A Sinless Betrayal by Cherie Benjamin (books to read for 12 year olds .TXT) 📖

has been a long day."

I turn around and go to my place in the bed, lifting the heavy covers before settling down beneath them. Abigor glances over at me through the firelight. I glance right back at him and slowly smile.

He breathes softly. "Gobe ina ganin zan sumbace ka." (Tomorrow I think I shall kiss you.)

I furrow my eyebrows. "Sumbace ni? Ka riga ka aikata wannan." (Kiss me? You have already done this.)

"Ina so in sumbace ka wani wuri daban-daban. Wata ila ka lebe da farko, amma sai watakila wani wuri dabam." He murmurs. "Kokari ya tsammani inda zan sumbace ka gaba." (I want to kiss you somewhere different. Perhaps your lips first, but then maybe somewhere else. Attempt to guess where I will kiss you next.)

I'm suddenly intrigued. "Na kiraza?" I question. (My breasts?)

"Babu," he replies, shaking his head. "Sake gwadawa." (No, try again.)

"Na kafafu." (My legs.)

"Babu."

"Na ciki?" (My stomach?)

"Ba kome, zan gaya maka," he laughs. "Zan je ka sumbace zaki da al'aurar mata." (Okay I'll tell you, I'm going to kiss your sweet cunt.)

I gasp and flop back against the pillows. I should have known but…but hearing that word on his lips and the look in his eyes when he told me what he was going to do to me makes me shiver. "Mmm."

He laughs softly. "I can already smell your arousal."

My cheeks burn bright red in the darks. "Oh."

"It'll serve as a bit of payback for what you did for me today."

I try to keep myself under control. "Oh."

He leans over and captures my lips. I've been wanting him for so long that I wrap my arms around his neck and deepen the kiss even further. He dips his tongue into my mouth ever so slowly, flicking at the edges of my teeth and stroking my own tongue with a lazy sort of rhythm. "That sound good to you, honey?"

I don't know where my words have gone, but I certainly can't find them anymore. "Uh-huh."

He gives me one last kiss, his tongue lingering in my mouth before pulling away with a strand of saliva stuck to his full russet lips. "Payback." Kiss

When I wake, he's not in the room. The space beside me is empty and cold, the sheets peeled back from where his body had imprinted on the bed. I yawn and throw the covers off of my body. The bruises on my face ache, as well as my jaw and my nose. My lip is still sore, but a scab has formed on it overnight.

My curls are unruly, but I have no intention of taming them this morning. I go to the wardrobe and pick a beautiful blue silk with purple and orange floral prints on it.

Once I am dressed, I walk to the door and take a small peek out into the hallway. The hallways are mostly barren, except for a lone maid in rags collecting laundry in a wicker basket placed at the doorways.

"Excuse me," I call. The maid looks up from collecting her laundry and takes a few small steps towards me. She notices that I'm in Abigor's room and then takes a few small steps back. "Do you know where the king is?"

By the look on the maid's face, I presume she does not know the Common Tongue. She points a delicate finger down the hallway. "Sister…ill. His sister having baby."

Suddenly, I remember what Cassandra told me that Three Horses' wife is ready to pop out a child at any moment. Abigor hadn't talked to me personally about it, and I'd gradually forgotten about it. I hear an ear-splitting scream echo down the hallway and nod at the maid to give my thanks.

I scurry down the hallway, trying not to trip over my skirts as I rush into the little, hot hallway that people crowded around. Daniel was there with his head banging against the doorway, listening to every one of his wife's pain-filled shrieks with a sympathetic look in his eyes.

Drinks of Waterfall and Michelle are there, sitting together in chairs near the back. Iron Coyote sits in a corner with his arm around Ivona's tiny shoulders, a totally bored expression on his face. Black Bear is there with his sister Radiant Moon, or as her commoner's name, Accalia. Grey Hawk is there with Arlena.

I see Abigor standing in the corner of the room with sweat beading on his forehead; he's obviously worried about his favourite sister. He doesn't see me when I try and catch his attention, turning into the corner and rubbing his temples in an attempt to relieve the stress he feels.

I meekly make my way over to Michelle, who turns and hugs me tightly. "Oh, I've missed you." I smile at her. Drinks of Waterfall leans over and gives us both a wary look.

"Elle," he croons. "Wannan shi ne wani lokaci domin kauna." (This is no time for affection.)

She nods and shuts her mouth almost instantly. Then she leans close to my ear. "They say the child kills her," Michelle tells me. "They don't know if she'll make it out alive."

"That's horrible," I whisper back to her. "I would hate to have that happen."

