Lilith Enraptured (Divinity Warriors 1)

by Pillow Michelle M.

  “You pulled me aside to tell me you don’t like your chair?” He chuckled, the sound low and incredibly seductive. “Very well. You will receive a new one.”

  “It’s not the chair. It’s the staring and waving and watching and people trying to talk to me and…” She didn’t want to move. When he was next to her, she didn’t think about freedom or escaping. She couldn’t see past his eyes. “Do marriages last forever in Staria?”

  To her surprise, he let her go. She stayed against the wall, watching him put distance between them. “You cannot end the marriage.”

  “This is what I’m talking about. This whole ‘us’ issue. You make these definite decrees but you don’t tell me why. You don’t even answer my questions. I didn’t ask how to get out of our arrangement.” Calling what they had a marriage seemed strange. “I just asked if marriages, here in Staria, lasted forever.”

  “Until death.” He gritted his teeth. “Women especially are expected to find another mate. So you do not wish to end the marriage?”

  It was her turn to refuse to answer outright. “We don’t know each other. We skipped a lot of important steps here. I just want to get to know you. Is that such an outlandish request?”

  “What ‘steps’?” The ice melted by small degrees from his face, and she got the distinct impression that he chuckled inwardly at her. “What is it you want to know?”

  “Like, why me? Why did you pick me? Be honest and don’t say the gods.” She held up a finger in warning. “Unless they walk in the front door and say, ‘hey, it’s us, the gods, I don’t want to hear their opinion in the matter.”

  He sighed, nodding once. “Very well. I did not plan to take a wife but realized it was time. Duty demands I lead by example and that I have sons to carry on my name and position. Should I die and Ronen as well, there will be none left to lead in our places. The Firewall armies will fall to another, and the hope and sacrifice of our noble ancestors will be forever buried in the past. Staria’s defenses could weaken and the Caniba tribes could finally make their way across our borders in full force. Plus, by taking you, I do not have to continue to go to the marriage ceremonies. I can stay on the battlefront with my men.”

  War. She asked why she was chosen and the answer was war. Lilith bit her lips and looked to the floor. Well, she had wanted honesty. It wasn’t exactly a profession of love at first sight.

  Sorin leaned over, forcing her to once again meet his gaze. “You are disappointed in my answer. You asked for honesty.”

  “I know I did. It’s not like I expected you to profess love or break into song or anything.” She gave a nervous laugh, almost wishing she hadn’t asked to learn more. “That would be ridiculous.”

  “Love?” His arms dropped to his sides, tilting his head in question.

  “You don’t know what that is?” How sad. “A man and woman meet, over time they have feelings that aren’t just physical…”

  “I understand the concept. Many of the women brought to us by the fairies speak of romantic love and it is written in our legends. Most marriages even foster genuine affection over time, but our ways do not give consequence to such notions. Marriages are unions. Women need men to protect them, to fight so they do not have to. Men need children and physical release. We stay faithful because the gods demand discipline. War demands discipline.”

  No wonder the man left her bed with hardly a word. She was pretty much a concubine with privileges of his station. Whatever girlish hope she’d refused to acknowledge died a little. Sorin offered sex, which admittedly was a great checkmark in the plus category. He offered protection so long as he lived. But what if he died? The thought caused tears to well in her eyes. She blinked them back. In this war torn land it was a great possibility that a solider would parish in battle. Then what? She had to go “marry” the next guy who grabbed her arm and said, “mine”? What if the next guy wasn’t so restrained? Or smelled funny? Or happened to be a pig farmer who lived forever and condemned her to an eternity of mucking pens?

  I really don’t belong here.

  Lilith trembled. She didn’t want anyone else to claim her. Out of all the men in this dimension, Sorin definitely ranked as a top catch, if she ignored the fact that he’d never come to love her and she’d been chosen on impulse more than emotion.

  “You do not speak.” He pulled her attention back to him by slipping a finger under her chin. “Is that all you wished to know?”

  Lilith thought about lying, but he’d been honest with her. She could at least return the gesture. “No.”

  “What else?” He inched closer.

