The Golden Dynasty (Fantasyland #2)(109)

She had also not shared what was happening with her and Zahnin and not one of my posse pried. That said, I was in her cham twice when he came in. The first time was some weeks ago and she’d instantly gone tense but not with fear, still simply guarded. The second time was two days ago and she’d bitten her lip before she’d offered him a tentative smile. Neither time did he repeat soft words or a gentle touch like he had weeks ago but both times his eyes went warm and his mouth went soft when he saw her.

My hope was, he was breaking through.

At that moment, when she pulled us slightly back and out of the crowd, Bain moving with us, I would find out he definitely was.

She looked shyly at Bain and I knew she didn’t want him to overhear.

I gave him a look and asked, “Can Sabine and I have a moment of privacy?”

His eyes went from me to Sabine to me again. Then his mouth twitched. Then he stepped out of hearing distance.

Sabine didn’t delay. She launched right in. “Can I be forthright?”

I nodded.

She studied me then said, “I mean, really forthright.”

I struggled against a giggle and nodded again.

“I, er… need your advice,” she stated.

“About what, sweetheart?” I asked.

“About,” her eyes slid away, she bit her lip and then they came back to me, “er… Zahnin, my, um… husband.”

I turned to face her, folding my hand on hers still at my elbow and whispered, “I’ll do my best. Tell me what you need.”

She was looking up at me again and I saw pink tinge her cheeks.

Then she spoke quickly in somewhat broken Korwahk, “He doesn’t er… he has been… for some time, he has been… changed. At first, he was, it was… not good. I was, you know, I’ve told you, I had no idea what was happening. But, I got to the point where, I don’t know, I decided… er, since it kept happening, I knew it wasn’t going to stop. So, uh, anytime he touched me, I just,” her face flamed deeper pink and she whispered, “got to my knees, pulled up my nightgown and put my face in the bed, like he always took me so he would just… get it over with.”

Oh God. How hideous.

I let her hand at my elbow go, grabbed her other one, held it to my chest and whispered, “I’m so sorry, my sweet girl.”

She nodded and bit her lip. “Thank you,” she whispered back then she drew breath into her nose and kept whispering, “He was my first.”

Oh God. She was a virgin.

I squeezed her hand. “Oh Sabine, I’m so sorry.”

“I… didn’t like it,” she shared what I knew was an extreme understatement.

“You wouldn’t,” I told her. “Of course not. I understand that.”

She nodded again and then moved an inch closer. “But, he has not done that to me. Not for weeks.”

It was my turn to nod but I kept quiet.

Sabine kept talking. “And he has been, like I said, changed. Er… greatly changed. His tone has gentled and for some time, except to stroke my face or shift my hair off my shoulder, he didn’t touch me at all. Not even in bed.” I nodded again when she stopped talking to urge her on so she took a deep breath and continued. “Then he, er… started to chat with me. I didn’t know much of what he was saying but he would come to our tent at night and talk to me… quietly. Then, one night, when he left… um, he started always to leave to give me time to prepare for bed,” she explained then went on, “he, er… kissed my forehead before he left which felt,” she squeezed her eyes shut then opened them and breathed, “nice.”

She stopped again. I squeezed her hand and prompted, “Go on.”

“Well that started… it started, er… then he started to change again but not to go back to how he was before. He just kind of, um… kissed me. Not my mouth or anything. My eyes, my forehead or when he would sweep the hair off my shoulder, he would bend low, you know…” she paused and her eyelashes fluttered a little in a very cute way before she whispered, “he’s very tall.”

“I know he’s very tall, Sabine,” I whispered back when she didn’t go on.

“Well, he would bend low to kiss… er, my neck. And then… then, one night he pulled me into his arms when he got in bed with me and I was terrified he was going to… you know.”

I nodded again and held her hand tight. “I know.”

She leaned further into me. “But he didn’t. He just held me. And I… I… slept with him like that.” Her eyes grew round. “Like a baby.”

I smiled. “This is good.”

“I… is it?” she asked hesitantly.

“Yes,” I answered without any hesitation at all. “Has he continued to –?”

She nodded. “Yes, every night, he holds me. But… um… the other night… er…” her eyes slid away and she went quiet.

“Sabine, you can tell me,” I whispered and her eyes came back to me, her face now aflame.

“He touched me,” she whispered reverently, her eyes warming, she leaned in and went on quickly. “He was holding me then he turned my back to him and his hands moved on me and they did this awhile, soothingly, then I relaxed because it felt rather… nice and then he started using them in ways… such ways…” the look in her gaze drifted faraway and a small smile played at her lips as she breathed, “such ways.”