A Sinless Betrayal - Cherie Benjamin (paper ebook reader .TXT) 📗

mine. He is already adopting the ways of a little prince.

The people have brought gifts for the new prince, blessing him and wishing him a life of comfort and fortune. My back has healed, and my pregnancy wounds are as well, making it easier for me to make my way around.

Abigor comes into the throne room after me, standing with his hands on his hips and looking at our thrones. "You have been in here for quite the long time," he whispers with a little quirk of his lips.

"Well, your son is quite captivated by it. Especially your throne," I comment, stroking Wolf Claw's soft black hair.

"Tell him he cannot have my throne quite yet," Abigor chuckles. "He has much to learn from his father."

I smile at him. He says those words with such pride. "Would you like to hold him?" I ask. Abigor hasn't held our son since his birth. He turns to face me, looking down at the small child resting in my arms.

I hand Wolf Claw up to Abigor. My husband looks completely shocked at how truly tiny our child is. Such a large, muscular beast of a man holding a sweet little baby is a sight to see. A weakness is Wolf Claw to Dances With Wolves.

I walk behind him, my head coming up to the middle of his back. I kiss his scars, skirting my fingers across his hot, smooth skin. He turns his head and dips down to kiss the crown of my forehead. "Thank you," he whispers.

Chuckling, I look up at him. "For what?"

"Everything," he replies. "I couldn't imagine my world without you. I don't think I could have done it."

He holds up Wolf Claw and smiles at him. Mimicking his father, the baby smiles back at him. He laughs, kissing the child's cheek before handing him back to me. "I must go to the Battle Tactics room. I need to know how my naval fleets are doing, and the messenger should be here soon."

I nod my head, clutching the child to my breast. "Alright."

"Ina suka mutu, idan ta kasance ba a gare ku." Abigor says. "My nauyi dã crushed ni gaba daya."

I frown, puzzled by this sentence. I know most of the language, but I do not know this phrase. "What…what does it mean?" I ask, catching Abigor's wrist.

He turns around and faces me. "I shall not tell you," he says. His fingers brush across my collarbone and over the topaz necklace he gave me. "Our hears will speak for us."

"A zuciya ga zuciya?"

He grins. "Na'am. Koyaushe." Messenger

Drinks Of Waterfall tends to his wounded shoulder (the one with no arm attached) while holding Red Flower in his good arm. She watches with big brown eyes as her father rubs at the stitches holding his skin together. Michelle watches him with slight sadness as he still hasn't gotten over the fact that his arm was gone and it wasn't coming back, leaving a mangled stump in its wake.

But when she kisses said stump, he smiles at her and returns a kiss to her forehead. I look down at Wolf Claw, in my own arms. He is still intensely staring at Red Flower; he's been staring at her for a while now. It's been a month since I had him.

The Vengeance War was reaching its bloody end, both sides of the fight slowly getting tired of doing what they were meant to do—fight. Last night I urged Abigor to accept the treaty that Pateros offered up, dragging a reluctant Bellechester along with them.

Though the barbarians were dominating the northern and eastern kingdoms, the soldier count was getting dangerously lower and lower every day.

The document, made by Prince Titus of Pateros, stated that the fighting would stop only if the raiding and stealing would stop. And if the raiding and stealing stopped, then they would offer to peacefully trade with our kingdom. Abigor at first refused, claiming that since they started the war and threatened me, that they would feel his wrath until they had only one soldier left, no matter how many lives it took.

Eventually, he realized that if the fighting went on, more of his valuable men would be sacrificed because of the greed that his line had always harboured. He sent back an approval letter with a messenger, saying that Prince Titus would be allowed to send his and King Phillip of Bellechester' approval letters back to his kingdom with a messenger and that the treaty would be able to end the Vengeance War.

Sitting in the dining hall on a blustery winter night, the walls around us are brightly illuminated with torches and roaring hearths. I prod at my chicken meat lazily with a shiny golden fork while Abigor literally wolfs down all of his food, having the servants bring him more for his fourth helping of chicken, potatoes, and beans.

As we wrap up our meal, I notice a chance in Abigor's demeanour. He is no longer angry and demanding like he used to be. Now that his conflicts are gone, he seems peaceful. He has his family and he's happy. Happy, for the first time in years, he'd said to me.

Happy, I feel, for being the one that could give him that vital part of his life back.

Wolf Claw is whining in front of me, his fingers submerged in my potatoes. I sigh and wipe his little fingers off with a handkerchief and smile. "Always hungry," I say. "Just like your father."

Abigor hears me and smiles tenderly. "Someday he will be just like his father. I can see me in everything he does."

