Sacrifice of the Septimus: Part 2 (Afterlife saga Book 7) (5 page)

“You have no hair, why?” Parmida asked obviously now convinced that she wasn’t being lied to.

“I don’t remember.” I said deciding this was safer than saying a woman name Gillette shaved it all off. She raised a sceptical eyebrow at me but said nothing.

“The Gods have blessed you with the softest, palest skin I have ever seen and the King will be pleased. Now wash her hair and let us hope it too is in as good a condition as her skin.” Parmida declared, then clicked her fingers to the two who had been brushing my hair for what felt like an hour now. I was just thankful that whatever oil they had put on it was making it easier to brush through the knots, as I hardly felt a thing.

In the end I don’t know how long it was that I was manhandled for but it felt like a whole day by the time they were finished with me. I was exhausted and emotionally drained thanks to having nothing to do other than lose myself in my own mind. As it turned out my thoughts were more torturous than anything all those rough hands had done to my body because now all I felt was more alone than I ever had before. Even now, sat in a room full of people who all looked as though they belonged here, all I felt like was a sitting duck with a target on my back just waiting for that first knife to be thrown.

They had cleaned every inch of me over and over again until it felt as though I had lost layers of skin. Even my hair had been washed again and again until it felt stripped of any natural oils. After this and feeling more prune like than ever before I was allowed out of the bath and dried off. Then I was placed on the table and the beauty treatments began. Oils and salts were rubbed into my skin and then removed again, leaving softer skin underneath. My hair also received a citrus and olive smelling oil that tickled my nose.

The only time Parmida got involved and did anything herself was when she attended to my bruises. She plastered on a thick layer of pungent smelling paste, placed large green leaves on top and then wrapped my ribs in long sheets of hemp. She also rubbed a white sandy paste onto my bruised cheek and left it on for a few hours before the other servants were allowed to wipe it clean. I had no idea what was in any of this stuff but was surprised to find that it seemed to be working as it was taking a lot of the soreness away.

Which brought me to now and how I had been dressed in the finest red silks with a gold paisley pattern bordering the edges. I had on wide floaty trousers that were split up the sides but tight to my ankles and waist with bands of stiff gold that looked like shackles. Matching this was a little cropped top that was shaped like something you would wear to work out in and one so tight it acted like a push up bra, being very exposed with a deep V at the front. Thankfully though this wasn’t the whole outfit as to cover up my wounds they had wrapped lengths of the same silk around one shoulder first and then tied it loosely at the waist, giving me back some of my modesty.

My hair was now dry and I was happy to report it looked like spun gold and was pinned to one side hanging down in perfect waves. I don’t know what that hair oil was called but I could make a fortune back home if I got the ingredients before I left. All in all, I looked a lot better than I felt as I was now sat propped up against a mountain of pillows once the servants had come along and ushered everyone out of the space. Well if I wanted to alienate myself and add to my list of enemies then I was doing a bang up job without even trying.

“Can I sit here?” A small quiet voice spoke and in response came the sound of clashing metal as two guards blocked her path with their spears crossing over.

“It’s fine, she can sit with me,” I said hoping they would let her through as I was slowly going crazy sat here on my own, wallowing away in my depressing thoughts.

“We have our orders,” they snapped back and the young beauty shrugged her shoulders and gave me a sympathetic look before leaving. My own shoulders dropped and I let myself fall back against the cushions with a sigh. Lay like this I could see the top of the room and all around was a stone balcony with a carved trellis that carefully hid anyone behind it, which was precisely what it was doing now.

I could see a large shadow of a man stood there as if silently watching the room below. No, I had that wrong, because it wasn’t just the room below he was watching but mor
e
specifically…
it was me.

I braved looking straight back at him as if daring him to move to one of the open parts of the design in the wooden panels and show himself. I could tell the man was hooded and obviously taking steps to conceal himself, not just behind the beautiful trellis, but also probably in getting there as well. So this meant he was someone who wasn’t allowed to be there or someone that was but didn’t want anyone knowing.

I only broke away what I believed was eye contact when Parmida clapped her hands, making me jump.

“Time for rest, come with me King’s Lamb,” she said but my eyes quickly shot back to the balcony only to find the man was gone.

“Now!” she added when I obviously wasn’t moving quickly enough. I pushed myself up from the cushions, wincing when the burn in my ribs came back and I was left hoping that I hadn’t cracked one as I’d first suspected. Once up I followed Parmida through one of the arches that framed what I called the open communal room and soon found that each arch was a separate sleeping space. I couldn’t help but notice that mine was further back from the rest and the guards that followed us situated themselves outside without any orders.

