Wrune moved through thevolikiwith familiarity, further showing me thatIwas the intruder here. He stoked the fire back to life in the basin. He shed his sword and placed it on hooks on the wall. When he shed his trews, my heart leapt. Scarred, golden flesh greeted me. The sight of his firm buttocks, giving way to thick, muscled thighs, made me swallow hard. He pushed back the furs on the bed, his half-hardened cock swinging, and climbed inside them.
With his red eyes pinned on me, he motioned me forward. Weweresleeping together this night, it seemed. Hesitantly, I moved to the bed. I crawled underneath the furs, noticing they no longer smelled like him since they’d been washed this morning.
I lay on my side and he lay on his side. We were facing one another, wary but curious. His eyes trailed over me and for a moment, I wanted him to touch me. I wanted him to uncover that desire within me as effortlessly as he’d done last night.
Underneath my shift dress, my nipples pebbled though I was warm under the furs. I was watching him, waiting to see what he would do as the tension wrapped around us, tight and thick.
His jaw tightened, that long muscle just above the bone jumping.
Soft disappointment came when he gruffly said, “Veekor, rei sarkia.”
The word meantsleep. I remembered that from last night.
I rolled over until I was on my back, staring up at the venting hole at the top of thevoliki. Clouds shielded the stars this night. All I saw was darkness.
“Veekor,sailon,” I replied.
A rough sound emerged from his throat. I closed my eyes, though I was still aware of his gaze, and I focused on my breathing. I wasn’t tired anymore. I didn’t think I’d get a wink of sleep now that he was beside me, delicious heat rolling off him like the forge in the weapons master’s workshop.
I’d seen Wrune fight today, I remembered, thinking of his brute strength and the surprising grace to his movements, lightning quick for someone so large. It reminded me that if a battle between humans and Dakkari ever came…the humans truly had no fighting chance. We’d always known that the Dakkari were a strong species but I hadn’t realized howpowerfulthey were, how frighteningly focused they were when they battled, until this morning.
Next to me, I heard Wrune roll over.
I couldn’t sleep but I kept still. And for a long time, I heard Wrune fight to sleep as well. I focused on my breathing, keeping it even.
Eventually, I heard his soft curse, his sharp exhale. My stomach sank when I felt him move from the bed, though he was careful to keep his movements quiet. He thought I was sleeping. And he was leaving the bed.
I heard the gentle rustle of his trews as he slid them up his legs. Cracking open my eyes, I saw him add another clump of fire fuel into the basin. He looked over at me, a tight expression on his face, and I closed my eyes quickly, hoping he hadn’t seen.
When I heard thevolikiflaps open and close, my nostrils stung. A lump rose in my throat, physical reactions to something I didn’t quite understand.
Opening my eyes, I was greeted with emptiness, though the fire roared.
Wrune couldn’t stand to sleep next to me. He would find another bed this night.
Closing my eyes again, I felt tears sting them. Because I didn’t know why I was crying, it only made me cry more, as frustration and turmoil roved inside me.
Was this to be my life now?
Though I was now queen of a Dakkari horde…I’d never felt lonelier.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
“Iknew I’d find you up here.”
Mypujerak’svoice came from behind me.
I grunted. “Thedarukkarstold you, did they not?”
It was a week later. I’d visited thedarukkarencampment, to see if they had anything more to report for the night. Then I’d gone off on my own, weaving away from the camp and climbing up the mountain path that overlooked the expanse of the Dead Valley. It was a steep climb but on that dark night, it was exactly where I wanted to be.
Valavik walked to the cliff’s edge before eyeing me. I had my back to the mountain wall, a knee drawn up, my arm slung over it. Since it was colder that night, especially on the mountain, I’d brought my pelt with me and wrapped it tight around my shoulders.
“What are you doing out here, Rowin?” mypujerakasked. “Should you not be asleep, in your own bed?”
A pointed, dangerous question. One I’d felt him skirting around for a full week now.
I grunted. I’d been in a foul mood lately. Due to lack of sleep and this biting frustration that I justcouldn’tshake. It was unlike me. It made me vulnerable.