Wolf Claw grins and laughs. I look up at him, a little smile playing on my lips. The doors of the dining hall abruptly open and in comes Abigor's messenger. The scrawny young boy bows in his king and queen's presence.

Abigor nods at him to come forth. The boy scrambles to his feet and holds a white letter out in front of him, marked with a teal coloured seal. "Ubangijina! A wasika daga Prince na Pateros." (My lord! A letter from the Prince of Pateros.)

Quickly, with his eyebrows furrowed together, Abigor wipes his greasy hands on his handkerchief. He then takes the smooth white parchment from out of the messenger's hand and looks at it.

The shiny teal seal. He looks up at me. I nod encouragingly at him, hugging my baby closer to my chest. Abigor opens it, his eyes scanning over the sheet of parchment before breaking out into a slow, satisfied smile. "The war has ended," he announces. "We have won! They have surrendered!"

The whole room breaks out into a loud sort of chaos—a chaos of excitement. Brothers, sons, and fathers would be sent back home to their families. They'd live to see peace again.

The letter was dropped as Abigor hugged Drinks of Waterfall and Three Horses, so I took the opportunity and read it.

Sarki Raye-Raye Da Wolves,

I come to you with this treaty to be able to negotiate terms. I am Prince Titus Auerelis of Pateros. My mother is Queen Amelie Ophelia, and my wife, Princess Sera of the iron kingdom, Bellechester. Since this Vengeance War has started, the well-being of my kingdom and Bellechester has been at an all-time low. Food is scarce since the first rations go to the army, poverty is more prominent than ever, and to put my people through more fighting when they are losing would be cruel punishment.

I, along with King Phillip of Bellechester, propose to you that this war draw its bloody doors closed and bury itself six feet under the ground. Being young, I only know what my mother has told me of the barbarians. You have stolen from our kingdoms for millennia, taking everything and anything that you wanted from us. And being two strong kingdoms, we retaliated and stood up for ourselves.

Seeing the casualty numbers rising each and every day, King Phillip and I have conversed and come to terms with a treaty that offers something to the both of us in exchange for the termination of the war since we are not blind, and we can clearly see the outcome of this war will not be in favor of our side.

We propose that the war shall end if barbarian raid parties you send out shall be no more. You must cease to steal, kill, and plunder our innocent villages. In exchange for your mercy, we shall agree to trade with you. We shall trade fine silks and jewels and foods if you shall accept such an offer.

We hope that our kingdoms can someday unite and form a strong alliance.

Prince Titus and King Phillip

I fold up the letter and look up at Abigor with tears in my eyes. The day has come. Oh, glorious day! Abigor takes Wolf Claw from my arms and throws him into the air, laughing at kissing our son's chubby red cheeks.

"Tonight," he announces. "We have a shagali!"

0o0o0o0o

Evalyn takes care of Wolf Claw for me while Abigor and I get ready for our shagali in the bedroom. I strip off my heavy furs until I am naked as the day I was born. He stands beside me, equally as naked.

In the mirror before us, I can see my back, lashed with a fleshy pink scar. And I see his back, decorated with the same kinds of scars. "See us," I chuckle softly. "We look alike now."

He turns to see what I speak of. Seeing the scar on my back being compared to his, he frowns. "Is not funny," he grumbles. "I am sorry you have that. I do not want you to look like me."

"No," I whisper, coming up behind him and pressing my body into his. "This scar is a part of who I am now. I am not ashamed of it. The gods work in mysterious ways…you should know that out of bad things come many good things."

He turns and looks at me, his deep chocolate eyes searching mine. "What is it about you," he murmurs, staring deep into my eyes like he's trying to see straight through me. "You could revive a flower shrouded in darkness for a century with just one word, one touch of your hand."

"And what is it about you," I reply. "With one stare you could make an army tremble in fear…with one stare, you could make a simple noblewoman go against her customs, betray her kingdom and fall in love."

He suddenly grabs my jaw, crashing his lips down onto mine. I sink into his arms, letting his lips devour mine. His tongue slides along my lips, delving inside of my mouth as I open them to grant his entrance.

He grasps me harder, pushing me back towards the bed. I land on the pillows, laughing as his lips latch onto my neck and bite down hard. I use all my strength to roll us both over so that I'm on top. Normally he'd take me from his position up top, but I felt as if I wanted to be the one pleasuring him tonight. For his victory, of course.

Abigor's eyes grow blacker and blacker with lust as I sit on his abdomen, his member standing up against my backside. He bucks up into me impatiently. "Let me," I murmur. "Let me."

Slowly, I