I did. Whatever the liquid was burned down the back of my throat and made my eyes water, though I fought valiantly not to hack it back up. I thought I caught his lips curl before he took a long swallow from it himself and returned it to the tray.
Next he lifted a braised piece of meat—bverimeat, I assumed, though I didn’t know what kind it was—and I opened my lips at his beckoning.
My eyes widened when the flavor of it burst on my tongue. Rich and fatty and so tender that it seemed to melt in my mouth. I’d never had fresh meat before. Years ago, we’d received dried jerky in our rations, sourced from animals residing on other planets, but we’d never hunted on Dakkar, in fear of retribution.
Arokan was watching me. Once I swallowed, I was silent for a moment, processing that something could taste likethat, and then said, “I’ve never had fresh meat before.”
Something flashed in his gaze, his brows and lips pulling downwards.
“You will have fresh meat every day now,” was all he replied, though his voice was gruffer than it’d been a moment before.
“When you…” I started. “When you give my village the meat, they won’t know how to dry it.”
Arokan’s jaw clenched. “I will have mypujerakgive them instructions.”
“Yourpujerak?” I asked.
He tilted his head to one of the far tables. There I saw the Dakkari male that had come with Arokan to my village, the messenger, who’d first spoken with me in the universal tongue.
“My second-in-command,” Arokan replied.
I nodded, biting my lip. He was being…sweet. He was being kind and truthfully, I didn’t know how to take it. I felt more at ease with him when we were fighting.
We lapsed into a strange silence as the drums grew louder and louder, as the feast continued. Arokan continued to feed me morsels from the large selection on the tray, in between taking some for himself. But soon, my belly was full of soft braised meat and simmered roots and tart fruits that made my lips pucker.
Not to mention the fermented drink that made my head swim pleasantly, that made me smile when I watched the Dakkari children darting through the crowds, when I watched the dancing begin.
Soon, I forgot that I was sitting topless in the horde king’s lap. I forgot the nerves that had pummeled me all afternoon and evening. For once, I let myself enjoy the night because I’d never had a night like that before.
Arokan was warm underneath me and he shifted his arms tighter when I shivered. The night was growing colder, but I didn’t mind. The tray of food was emptied, though some brew still remained in the goblet. Most of the feasting was over by that point and the celebration had turned to revelry. Laughter and voices and drums filled the air.
I don’t know how long I sat in Arokan’s lap or how long I’d been watching the celebration below in utter fascination. But soon, I felt something begin to shift.
My breath hitched when Arokan lifted some of my hair at the nape of my neck. I felt the tip of his nose drag over my flesh there, soft but purposeful. My spine tingled with the sensation, unexpectedly pleasurable.
He had one hand gripped around my hips and the other rested on the arm of the throne, his clawed fingers pricking the metal. Suddenly that hand on my hip dipped until his fingers were resting over my sex, just like when we’d been riding on thepyroki.
Eyes widened, I shot a glance towards the crowd, but couldn’t discern if anyone was watching. The way his legs were positioned, I doubted anyone would be able to see directly, but it was obvious where his hand was.
Those fingers against me twitched and then pressedfirm. A surprised gasp escaped my throat and I wrapped my hand around his thick wrist, just over his gold cuff, though my grip only encompassed half of it.
When I turned my head to regard him, those eyes were on me. I was frozen again, looking into those eyes, so black in the center that I saw myself in them.
His finger stroked me once, twice.
“Arokan,” I whispered, panicked, my mind muddled from the fermented drink, my inexperienced body beginning to respond to his expert touches.
The sound of his given name leaving my lips made him growl, made his spine shoot straight. Belatedly, I wondered if I’d made a mistake using it, if I’d crossed a line.
Before I knew it, he was standing from the throne, bringing me with him. He swung me up in his arms and descended the stairs of the dais.
The dancing never stopped though I felt eyes turn towards us, though the beat of the drums seemed to increase. I felt those beats pulse through me.
He swung us both up onto hispyrokionce we reached it with ease, which was telling of his strength. To the crowd, he bellowed, “Kirtva njeti Morakkari!”
Whatever he said was met with deafening cheers and my lips parted, my chest heaving when I realized what was about to happen. Just then, my eyes met Mirari’s in the throng and she nodded at me, smiling.
He urged thepyrokiinto a gallop back through the camp, turning his back on the celebration.
