“Isn’t that what we all yearn for?” he said in a low tone again, voice longing. “Freedom?”
That question halted my chest from beating for just a little while to push a sentiment of sympathy towards the man.
“Even you?” I dared ask, earning myself a small chuckle from his side.
“Especially me,” he barely confessed. He allowed himself this vulnerability for less than a second before he schooled his features back into the ruthless warrior I had come to know.
“You will have to take care of yourself, March. No one else will. Don’t lose your strength to prove a point, it’s worthless and stupid. You’re smarter than that.”
With that verbal slap that made my cheeks blush, he stood from the bed and made his way towards the exit.
“Aren’t you going to wait and see?” I asked, some irrational part of me unwilling to let him go.
“It’s your choice now, March,” he turned only slightly to say, then opened the tent flaps to leave.
“Nora!” I said instinctively, halting his progress once again. Not ready to end this conversation.
“What?” he turned to me and my heart beat just a little faster when his adamant eyes found me again.
“My name is Nora,” I said pointedly. “Not March. You keep calling me that.”
Dahr dipped his chin but didn’t reply, then pushed himself out of my line of sight.
I ate everything that was brought to me for the rest of the day.
“We’re going to have breakfast together this morning,” Dahr announced as soon as he rolled out of bed to display a stunning backside that he hadn’t revealed to me before.
Just like the artwork within the tent, his entire back was covered in markings. From various symbols to flames, his long and sculpted muscles carried the weight of every emblem around him, like a badge of honour.
A full inferno started at his lower back and crept onto his ribs to display an entire firestorm, which climbed up to his neck, covering his shoulders and back area with a blaze of flames. And since his muscles were so taut and his back was so wide, the fire looked to come to life with every movement, as though to engulf more of the canvas his skin represented.
I had never seen such a thing; I had never witnessed an artwork that resembled the realness of flames in such a natural manner and the optical illusion on his back spread so wide that I even thought I would burn myself if I touched it.
That tattoo was unnervingly beautiful and, pressed under the shimmering skin of his tan, looked to be glowing with firelight.
When Dahr made the announcement and informed me of his decision, I lifted my head to not only acknowledge him, but to study his front and arms, overly curious if the fire had spread through them too. It seems it had not.
“I need to go to the toilet,” I said instead of a greeting, the urgency I had been struggling against all night long demanding an immediate resolution.
“I will send Mira and Slatanya to aid you and will return when the food is ready,” Dahr announced and moved away from me without sparing me a second glance.
Even if I had no desire to pee in a ceramic pot, I had so much urine accumulated within my body that I must have squatted for an entire minute until I felt relief again. Without having to ask, the two brunette women dressed in leather and fur ornaments brought me a small bowl of water, a bar of soap and a towel to wash my hands.
As soon as I was finished, they collected everything and moved out of the tent, leaving me once again on my own.
Mira and Slatanya, I noted their names into memory, taking enough time to settle their details and wondering which one was which.
I didn’t try to speak with them this time because I knew it was futile, and they faked not hearing me. From the fact that I had communicated with three members of their camp, and I perfectly understood the camp gossip I heard through the cracks of the tent, I knew there must have been a specific reason why they didn’t address me, so I didn’t push.
No one had a stand against tradition, so I doubted one female prisoner would make them change their minds. Instead, I settled myself on the furs by the bed for a second morning in arow and waited for breakfast. And for Dahr to return along with it.
This time, he didn’t come carrying a wooden plank filled with food alongside Markos like the day before. Two other men, dark skinned and with short dark hair, dressed in the same fashion of leather brought in various sets of plates, bowls and drinks and set them down on the furs by my side.
“These are Sylam and Grieg,” Dahr arrived in the tent behind them and followed as they continued to arrange delicacies around me. He stood there and waited for them to finish and once they did, he politely thanked them and crouched on the furs close to me, at the other end of the food.
“We’re having breakfast together,” I repeated his earlier announcement and took the opportunity to change my posture into a more comfortable one, that allowed me to reach the plates.
“There is a conversation we need to have,” Dahr announced, just as I reached to grab a slice of bread that had been fried in butter and herbs.
