Page 67 of Prize for the King
Arvi pulls back, sensing the change in my mood. “What’s wrong?” he asks, eyes narrowed in the same challenge I issued at him just a moment ago.
I have an urge to deflect, to say I’m fine, but… He was brutally honest with me. I owe him the same.
“I lied to him, the man who tried to take me away. I said the marriage was consummated, thinking he would leave me alone, but he said I only had to use a cream.” I turn my face away and say the rest through a tight throat. “A cream that makes used women as good as new.”
Both men curse in the Agnidari language, and I shrug, still not looking at them. If I were completely honest, which I can’t be, I’d say that I feel pretty used in ways no cream can help.
“He was a cad,” I say, faking nonchalance. “I’m glad he’s dead.”
Arvi lifts my chin with his knuckle. I meet his gaze with a mixture of embarrassment and hope.Maybe being used doesn’t matter.
“You could have fucked a hundred men, and I would still want you and worship you as my queen. There is no such thing as aused woman,” he says with disgust. “Fuck, I really wish you haven’t chopped off his head, Raduna. I’d love to teach him how to speak to a lady.”
“I regret it very much,” Raduna rumbles, a growl echoing in his usually steady voice. “If I could elaborate on what Arvi expressed so vividly, my queen. Humans put much stock in a woman’s virginity, the ancients only know why. We don’t. Faithfulness is, of course, sacred in a marriage, but before a woman gets married, she’s pretty much free to do as she wants. Same goes for men. There is a medicine women take to prevent pregnancy, and that’s it.”
My stomach chooses this moment to rumble, reminding me Ihaven’t eaten since noon. Raduna jumps to his feet. “Arvi, no offence, but you’re a lousy cook. I’ll make you food myself, my queen. We can’t risk you being poisoned.”
He bows and walks away, leaving me alone with Arvi, who cocks an eyebrow.
“Guess I’m on bath duty, then. I bet I can undress you faster than Khay.”
He spins his knife until it blurs, his eyes gleaming as brightly as his piercing.
XX Arvi
I take a step back, at which Arvi snickers, putting the knife away at his belt. “I was joking,laruna.Come on, they have plumbing, and I picked you a room with a private bathroom. It’s through there.”
He points at a set of narrow doors I thought led to a built-in wardrobe. When he opens them, there is indeed a bathroom with a toilet, washbasin below a tiny mirror, and a metal bathtub. It’s smaller and less ornate than the one in Vardi’s castle, but I should be able to bathe comfortably. Arvi lights more candles around it, turning the sparsely furnished room into a charming space.
I touch my hair in deliberation as I wonder if I could go a few more days without washing it, but that’s not important right now. Arvi leans against the wall, watching me with hooded eyes. It’s now or never. I feel too embarrassed to do this in front of Raduna. Arvi’s straightforward bluntness makes me bold enough to ask him.
I take a deep breath and blurt out what I need to say before fear tangles my tongue.
“Khay made me think knights take the queen in a different way than Magnar. Can you explain?”
Arvi’s eyes widen, and for once, he looks miffed. “I think Raduna will explain it better,” he demurs. “I’ll probably scare you, not that itisscary, though maybe it is for a woman, and I… oh, bollocks.”
He closes his eyes and thumps the back of his head into the wall with a mighty thud. I flinch, scared he hurt himself, but Arvi sighs and opens his eyes, unharmed.
“So, I had this girl before Magnar knighted me,” he says, twirling a knife between his fingers, which I think might be a nervous habit. “She was adventurous and far more experienced than me. Doesn’t matter. What I mean to say is, she put her fingers up my ass one time, and I thought it wouldn’t be that much fun, but she was so gentle and sweet that it ended up being the best romp of my life so far.”
I swallow and nod slowly, remembering Khay’s fingers roaming in bathwater and his hot whispers.This might be ours.
“So, ah, it was pleasant? Fingers… in there?”
Arvi nods emphatically. “Yeah. Very pleasant. I mean, when it’s gentle and slow, and it will be! But the crux of the problem is that, well, cocks are kinda thicker and longer than fingers. Some… a lot thicker and longer. It may sound unappealing when you’re not, you know, horny, but once you are, it might… sound like a good idea.”
He looks away, the knife twirling faster and faster as Arvi’s cheeks stain with a purple blush. He groans in embarrassment.
“I fucked it up, didn’t I? You hate it. I get it. All right, why don’t you take that bath, and I’ll wait in the bedroom if you need me. I’m sorry.”
“But I hoped you’d wash my hair.”
The words slip out of my mouth before I’m done processing the chaotic ramble of Arvi’s explanation. He stumbles into a stop in the bathroom’s doorway and turns.
“Yeah? Really? Thank you!”
I can’t help but laugh. I’m lightheaded from hunger and the violent events of today.
