“Very well, I can see you have a lot to clear out here,” he said to me, then turned to Dahr. “Let us know when you need us,” Markos dipped his chin before he turned on his heels and walked out of the tent, leaving me alone with Dahr once again.
“You should really go train, we wouldn’t want any innocent person to escape my town and ruin your reputation, would we?” I snapped at him before I pulled the heavy blankets over my head and pressed them tightly, trying to keep the world away for at least a few more minutes.
Surprisingly, especially for someone who insisted on remaining by my side throughout the day, Dahr stayed quiet for the longest time. He only disturbed the silence that I had weaved into the tent to ask me basic questions.
“Do you want breakfast?”
I had not replied.
“Do you want some water?”
No reply.
“Something stronger?”
Again, no reply.
By lunchtime, he must have taken his cue because I heard the clank of plates and cutlery as he proceeded to eat on his own, without bothering to tell me that lunch was ready or ask if I wanted to join him.
My stomach grumbled at the thought of all the food he must be enjoying while I digested my own acid. I couldn’t even remember the last time I ate. Was it breakfast yesterday morning? I had served myself some snacks in Karisha’s tent before my emotions took the better of me and everything shattered.
I wasn’t sure if the desperate sounds of my stomach pleading for food were audible enough to be heard from under the mountain of blankets I had covered myself with or if Dahr simply liked to play games. What I knew was that he felt the sudden need to emphasise every single noise he made as he was eating.
The sound of the knife scratching the plate to cut what I assumed was a juicy piece of steak, the butter and herbs potatoes that filled the tent with a rich aroma, to which Dahr groaned every time he shoved some in his mouth, the sound of ripping bread and even gulps of drink. Topped off with a satisfied ‘aaaaahhhh’.
I groaned, hating myself for what I was about to do. Justifying my action with the reasoning that I needed to keep my strength. The last thing I needed was to get a brain fog because I was stubborn enough not to nurture my body. I needed my muscles at their full capacity, able to hold a weapon whenever I chose to.
Sighing and feeling as though I was admitting temporary defeat, I pushed the blankets away to reveal myself. Dahr’s eyes had been pinned on me the whole time, probably studying the effects those noises had on me and, when I rose from the bed, my intention obvious, he moved over to the side and started fixing me a plate.
By the time I took a seat opposite him, I already had a juicy piece of steak, and half a plate filled with potatoes, wild garlic and pickled vegetables in front of me.
Dahr proceeded to serve me a glass of water and a glass of wine, after which he kept quiet and focused solely on his plate, holding his gaze pinned to his food to let me eat in peace. No more sounds of enjoyment came out after that.
Even though I saw right through him, I was appreciative of the silent invitation and the fact that he did not push this meal into a conversation. Choosing my comfort rather than his gain.
Sounds of chewing and cutlery scraping against plates were the only ones that connected us for long minutes. When Dahr finished his meal, he continued to stare down like a grounded child, scared to face the parent that had punished him and waiting to be excused from the table.
I did my best not to acknowledge him and continued eating until I was full enough to burst, drank two glasses of water, after which I placed the fork and knife over my empty plate and removed myself from his proximity and back into bed.
To my surprise, Dahr did not follow and chose to remain at the table to clean the dishes. He worked for minutes scraping plates and placing them in piles, collecting all the cutlery and placing it upside down in one of the mugs and when everything was done, he walked over with the pile of discarded plates and dishes outside the tent. To someone who would clean them, I assumed.
To my shame, I hadn’t seen the full process of how this was done, since food generally appeared on the table, and I had been too consumed by other interests to pay much attention to cleaning.
When everything was ready and the table was cleared, Dahr sat in his chair, facing the wall of the tent, his back to me. The warrior spread out some of the maps he’d kept piled up and started organising and opening them as well as setting strategic placeholders and marking other territories.
I watched his naked back arching to adjust the maps or to scribble something, the flames on his skin catching life with the movements of his relaxed muscles. His hair fell down his shoulder in an ebony river that flowed and relaxed when Dahr’s hands moved to the side, either to reach or to note something, the soft curls bounding back and forth in an untamed dance.
I stayed back and looked at him for what seemed like an eternity. I admired the way the specks of sunlight coming from outside caressed his naked skin, how his trapeze-shaped back burnt under that long tattoo and how his muscles tensed and relaxed to give him a godlike shape.
I remembered how fascinated I had been with his figure and how much I would have liked to immortalise him somehow. How, even before I had him, I had dreamt of possessing such a man. He was untamed, savage and raw, a brute with a heart of embers.
On their own accord, my legs brought me closer to him. The soles of my feet stepped on the furry carpets, careful not to draw attention and pull him back from the trance he’d immersed himself into. I reached the side of the table and studied him from above, observing how his fingers moved and scribbled over a piece of parchment, in a language I did not understand.
“What is that?” I pressed the question with softness, not wanting to disturb his action, the words flowing from his wrist with urgency and roughness.
“A letter,” Dahr replied as he raised his adamant eyes to me without stopping his writing. They slowly moved to guide me to the seat in front of him and I obeyed. “Telling Raakim that I will abstain from using my power from now onwards.”
“What?” my heart beat out of my chest and jumped to place itself in Dahr’s hands, because he’d just grabbed and squeezed all the hatred out of it with that single sentence.
