her lips but
she did not speak.

Another step forward and then I said, “Can
you tell me your name?”

She blinked at me, bit her lower lip and
then quickly she said something in a language I recognized with one
of the words being, “Valearian.”

She was speaking French.

Shit.

I took French in high school for two years
but that was high school. It had been ages. I recognized it but
there was no way in hell I could speak it.

“She is Fleuridian, my dear,” Diandra
whispered to me. “A language I do not know.”

Great, they didn’t call France France and
Diandra didn’t speak Fleuridian (or whatever).

Shit again!

“Uh…” I began, pulling up my high school
French, “bonjour,” I tried. “Je m’appelle Circe.”

Her eyes grew big, then they grew wet, then
her hands came up clasped in front of her and she shot rapid fire
French at me all the while her eyes slide back and forth between me
and Zahnin.

I didn’t catch a lick of it.

Shit, shit, shit!

I smiled at her, lifted my hand, she stopped
speaking and I turned my head slightly to Diandra, “Is there anyone
in the Daxshee who speaks her language?”

“Yes, Circe, several and I know of someone
who will be happy to help. She, like me, has been here many years,”
Diandra answered and turned to Zahnin and said in Korwahk. “Have
one of your slaves find Claudine, wife of Veenuk.”

Zahnin scowled at her but jerked his chin
then slapped out of the cham.

As he did, I watched the girl relax.

Not good.

I took another step to her and asked
softly, “C
omment tu t’appelles?” and she looked back at me, her eyes
soft, her manner relieved.

“Sabine,” she whispered.

“Okay, Sabine, ma erm… Fleuridian no c’est
bon, uh… but we’re getting help.”

She blinked at me then she nodded in a way
that I knew she understood what I said in her language but not in
my own.

Boy, I hoped Claudine lived close.

Zahnin slapped back into the tent and
grunted something to Diandra and Sabine grew instantly tense.

I approached Zahnin, his eyes came to me, he
still looked pissed, that look was still scary but I sucked it up,
stopped close to him and whispered in Korwahk, “Your wife’s name is
Sabine, did you know that?”

His head jerked so slightly I
could convince myself I didn’t see it, same with a flash
that
flared in his eyes.
But I didn’t miss the angry look slightly fading from his face as
his head turned toward his bride and he murmured, “Sabine,” in his
deep, rough voice making a pretty name even prettier.

He didn’t know his wife’s name but he was
clearly glad to know it.

I pulled in a calming breath.

I could work with this.

I turned to Sabine who had wary eyes on her
husband. I waited until they flitted to me and I smiled. My smile
didn’t alleviate the fear shadowing her entire frame and I knew
this was because Zahnin was in attendance.

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.

* * * * *