I suppose this was all due to Mira, so I had to give credit where credit was due. She had braided my wild curls to the side, making my hair look settled and shiny for once and had used bronzer and light nude tones for my eyeshadow and blush to give it a neutral tone that matched the light orange dress that fell over my silhouette. My breasts were pressed neatly in a bra underneath the bodice and my hips moved freely under my new underwear. I felt like new. I was shaved, cleaned and primped, ready to conquer the world.
There was one person, especially, that needed conquering… I grinned to myself.
“Love suits you beautifully, miss,” Mira stepped behind me to reflect herself in the mirror, her gaze pointed at my smile. Luckily I was wearing enough blush, because it did a marvellous job at hiding the crimson sprouting on my cheeks at her remark.
“What can I do to thank you, Mira? You made me look beautiful,” I turned and grabbed her hands, squeezing them in thanks. Compared to Karisha, who was of fair skin and golden hair, Mira’s complexion was a lot harsher. Her darker skin hid numerous scars and whenever the opportunity of touch presented itself, she was always at a far distance. I did not know what she had been through, since I had asked about a possible mate and the only reply I received was ‘may the god spare me of such a thing’. Still, I wanted her to know how grateful I was.
“You are already doing more than enough, miss. We are all beyond grateful for your sacrifice,” she returned the squeeze of my hands and bowed to me slowly, as though I were some sort of queen.
I had no idea what she referred to, but I did not want to contradict her or to upset her. I wanted her to feel cherished and safe, to know that I could become a potential friend, if she so chose.
“The tribe lady is in a meeting at the moment,” she announced, guessing that I would want to display my new outfit to Karisha. Luckily, the news gave me a better idea.
“Thank you so much for today, Mira. I think I will go for a walk, so you are free to rest," I said to her, not knowing if she had other duties. I knew that she spent most of her days with Karisha, helping her with small errands and such that she struggled without the help of her companion Slatanya. Something I was partly responsible for.
Fortunately, Mira seemed more than happy to retire for the day, and I followed her and walked to where Sylam had announced his tent to be. I hadn’t been invited in, and I didn’t know what the procedure with visiting houses without doors was, so I thought that the polite way to announce my presence would be to whisper his name. It was close to midday, so I didn’t want to wake his boys up or disturb his mate, who probably had her hands already full.
“Sylam, it’s Nora,” I started whispering around, circling tent after tent and repeating the message, unsure which tent belonged to my friend. “Sylam?” I asked again, this time with a slightly elevated tone of voice, but hopefully, not enough to disturb the rest of the camp.
“Sylam?”
“What?” a voice snapped at me, and I looked to my right to notice that he was five tents away from the area I had been circling for the past ten minutes.
“I’m sorry to bother you…” I walked to him, hoping that my face would show that I truly was sorry for barging in on him like that.
“What is it, Nora?” he replied with a full tone, not at all concerned that the babies might wake up.
“Can you please take me to the training camp?” I tried to keep my face even as I asked, but a shadow of a grin must have shown on my features, because Sylam tipped his head back and started filling the air around us with a full laugh.
“You want to go in the middle of the training camp, looking like that?” he pointed with his chin at my chest, making me follow his gaze to look down at myself, admiring the effects the push-up bra had on the girls.
“Yes…” I said through my teeth, unsure if he was going to congratulate me or scold me.
“You know Grannicus is going to lose his shit, right?”
“Karisha is in meetings all morning and the last time I did something I wanted, I got punched in the face.” I released the words without realising the effect they would have on Sylam. I still didn’t know exactly what happened, I only remembered him rescuing me from the beach and the last thing I wanted was for him to think that I had any reproach in his direction, so I immediately focused on what I wanted to know.
“He’s been training all his life; can an afternoon really affect his skills that much?” I noted, hoping for approval or at least a nod from this man to tell me I was right, but he did not move an inch. “Plus… I’m bored,” I added part of the truth.
“You are not bored,” Sylam hushed me. “What you are is beautiful, and you want your mate to see you like this. And probably have a heart attack in front of everyone,” he grinned at me with understanding.
“He’s not my mate,” I jumped to correct him, though the words felt false in my mouth. He was not my mate, that was true. He and I did not share what Karisha and Markos had, but we weren’t nothing either. “He’s my… something,” I said, grimacing at my stupid choice of words.
That earned me a frown from Sylam. “Did you not dance at solstice? I swear I saw you two by the fire,” the warrior arched his brows, fact-checking his information.
What was up with dancing? First Karisha, now Sylam. Mira herself had been stranger than usual, more respectful, if I could say so myself. Something was up, that much I knew. Maybe I could pose a question or two to make Sylam tell me more. After all, there was nothing a man liked more than to educate a woman. “I know the ritual but, it’s not common for humans,” I tried to play the ignorant.
“But you did dance,” Sylam tilted his head to the side to prove a point.
“Yes, I invited, and he accepted. We danced.” I repeated information I had told Karisha before, which he seemed mighty interested in.
“March, you broke the Grannicus,” Sylam started clapping in slow motion and dipping his chin to me as he did so. He even added a small bend of the waist, in a deep salute to my confused self.
“But… that doesn’t mean…” I shook my head. Waiting. Hoping that he would fill in the blanks.
“A man can make an invitation to show his intention of choosing a partner from the camp, and even that doesn’t happen very often. But if a woman has made her forever choice, she will go to him in front of everyone and claim him. It doesn’t matter that you are human or his prisoner. There was an invitation, an acceptance, and a public dance under the solstice sky. Your mating ritual is initiated,” Sylam said matter of fact, then stopped and looked at me with wide eyes, as if he’d just then realised something.
“What?” I didn’t even know how I had any focus left to ask the question because… my god… Had I just unknowingly asked Dahr to be my mate? And he’d accepted? Was this some sort of drake engagement I had no clue about?
