The Dreamblood Duology by Jemisin N. K

Author:Jemisin, N. K. [Jemisin, N. K.]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Tags: Fiction / Romance / Fantasy, Fiction / Fantasy / Epic, Fiction / Action &#38, Adventure
Publisher: Orbit
Published: 2016-12-19T16:00:00+00:00

9

Courtship

The journey from Gujaareh to the desert was lengthy and boring. To thwart possible pursuers, Wanahomen chose not to go west immediately, instead heading south to one of the upriver towns, where he treated himself to one last hot bath and Gujaareen meal before trading his horse and workman’s guise for his camel and desert robes. Not the veil, of course, or any of the other tribal markers of a Banbarra; he’d even removed all of Laye-ka’s telltale tack and ornaments before leaving for the journey, and stabling her in the town. While he was in the Gujaareen Territories, he was simply a desertman from one of the dozens of small tribes that made their living in Gujaareh’s shadow. Only when Wanahomen reached the foothills, which marked the border between the Blood river valley and the desert, did he adopt the final layers of his Banbarra self: the veil, the looping headcloth, the indigo-and-tan robes.

He spent the journey through the hills in a kind of meditation, his thoughts pressed inward by the rhythm of Laye-ka’s sure gait and the monotonous scenery of sun-seared rock. He had conceived a hundred plans along the journey in, but on this trip his thoughts were occupied by something altogether different.

Did you enjoy that, my Prince? Let me show you more.

Tiaanet. Gods, what a woman. He would marry her, of course. That had been Sanfi’s intention, as obvious as the day was bright, and Wanahomen meant to oblige him. Despite the heat of the day he shivered at the memory of her lips, of her hands working magic on his flesh, of her patience in drawing out his release until he thought he might die of pleasure. How had she learned such skill? It didn’t matter. He had to have her again, and if that meant making Sanfi grandsire to the next royal heir, then so be it.

By midday he had lost himself in fantasies, hardly bothering to direct Laye-ka as she plodded along the trail between two jagged outcroppings. When Kite-iyan was his again, he would install Tiaanet in his own suite, just as his father had honored his mother. And would not his mother be pleased by his choice of a shunha maiden as firstwife? Sanfi’s lineage was a fine old one, eminently respectable—

Pebbles rattled on a ledge above.

Startled out of daydreaming, Wanahomen scrabbled for his knife and Laye-ka’s reins at once, scanning the heights for movement or an out-of-place shadow.

Nothing.

Laye-ka grunted loudly as if chastising Wanahomen. He ignored her, continuing to scan the ledges as she plodded onward. There was no further movement, but Wanahomen’s nerves were still a-jangle. The rock slopes on this part of the trail were too close and too littered with small caverns and boulders. He should never have allowed his attention to wander in a place so perfect for ambush.

Prompted by instinct, he dismounted and led Laye-ka off the main trail and up a narrow gulley carved by the springtime rains. It ran near the same slope

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