The Golden Dynasty(47)

He looked at my body, mumbled something, let my hand go and then instantly jerked the silk sheet out from under me. Then he threw it over me and its coolness felt nice and tortuous at the same time.

He rolled off the bed on the other side and I chattered, “Wah… water,” to him.

He didn’t go to the jugs. He went to the tent flaps, slapped one back and thundered, “Teetru!”

“Lahn! Water, honey, please,” I begged as he walked to the pile of hides, tossed aside the pillows so forcefully they flew across the tent then he seized the top hide and came to me.

I was holding onto the top of the sheet and shaking my head as he stalked to me and carefully draped the hide over my body.

“No, too much weight, too much heat,” I whispered but his head turned to the tent flaps as Teetru stuck her head in and he paid no attention to me.

He barked orders at her, her eyes came to me then she rushed out of the tent she hadn’t fully entered.

Luckily, in his orders I heard Diandra’s husband’s name.

He turned and scowled down at me. I’d moved an arm outside the hide and was trying to shove it off.

“Too heavy, baby, too hot,” I semi-repeated but he wrapped his fingers around my wrist, gently pushed my arm back under the hides and my eyes flew to him. “No, Lahn.”

“Yes, Circe,” he growled.

Okay, I’d give up on that.

I heard the tent flaps open and Jacanda, Beetus and Packa came in, wearing worried looks.

“Water,” I said, tipping my head to the jugs, Jacanda caught it and hurried to the water. “Yes,” I whispered and kept quaking.

Jacanda poured water and rushed to me but didn’t make it. Lahn snatched the cup out of her hand, sat on the bed beside me, wrapped his other hand around the back of my neck, gently lifting me, and put the cup to my lips.

I drank.

Hydration good.

He kept tipping it to my lips until my eyes lifted to his indicating I was done and he took it away, lowering me back to the pillows.

Then he growled something at me and the only word I understood was my name at the end.

“I’ll be okay,” I assured him.

“Not okay,” he fired back and kept scowling.

I bit my lip then I dropped my eyes and realized he was buck naked.

“Lahn,” I said when my eyes returned to his dark ones that were still painted, “put some pants on.”

He started his next sentence with “Lahnahsahna Circe…” but the rest of it I had no clue except it had the exact cadence of me telling him I didn’t understand what he was saying.

I gave him a shaky smile, pulled my arm from under the hides and ran my fingertips up his naked thigh to his also naked hip.

“Pants, hides, you need to put something on,” I said quietly.

He kept scowling then he surged up, stalked to the table, slammed the cup on it then he went to his hides and yanked them on.

Okay, that went better.

The tent flaps opened, Gaal rushed through followed by a small, round woman with lots of dark hair mixed with gray and she was carrying a small trunk. She looked like she’d had fun that night and had been interrupted in sleeping it off. I guessed this because her complexion was gray and she was wearing what I would assume was a Korwahk-style nightshirt, short, off-white gauze, strapless, shapeless, held up over her breasts by a drawstring tied tight at the front.

Um… that wasn’t Diandra.

Lahn bit some words off at her; she nodded and rushed to me.

“Hey,” I greeted after she bent and put the trunk on the ground by the bed and turned to me.

“Kah rahna Dahksahna hahla,” she muttered, her eyes moving over my face, my shoulders, she carefully lifted the hide and sheet and peered under them then she just as carefully dropped them, turned to Lahn and started talking.

He was standing with his arms crossed on his chest, feet planted wide and eyes piercing her with ferocity and whatever she was saying made his dark glower darker.

She kept talking and he kept glowering.

Then the tent flaps opened and Diandra rushed through followed by a large, older warrior who, like Lahn, had to bend to enter. Teetru followed them.

“Dahksahna Circe!” Diandra cried, seeing me quaking. “What on earth?”

“Too much sun, Diandra, sunstroke. It’s nothing. I just need water and I’ll be fine. Tell Lahn,” I informed her; she nodded, turned and spoke to Lahn.

He spoke back in clipped tones and she nodded and looked at me.

“He has never heard of this, my dear.”

I shook my head. “Well, he wouldn’t. You all live in the sun. Where I come from, we do not. My skin isn’t used to that kind of sun. My entire system isn’t used to it. I tried to tell him, but –”