* * * * *
I sat on a lounge chair on the roof, stared into the distance at the sun sparking off the gold on the Avenue of the Gods and I pulled the intricately knit, loose-woven shawl closer around me while wondering if there was some troop of slaves who went out every day and polished that gold. It always sparkled even mostly surrounded by sand and dust.
So I figured there was.
Ghost, as always since I got home, was at my side, now lying on her front, jaws to paws.
I stroked her absently and unfortunately my thoughts drifted from statue slaves to other matters that I didn’t want to think about but couldn’t stop myself.
When I’d been gone, Lahn had had a busy five months. Although I hadn’t seen my posse, I could not avoid my girls and they had told me all they knew.
Firstly, Lahn, Suh Tunak and the Keenhak warriors had ridden on Maroo as planned. Maroo had had their grisly message that vengeance would be sought by the Dax so they had planned for the invasion but they had no clue they’d also be facing the additional challenge by neighboring Keenhak.
Gaal, with bright eyes and scary excitement at telling her macabre tales, informed me that Suh Tunak and Keenhak had trounced Maroo and, in telling me this, she unfortunately went into some detail. Vengeance was sought and found and Maroo would not soon forget the lesson they learned.
“Not,” Gaal leaned forward, eyes wide and joyous, “for generations.”
If her stories were anything to go by, I believed this to be true. In a serious way.
Apparently, Lahn and his boys didn’t fuck around exacting vengeance.
Yikes.
This took all of about three months and Suh Tunak rode back into Korwahn bearing a shitload of Maroo slaves and booty.
The people of Korwahn rejoiced. As these riches rained down on them they felt it was irrefutable proof The Golden Dynasty had begun.
Lahn and Suh Tunak had shared in a week’s worth of celebrations for their victory and then they road off in their parties to wreak havoc or patrol, this including the Daxshee packing up and going on their way.
My disappearance and my not travelling with the Daxshee had been explained by the fierce storm that had struck the city prior to me going back home. Jacanda told me that word was spread that the storm was a result of me having a very bad turn and developments in my pregnancy that night meant I had to keep to my bed throughout it.
This was accepted readily.
But my girls and my girl posse knew I had disappeared because my girls had been ordered to search for me in the house the day I disappeared and my posse had been told by their husbands. They had been sworn to silence about this information (with threats of their tongues being cut out which would do the trick for anyone). But Beetus explained that singly, in pairs, in trios or sometimes all of my girl posse visited every day prior to the Daxshee leaving and them going with it and they did this in order to ascertain if there was news.
This was nice.
Also, the people of Korwahn or travelers who had heard the news of my enforced rest who were passing through Korwahn put flowers on our doorstep in hopes of me safely delivering the heir to The Golden Dynasty.
This was nice too.
The Daxshee drifted until it was time to return to Korwahn to settle in for the winter and for the Dax to be close to his Dahksahna for her delivery.
I had decided that Korwahk was likely south of the equator in this world because winter for them was summer for Seattle. Their winters were as different as everything in my world. The days did dawn later and dusk came earlier but only a little bit. And there were some gray days and occasional sprinkling rain that did not happen due to my moods (or I didn’t think so), not many, maybe one a week. The air was slightly chillier, more so on the gray days. And the evenings were definitely chillier. Lahn and I now had a soft, fluffy, brightly colored woolen blanket covering the silk quilt of our bed which worked wonders keeping the heat in and with Lahn’s warm body thrown in, I never caught a chill.
When Lahn decided to believe me, I did not know and obviously my girls couldn’t know. That said, his going off to war and then travelling with the Daxshee pretty much told that tale.
In other words, it was business as usual for Dax Lahn, disappeared queen or not.
But Jacanda had shared that every single day, all day and all night, while I was away, one of the girls was assigned to sit in my room in case I returned there (only Packa went with Lahn and the Daxshee) and there were four of my guard assigned to the house at all times. A witch had also moved in. This was so the girls could alert the guard and, if I returned, they would physically detain me, the witch magically detaining me, and orders were given that Lahn was immediately informed (or as immediately as a messenger could ride to wherever he was).
Whether this was because Lahn was taking no chances, especially when I might be carrying his true child and not a monster, or because he believed me and wanted me back, I had no clue.
And I didn’t care.
I was back to needing to find a way to live in a world I wanted no part of. And I was back to Lahn giving me no choice about my own life.
What I wasn’t back to was finding it in me to give much of a shit.
All the fight had left me and I had no energy to find it.
So what has been has been and what will be was what I would make of it.
I just needed to figure out what I was going to make of it.
I felt a weird pain tighten in my belly and my brows drew together as my hand went there.
That was new.
I looked down at my stomach. I now wore sarongs wrapped around my body and tied at the back of my neck like Twinka did. Jacanda told me that this was unusual for a pregnant woman in Korwahk, they wore their sarongs and tops as normal, their bellies protruding over their belts. I could dig that for the Korwahk. They were the Korwahk; they did crazy shit all the time. But no way in hell was I wandering around with my giganto stomach on display. I had managed to contain a bunch of extra weight being gained but my stomach was enormous. The kid had to be huge.
“What are you up to now, kah teenkah tunakan?” I whispered as I slid my hand to wrap around the bottom of the enormous swell and hold him close.
Ghost’s head came up and she looked to the top of the stairs. I followed her gaze and then I held my breath when I saw Diandra alight at the top. Then I let it out in a gush when I saw The Eunuch follow her.
My gaze shot back to Diandra and I kept my silence. Her eyes were warm as they travelled over me but her face was expressionless.
I got that.
I had been rude, insufferably and unforgivably rude to a good friend who had stood by my side through some serious thick and some anorexic-style thin. I was going to have to find the words to explain it to her and what was good, and made me feel guilt at the same time, was that I knew she would understand and forgive me.
Something I wasn’t sure I deserved.
But now, the presence of The Eunuch, with Diandra of all people, made me keep my silence, slap up my guard and brace.
His eyes slid over my face then he walked to the table and chairs. Grabbing two, he picked them up, brought them over and set them at the foot of my lounge chair. He held the back for Diandra until she sat and arranged her two layered sarongs over her legs (good idea that, two matching sarongs to ward out the chill, I’d have to remember that) and pull her own shawl closer around her upper body that was not covered in a bandeau or short halter top but what looked like a short-sleeved, tight fitting t-shirt made of thin weave, soft wool that covered her to her belly.
Only when Diandra had settled did The Eunuch sit facing me.
Both their eyes were on me.
I said not a word.