The War of Queens

Chapter 5

Asha

 The woods were silent and tense, air thick with moisture and taut as a bowstring ready to shoot. Her golden eyes were fixed onto the bird, which blended in perfectly with its surroundings. Hidden in plain sight, a perfect disguise. If she had blinked, she would have lost it.

 Without looking away, she placed a stone into her sling and wrapped her hand around its end. Lifting it above her head, she swung it quickly, already aware of that the bird would fly and where it would fly. The first stone missed, but the second followed in less than a heartbeat and hit its goal square in the head.

 She ran through the woods swiftly to the point where she had seen it fall. She found it in the midst of the trees, beneath a few bushes.

 “A good shot,” Hiram’s voice sounded from behind her.

 She jerked upwards, the bird tight in her hand. He smiled at the sight of her and walked to her slowly.

 “They’re hard to catch,” he complimented.

 “You were supposed to be in the village, taking care of…” She had forgotten what he had told her that morning when he left her bed. “Something.”

 He smirked. “Anaïs sent me to fetch you.” His hand wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer as his lips descended on hers. The heat that began washing from her lips and chest into her lower belly was familiar and she quickly responded to him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and running her fingers through his hair.

 Once his lips moved from her mouth to her neck, she gasped and said, “What did she want?”

 “It can wait,” he said and she dropped her bird as he pushed her against a tree.

 Their relationship was in every way unofficial – she was the Kahari and not allowed to bind herself and he liked to travel. On the other hand, she liked to listen to his stories and he liked her responsibility, so it worked for them. And, of course, she thought with a sly smile, there were benefits from being parted for longer periods of time. That night had been evidence to that.

 His mouth searched out hers and all thoughts were washed from her mind as she tried to comprehend as much as to returning the kiss and running her hands down his chest, and further than that. When he groaned and ground into her, she knew that the next few minutes would be another one of those benefits.

 They returned from the woods, happy and sated. Anaïs eyed them with a small smile as they entered the village before clearing her face for emotion. Her age showed in small wrinkles around the eyes and mouth as well as on her forehead and she no longer ran as quickly as she had used to. Still, she was far from too old to understand.

 “Asha,” she called out to catch her attention. “Can I speak to you?”

 “Of course.” Asha let her lead them away from the rest of the villagers, into the shelter of the woods, before asking, “What is this about?”

 “I went to the desert last night,” Anaïs began, her voice taking the tone it often took when she spoke as jakeen. “The stars have changed. A war is coming, and this one will need you.”

 “Is it the war of the six queens?” The night they had found Anaïs, unconscious and near-dead in the midst of the sand, blood tainting her hand and the little, golden corns, stood clear to Asha’s mind. So did the words Anaïs had spoken when she regained her consciousness.

 “Yes,” Anaïs replied. “It is coming, and soon. Very soon. I suspect we will reach word today.”

 “Asha!” a man called.