Dortak had his wife on her knees in front of him, his hand fisted in her hair, he was bent to her, the blade of a knife at her throat and blood dripping from a huge, gaping gash at his shoulder. His face was red and twisted with rage, she had clearly been recently beaten about the face and we weren’t talking a little slapping around, which would be bad enough, but fists, her cheeks were awash in a river of tears and I knew he was about to slit her throat.
So without a single thought, I whirled, gripped the hilt of one of the knives in Bain’s belt, pulled it out of its sheath, whirled back and advanced like a shot until I had the knifepoint at Dortak’s jugular.
“Stop,” I commanded in Korwahk.
He glared hatred up at me and then the blade sliced her flesh, blood immediately dripping from the shallow slash but she screamed her terror in a way it crawled along my skin.
I pressed the point of my blade in his neck. “Stop!”
“Kah rahna Dahksahna,” Bain said softly, he was close.
“Your queen commands it!” I shouted in Korwahk at Dortak, ignoring Bain, my eyes glued to the dark, cruel ones of a monster.
He slid his blade in deeper and another scream rent the air, she twisted in his arms (not the smartest thing to do, I thought vaguely, considering his blade had opened her skin) and tears dropped off her chin.
“Your queen commands it!” I shrieked, pushing my knifepoint in deeper and a bead of blood surrounded the point.
He stilled and glared at me and I held his eyes. We were in a stare down. I was breathing heavily, my chest expanding deep and falling so hard I could feel every breath.
“Your queen commands it, Dortak, drop your blade,” Bain said in Korwahk from behind me and Dortak’s eyes slid to him.
“Your queen commands it, drop… your… blade.” Another voice came from a little further away, one that was familiar but I was concentrating on not shoving my blade in his throat and/or passing out so I didn’t have the capacity to place it.
Dortak’s gaze came back to me and I held it.
“Drop your blade!” Bain thundered.
Dortak’s eyes moved over my shoulder and up again then slid across me to take in something else then his lip curled in a sneer and he dropped his blade but shoved his wife so she fell face first in the dirt in front of their cham.
I started to move to her but I didn’t even get a step. Bain’s hand curled around mine and he took off, dragging me with him. When he pulled me through the crowd of people I caught a glimpse of several warriors including Zahnin who was the voice I couldn’t put my finger on (mostly because he’d never said much to me, most of what he said was monosyllabic and all of that was grunted).
I was surprised he took my back.
I was also running through the Daxshee to keep up with Bain’s quick, determined, urgent strides and I was shaking like a leaf.
When we got to my cham, he shoved me inside, snatched his blade out of my hand, sheathed it then bent, put a finger in my face and growled in Korwahk, “Do not leave.”
His face was scary but there was also something else there.
Concern.
Oh shit. I’d f**ked up.
As he stalked out, he barked something at Teetru who was standing just inside the flaps. Her eyes went wide but she nodded, he prowled out, she called to the girls and they all came dashing in. Then they all listened to Teetru talk. Then they all nodded and stood at the flaps.
I looked at my girls lined across the flaps.
I guess I wasn’t going anywhere.
And I had a feeling I hadn’t f**ked up, I’d f**ked up.
* * * * *
“What possessed you?” Diandra cried.
I was right. I hadn’t f**ked up. I’d f**ked up.
“I don’t… I… I don’t… I don’t even know where to begin!” she yelled.
It was at least two hours later but it felt like two years. My girls were no longer at the flaps. No, they’d disappeared. In their place were two, large, scary looking warriors standing inside the cham at the flaps.
I was definitely not going anywhere.
Diandra had arrived fifteen minutes ago already in the know about what went on mainly because it was spreading through the Daxshee like wildfire.
She was pacing.
I was sitting cross-legged on the bed silently panicking.
“Did I not tell you what happens in a warrior’s cham is nobody’s business?” she shouted.
“They were outside the cham, Diandra,” I said softly, she stopped mid-pace and whirled on me.
“This is not amusing, my dear, nothing about this is amusing,” she hissed even though I wasn’t trying to be amusing, just informative but I didn’t share that when she took two quick steps to me, bent and snapped, “You held a weapon to a warrior.”
“Yes, but –”
“You are a woman and you held a weapon to a Korwahk Horde warrior!” she bit out.
“Diandra –”
“It matters not that you are queen, you are a woman and he is a warrior!” she clipped.
I lifted a hand. “Sweetheart,” I whispered, “please.”
“He was not trying to force himself on you. He was not looting your cham. He was not mishandling your slaves without your permission and refusing to stop at your request. He was with his wife!” she shouted.
“But he was –” I tried again, dropping my hand.
“What he was or what he wasn’t is not your concern!” she yelled.
“He was going to kill her!” I exclaimed.
“And if he did he would face the Dax for that, not you. Not you, Circe. The Dax.”
“Two members of The Horde took my back,” I told her quietly.
She straightened and snapped, “What?”
“Bain and Zahnin both backed me up, they supported me,” I explained.
“Yes, I heard that too. And you can only hope that the Dax, who never but never in all the years I’ve known him as Dax been tolerant, today feels tolerant, for he could order their heads for standing against their brother.”
I sucked in breath, felt my throat close and my eyes widen all at the exact same time.
She saw my look and nodded once. Then she said softly with strained calm and more than a little fear, “Yes, he could do that, Circe.” She paused before finishing, “And, he could order yours.”
“Oh my God,” I whispered.
“That’s a good idea, my friend, pray to your God. I fear you will need Him right now,” she whispered back and I saw fear had saturated her eyes and her hands were shaking.