They didn’t have doors but sheer blue curtains that cast a calming glow on the small room. They were only big enough to sleep in and not much else as they were about the size of a double bed. Large square cushions filled the space in the same calming blue and purple tones as the curtains that covered the walls and high domed ceiling. It reminded me of sleeping in a little one-man Arabian tent for the night and I quickly wished I wasn’t alone, knowing there was only one man who I wanted to share this little space with.

“Now you will sleep for no less than twelve hours as your body needs to heal quickly.”

“Yeah but twelve hours…!” I started to moan when she clapped her hands again, which seemed to be her favourite way of communicating.

“You will do as I say or I will drug you to make you sleep, it is your choice,” she said folding her arms making her baggy shirt sleeves hang down past her big belly. I sighed and knew that her threats were as real as the threats on my life were back out there and I knew both could find me dead quicker than I would like, because being drugged was not an option for me. 

“Fine, I will sleep.” I conceded and she nodded once and grinned that yellow grin before walking out. Well at least I could see the silhouette of the guards still standing watch outside of the little bed space. But even knowing they were there it still took me forever to get to sleep and it was only when I could hear the others being herded off to their own rooms that I finally started to relax. It had been a long and traumatic day so in the end I wasn’t surprised that when the communal room beyond mine lost most of its warm glow from lit torches, was when my eyes finally started to close.

But even through my exhaustion there must have been something in the back of my mind that told me to keep alert because my eyes opened the second I heard the sound of weapons being drawn from outside my door. I didn’t move like I wanted to as I didn’t want whoever was out there to know I was awake just yet. So I lay perfectly still holding my breath as I watched the two guards outside being approached by a large figure. Well, with someone of that size I could at least rule out it being one of the other girls. 

I was expecting the guards to cross over their weapons like they did last time but I was shocked to see that this didn’t happen. Actually it was the complete opposite, because the second the figure spoke they not only lowered their weapons but actually lowered their bodies to the ground. Suddenly my nerves shot through the roof and I had to grip onto the cushions with my fists just to steady my hands.

I wanted to sit up and face the man about to walk through that doorway, finally getting my chance to say what I wanted to say. But then my mind thought things through and I realised that I just couldn’t do it. How could I tell him the things I had been dreaming of saying most of the day. It just wasn’t possible.

So in the end I knew it was better not saying anything and let him believe I was asleep. Because as soon as I saw those two men bow to the hooded figure that’s when I knew who it was that had come to see me…

The King.

Chapter 41

                                    Dreams of the Past

As I waited for the faint whoosh of the curtains to be pulled back I held myself perfectly still whilst trying to appear asleep. I had to remind myself to breathe as I felt his presence enter the small space and for a moment I wondered what he would do first. Would he wake me? Would he touch me? Or would he simply look at me to see if I was worth all this fuss after all? I had no answers because like any other smart person I had my eyes closed as I feigned sleep.

It felt like an eternity before he actually moved and I was almost tempted to look as the suspense grew too much for me to bear. Thankfully though I felt his knee dip into the pillows next to me, so I knew he was getting closer. I took this as a good sign for if he hadn’t liked what he saw then surely he would have left by now.

I braced myself for his touch so that when I felt it I wouldn’t jump and react to it. But that didn’t mean when I felt his fingertips push my hair back on my forehead that my heart wasn’t beating wildly in my chest. It felt like when we first met and Draven used to come to my bedroom when I was asleep. Of course back then he used to make me believe it was all a dream, but now I knew better. Although I had to wonder what would happen if I opened my eyes right now, would he do the same?

His fingertips felt so gentle against my cheek, as if he was scared of not only waking me but also breaking me. I don’t know why but every small breath felt like my chest was heaving up, straining against the tight top I wore underneath the layers of silk. I was certainly on the bustier side of most the woman here as I guessed a lot of them came from backgrounds where food wasn’t as easy to come by, as it was usually in abundance for the rich and wealthy. In fact, that was another way you could tell who had been here longer, as on one side their bellies were rounder and hips wider and on the other side they were obviously much skinnier not yet having the time to fatten up.

Draven seemed to be working his way down my body because next he seemed fixated on my hair. I could feel him gathering it up in his hand and stroking it as if he couldn’t believe how soft it was.

“My golden fleece.”
  I heard him whisper into my hair as he raised it to his lips. Trying not to react was getting more and more difficult, especially with him calling my hair ‘His Golden Fleece’, something he had also said to me back in my time. It felt like such a profound moment that if I’d have opened my eyes tears would have been seen shimmering on the surface.