A tall man waltzes into the room with Camellia at his side. I've never seen him before. Michelle cuts me off before I can ask his name. "That's White Fire Sun, or Quil. He mostly likes to keep to himself, but I know him because he's Tristan's good friend. He's claimed Camellia as his own and now she doesn't live in the harem anymore."

White Fire Sun looks kind but mischievous. The way he nibbles on Camellia's earlobe when she's least expecting it, causing her to laugh out loud and receive scornful looks from Abigor and Three Horses.

When Abigor catches sight of me, he rushes over to my side. He speaks in the Common Tongue so that most of his men will not understand him. "Why are you here?" he questions. "I thought you slept."

I ignore his bad grammar and shake my head. "I woke up when I realized you weren't there. I came to look for you when I was informed by a maid that you were here as your sister gave birth. I wanted to come and…support you."

At this, he softens and takes the chair beside me. His eyes are moist. "Snow Lion's always been a sickly woman. Never strong, always weak. Even though she was my older sister, I always looked after her. She caught the same disease my mother and sister did, but she survived. It made her weak after."

I don't know what to say or how to comfort him. I lean my head onto his shoulder. He does not move. Another one of Snow Lion's pained screams drags out long this time. Everyone goes quiet, listening for the sound of a baby's squeal.

And the squeal comes not a moment later. Three Horses looks relieved and so does Abigor. The midwife comes out a second later. "A yaro ne mi mace," she says. (The child is a female.)

Three Horses isn't so much worried about the baby's gender. "Kuma abin da na uwargida ta? Ko da ta ke nan?" (And what of my wife? Is she all right?)

One by one, we all file in to congratulate Three Horses and Snow Lion on their new baby. Abigor and I are last. He tells her how much he loves her and how he's very glad that she's okay.

Snow Lion points a shaky finger at me. "Wane ne ta?" she asks her brother. He tells her my Hausa name and my commoner's name. "Ku bar mu, dan'uwansa. Zan mayar da ita zuwa gare ka a wani lokaci." (Who is she? Leave us, brother. I shall return her to you in a moment.)

Abigor nods before turning to me. "She wishes to speak with you in private," he says. His voice is no longer soft, but hard and masculine. "I'll be waiting for you outside the door." He and Three Horses depart the room.

I swallow a thick lump in my throat and beg Abigor with my eyes to have him stay. I do not know this woman, nor do I know what she will say. As far as she knows, I'm just his monthly whore.

She looks me up and down and nods her head. "Dress is beau-ti-ful." She sounds out the word. "Flower patterns are my most favourite."

I nod my thanks. She returns her attention to her baby.

"Tiger Claw," she muses, holding her child in her arms. "Name interests me. My brother gave you it for a reason, though."

The baby fusses, so Snow Lion pulls down her shirt and lets the babe suckle upon her breast with no shame in her eyes. My face burns bright red. "I…I suppose so, yes."

She smiles at me weakly before brushing some of the black hair on the baby's forehead with her fingers. "I not seen my brother so happy with a woman before." She looks up at me expectantly. "My brother is hard, like nut that just don't wanna crack. But you crack him, though it is slow."

I kneel by Snow Lion's bedside. She looks at me with her soft brown eyes. I do not know what to say, so I say nothing at all and just settle with smiling and nodding.

She coughs. "Drink is on table. Get for me, Tiger Claw?"

At first, I don't understand what she's trying to say because her common tongue is so faulty, but I put two and two together. "Your glass of water?" I ask. She nods and holds her throat.

"Na'am," she says. "I have thirst." I hand her the glass of water and she gulps it down. She nods in thanks. "Abigor never loves. Only ever loved a girl named White Fawn. My older brother took her away from him and he never forgave himself for letting Iron Coyote do so."

I nod my head sadly. "It's a horrid story. He told me once, I believe. It's a shame she died in childbirth."

Snow Lion nods her head and smiles softly. "He would not tell you White Fawn's story if he did not intend to keep you. I heard about the mate claiming. I was surprised, I will tell you just that."

I lick my dry lips and look at Snow Lion's beautiful, but pale, face. "He's only known me for two months now. I am still not sure what a claimed mate is. One of the harem girls told me all about what came about with a man mate claiming and making the claim speech, but I never got the true understanding of it."

She smiles slowly like molasses, the warm light filtering through the window kissing her face. "I not gonna tell you, Tiger Kambori. I gonna leave that to him to show you what it means."

I sense that she's done speaking with me when she goes back to tending to her newborn child. I open the door to Three Horses, who gives me a respectful nod before going in to see his wife and daughter.

Abigor nods to me to beckon me over to him. I feebly comply, walking out into the emptied room and into his arms. "What did she say to you?" he questions me. I smile begin to tug him down the hallway. "Well? Tell me."

I don't