“Of course.”
Something from last night rose in my mind. Wrune had apologized for…letting the horde think I was weak. It hadn’t made sense to me at the time, but was this what Hukri was saying? That his horde hadn’t accepted me as their queen because of the obvious divide between theirVorakkarand me?
“Hordes gossip. It is natural. And you both have given them plenty to say this past week, though if theVorakkarever heard them, he’d probably send the offenders immediately back toDothikfor disrespecting you.”
“And so,” I murmured, my eyes going to the bed in realization, “the furs…”
“Exactly,” Hukri said. “It is a message to the entire horde. Word will spread from the seamstresses and the washers. Like I said, theVorakkarknows exactly what he is doing.”
I blinked. Did that mean…was that the reason he’d spent his seed over the furs, instead ofinsideme? Had he planned this, calculated it out since before he even woke me this morning?
The thought that that might be a possibility dimmed a little of the warm glow inside me. But then I remembered that the horde was like a village. Perception was everything. Perception was power. Wrune was more experienced in these things than I was. It was his horde whose gossip and rumors he wanted to silence, though in his own subtle way.
And so I nodded. Truthfully, now that I knew there had been talk about us, I felt a little flame ofpurposebuilding inside my breast. If this horde was to be my home, if I would accept Wrune as my husband, I didn’t want to show weakness. Not as a queen to a Dakkari horde.
I needed to show strength.
So, after I dressed, I gathered up the furs myself, my lips pressed together with determination.
Turning to Hukri, I saw a flicker of approval in her gaze.
“Let’s go deliver these together,” I told her.
Chapter Forty-Three
Later that night, I was surprised to see a glow emanating from Wrune’svoliki—and I supposedmy voliki, now—with smoke rising from the venting hole at the top.
The guard that constantly seemed to trail me slowly fell away, watching from a distance as I trekked up the incline leading to the domed home. When I walked through the entrance, I was greeted by the sight of Wrune in the bathing tub and my belly flipped and flopped. My breath went a little shallow with anticipation and nerves—until I saw the long gash running down his arm.
“What happened?” I gasped softly, approaching the tub quickly, though I was flicking my gaze around for clean cloth to bandage it.
“It’s nothing,” he murmured, his eyes fastening on me. “A shallow cut from the training grounds. A youngdarukkarswinging his sword a little too enthusiastically. A mistake he will never make again.”
My shoulders sank. Seeing the black blood from the wound—which I saw was actually dried blood—made memories of the Dead Mountain come flooding back. I swallowed, remembering the dread I’d felt whenever I walked down that long hallway, wondering what new wound the horde king would sport that night.
“What are you thinking of?” he asked quietly, water trickling as he lifted his arm from the water so he could touch the bunched spot between my brows.
“Nothing,” I whispered, shaking myself. “Are you sure you shouldn’t bandage that?”
“Worried I’ll bleed on you when I take you to our bed this night,rei Morakkari?”
Surprisingly, I didn’t flush at his obvious teasing. I looked at him steadily and said, “No, I’m not worried about that.”
His gaze was warm and intense. The way he was looking at me made me feel feverish.
I’d seen him two times that day. He’d seen me walking the path I usually took with Hukri—a long walk I started taking every day because I enjoyed the warm sun and the fresh air—and he’d approached me, stealing a long kiss in front of the entirety of his horde, one that left me breathless and clinging to him. Another pointed message to his horde, I assumed. Though a small part of me hoped it had something to do with his vow the previous night. That he would no longer deny his instincts with me.
The next time I saw him had been just as the sun started to descend along the horizon. I’d wanted to see how the tanning process worked with the hides the hunters brought back and went to visit that section of the horde with Hukri, Rakoni trailing along behind us. It was towards the back of the horde, separated off from the rest of the encampment because of the smell, especially during the warmer days, but I’d found it fascinating. The process was smooth and efficient. I’d learned that the excess hides were sent to the outposts orDothik, traded for other supplies that the horde might need.
To my surprise, Wrune had been there, speaking with one of the males in charge of the tannery. Though they’d still been deep in discussion, Wrune’s red gaze had fastened on me and never left. When he finished his business with the male, he’d come to me and we’d spoken briefly. As we did, his hands had clasped my waist and held me still against him, as if heneededto touch me. Behind him, I’d caught the curious gazes of those around us, saw one or two heads bend together as they whispered.
He hadn’t had the long gash then, so he must’ve returned to the training grounds shortly after.
“Where were you?” he wondered.
“With Hukri,” I told him. “I didn’t realize you’d be back so early.”
“Have you eaten?” he asked. When I shook my head, he nodded to the heaping platters of food on the low table. “Thebikkusdelivered it a little while ago. For you.”