He released my hair, letting it fall to the side and I felt him lean down towards my face. I wanted so badly to suck in my bottom lip, not only from habit but also to stop it quivering. Was he going to kiss me? 

“I know you are awake Little Lamb, for I can hear your heart beating wildly in your chest,” he said above me and my breath caught in surprise. Of course he knew, he wasn’t the human in this scenario, I was!

“Now open your eyes and look at your King,” he ordered gently and I had no other choice than to obey. So I did as I was told and opened my eyes to find him now sat back looking down at me curiously. Once again seeing him with a full beard, darker tanned skin and a scar on his face was a surprise that took me a second to recover from. It was almost like seeing the man you loved for the first time after years of being apart. However, it was his eyes that were my anchor in this emotional storm as they hadn’t changed. Dark and soul consuming, they still had the same affect over me and I swallowed hard before being able to speak. He watched the motion, not missing a thing, which only made it harder to know what to do next.

“You have no words for me I see,” he said raising an eyebrow in question and I couldn’t help but blush for reasons unknown.

“I…uh…what are you…” I started to say and you could see he was starting to wonder where this question was going and for someone of the supernatural I gathered he didn’t get many question of who or what he was, so I quickly hurried on.

“…doing here? I meant to say what are you doing here?” I asked in a flurry of words that didn’t seem natural at all. He didn’t yet answer me but with his eyebrow still raised I knew now what I had missed in that sentence.

“I mean My Lord, I meant to say My Lord I promise.” I told him and that expectant look quickly turned to one of great amusement. And wow, if I thought Draven smiling was sexy back in my time, then now with his rough exterior and barbaric look, it was simply off the charts sexy!

“I must agree with Ranka, you are certainly different and I confess that intrigues me greatly,” he told me honestly and I was left hoping that I intrigued him in a good way, one that would keep him interested for as long as possible.

“Is that why you’re here…um, My Lord?” I asked remembering at the last second to add on ‘My Lord’. This made him smirk at me before saying,

“Good girl, you learn quickly.” This of course made me blush and bite my bottom lip which drew his eyes down to the action.

“Why do you bite your lip like that?” I quickly let it go hoping he would do the same with his question but when he nodded I knew he was still waiting for his answer.

“You make me nervous,” I told him truthfully and he seemed surprised by my response.

“Because I am your King?” he asked obviously curious to know. I shook my head and once more told him the truth, which reminded me that the reasons I was about to give him were the same as when we first met.

“No, because you are a man who could hurt me.” He seemed truly affronted by the idea and sat back putting a small amount of distance between us. 

“You think I want to hurt you?” he asked in a harsher tone that held a hint of anger. I decided to sit up so that I could be on an equal level to him because I couldn’t stand him looking down at me and how overpowered it made me feel. So I pushed myself up with my feet and tried not to wince as it hurt my ribs. He frowned watching me struggling but thankfully remained quiet on what was obviously his displeasure. Once I was sat up and had also put a little more distance between us I replied to his question.

“Not physically, even given your size against my own. No, there are other ways to hurt a woman and they can sometimes be more painful than being struck…trust me, for I have felt both before this day,” I told him looking down at my lap, not trusting myself to look into the eyes of the man who in my past had both broken my heart and made it whole all over again.

“Of that I have no doubt,” he said reaching out to lift my face up to look at him so he could caress my sore cheek. 

“Having the face of a Goddess comes with a price as much as being King does. But trust me Little Lamb when I say that I have no cause to hurt you. You will be safe here in the palace as no one would dare touch what is mine.” I wanted to tell him so many things at that point but knew I couldn’t as I hadn’t been here long enough to prove what I feared would come true by being here in his harem. But there was one thing that I couldn’t help but ask,

“Am I?”

“Are you what, Little Lamb?” he asked me as his hand moved further into my hairline and his thumb stroked the apple of my cheek.

“Yours?”
I uttered on a whisper looking deep into his eyes and quickly getting lost in them as I’d always done. This was the first time I got the smallest hint of purple that heated his eyes for a second before he answered me with an intensity that couldn’t be mistaken.

“Yes,
you are now mine.”
His eyes and his words both held me captive for what seemed like the longest time and we shared a silent moment together that I was too scared to break for what may happen if I did. In the end it was neither of us that broke it but the outside world had other ideas.

“I demand to see who is there! There were strict instructions. Now let me in there!” We both heard Parmida’s voice ordering the guards outside and I winced knowing this wasn’t good. I looked to the doorway and then back to Draven to see his eyes had grown hard and it was a chilling sight.

“Let her enter,” he ordered sternly and I jumped at the new tone in his voice.

“I told you Little Lamb that you were forbidden to…Oh My King!” She stopped her scolding as soon as she saw the King turn his head to her, realising her mistake. She quickly dropped to her knees in the doorway and lay her forehead to the pillows.

“Forgive me My King, for I had no idea to expect you or I would have prepared her for you, I beg your forgiveness for she is not ready to…” She started rambling her apologies and the King quickly put a stop to it with a curt,

“Enough!” This made Parmida jerk in fear and seeing Draven this way was enough to make me want to shake in fear right alongside her.

“I am not here to take her to my bed odalik, for I am aware that she is injured.” On hearing this I knew I was slightly insane for feeling disappointed that he didn’t want me that way yet and how crazy was that considering that he was also currently scaring the shit out of me!

“Yes my King of Kings, of course you did, forgive me,” she said getting up when he motioned for her to raise the top half of her body, so that he was no longer talking to the back of her head.

“Tell me of her injuries,” he demanded in that harsh tone but then when he looked back at me he did so with softer eyes.

“It looks as if she has been kicked hard by a mule in her stomach and ribs but the bruising should heal quite quickly, My King.” Draven’s eyes hardened when he heard this and he motioned with his two fingers for me to come closer. I wanted to as much as I didn’t but in the end knew I had no choice but to do as he ordered. I scooted forward a little, shifting my bum down the bed.

“Lie back,” he ordered and again I swallowed hard at what that commanding voice did to me.

“Do as your told, girl!” Parmida shouted behind him and Draven turned his head to the side in a threatening way to glare at her over his shoulder.

“You do not speak to her in my presence again, am I understood odalik?”

“Oh yes My King, please forgive…” Draven ignored her grovelling apology and turned back to me to cut her off.

“Don’t fear me, my Lamb,” he said nodding for me to do as I was told and this time I quickly lay back. He seemed pleased and I could tell that he wanted to say something more but thought better of it whilst we had company. However, what he didn’t think better of doing was reaching down to my waist and pulling free the loose knot of silk at my side. He slowly pulled up the material through his strong hands and my heart stopped beating for a moment. Then once it was free he started to pull it back, about to reveal my body to him. I don’t know what came over me but in that second I forgot which Draven I was looking at and my hand shot out to grab onto his hand that still gripped a fistful of silk.

Parmida sucked in a horrified breath that I had just restrained the King from doing as he pleased, but right then that sound was lost to the both of us. Because this was the first time I was touching him of my own free will and there was something so profound in that single moment in time that it’s strength affected us both. A first and simple touch for lovers destined to be together for the rest of all eternity was a powerful thing indeed, even if only one of us knew the real strength behind it. Looking into Draven’s eyes in that moment and I knew there was an unmistakable connection that was unfortunately something he didn’t understand.

And that’s when it hit me. This was just like history repeating itself only now the roles were reversed. When we had first met back in my time he knew what I was to him and he knew the importance of that first meeting. But to me, I was left in the dark and feeling confused at the intensity of it all. Well looking at Draven now he was experiencing that first touch as I had done. And when he looked down at my hand over his it was as though he was trying to figure out what it was he was feeling.

“I know you won’t hurt me.” I told him softly, hoping that only he could hear my words as they were just meant for him. He looked back up at me and for the first time it was as if he was seeing me as the girl who was always meant to be his.

He nodded as if he didn’t trust his voice and I removed my hand from his, breaking the connection for a short time. But when he pulled back the silk and revealed my body underneath then the connection was back in the way of invisible sparks that seemed to crackle between us like little electric forks that licked out at our skin.

His eyes scanned up over my body as if he was trying to burn the sight to memory and I blushed at how lustful his gaze became. Then after spending enough time looking at my breasts with heated eyes, his look hardened once more when his gaze returned to my wrapped torso. He ran his hand along my side and I squirmed making him stop.

“Did that hurt?” he asked me with a rough edge to his voice.

“No, sorry My Lord, it just tickled.” I said giving him a little smile which was nowhere near as powerful as the grin I received in return.

“I will have to remember that,” he said smirking at me and once more proving that sometimes two thousand years didn’t change a man from being who he was. I blushed again and when I went to bite my lip he placed his thumb on it and shook his head.

“I don’t think my restraint will last, Little Lamb,” he confessed and I felt my cheeks get even hotter.

“How long before she is well?” Draven asked Parmida after turning his attention back to my wrapped stomach.