  “I’m not sure. Some things can’t be learned from a series of questions, Sorin, but from time. Perhaps we could do something together.”

  His eyes lit with interest. “Something?”

  “Not that something, something else.” Even as she denied it, the idea had great merit. “Something fun.”

  “I need to bathe, you may join me.” He grinned, unmistakably aroused.

  “Like doing something outside, fully clothed.”

  “A ride?” he offered. “Treacherous Pass should be dry.”

  “I don’t ride,” she said.

  “You wish to,” he thought for a moment before finishing, “practice with blades?”

  Lilith shook her head in denial. “I don’t blade.”

  “No blades?” Sorin questioned in disbelief. “Not even a knife? Dagger? Short sword?”

  “I’m a fair aim with a gun, but that’s it.” Shooting had been a required course in her academy training before hiring on with Divinity.

  “Gun?”

  “Never mind.” The last thing Lilith was going to do was add to their arsenal of war implements. They could find their own ways to hurt each other. She frowned. What had Divinity been thinking? Sending her here with all she knew of the other planes. What if she introduced nuclear science or showed them how to make gunpowder? And not just her, but the other women as well. They could really injure a whole society by helping it to advance too quickly.

  “What do you think about when you look like that?” His finger slid over her jaw in a light caress. He furrowed his brow and scrunched his nose, mimicking her.

  Lilith gave a halfhearted shrug. “I analyze and take mental notes of things. It’s how I process…it’s not interesting.”

  “You are female,” he declared as if it was a great discovery. “I will take you to Battlewar market. Women like the market.”

  Lilith smiled at his expectant look and nodded. The man seemed very proud of himself. She envisioned rows of sword blades and battle axes with matching sheathes. They’d probably throw in inducements like free blade sharpeners with every sword purchase. “Sounds perfect.”

  Okay, so one lie won’t hurt.

  “I must bathe first.” Sorin began to back away. “Lady Alana has requested a private audience with you. She is waiting—”

  “Audiences, by nature, are public,” Lilith broke in, not wanting to talk to the woman.

  “It means they wish permission to speak to you. I believe they desire to have a fire ceremony. As the highest-ranking lady in the castle, you must approve.”

  “Permission?” Lilith frowned. “They didn’t need permission to call me a witch and hurl insults. I don’t see why I should give them permission to talk.”

  “That was before we—”

  “Don’t say it!” Lilith held up her hands. “I’ll go audience them and tell them no.”

  “Fire ceremonies are well received by the townsfolk. It would be a nice gesture, a gift if you will from their new lady.” Sorin gave a small bow and hurried from the hall. She detected his feet hitting hard on the stone as he rushed up the tower steps.

  How fitting would that be? A fire ceremony for the people who wanted to burn her as a witch.

  “My lady?” Lady Alana came around the corner, as if she’d been waiting for Sorin to leave. Lilith thought it a good thing she didn’t give in to the desire to kiss him. It might not have
stopped there. Sorin already proved himself to be a man willing to pleasure her no matter where they were at.

  “I’ll give you an audience, Lady Alana,” Lilith lifted her chin up in the air and brushed past the woman. “Tomorrow.”

  Chapter Nine

  The bright day brought with it a perfect mixture of sunny warmth and cool breeze. Battlewar market teemed with activity. Permanent booths of the local tradesmen clustered together to form narrow walkways impossible to pass through on horse. They butted against the inner bailey wall, packed tight with merchandise. To the south, off the main road through town, traveling merchants set up horse-drawn carts, side by side, and sold wares out of the back. They decorated them with brightly colored strips of material to draw the eye.

  A woman with flowers sang loudly, not the songs of Staria but from whatever land the fairies brought her. She paused long enough to lean over to a group of men and receive a kiss from each of them.

  “So not everyone is a warrior,” Lilith observed from his side. “Inside the castle they made it sound like every man went to war.”

  Sorin tried to act nonchalant, but it was hard not to reach over and lift Lilith from the ground to twirl her about. She was light enough. He could carry her for miles and never get tired. The breeze caused the scarf around her neck to flutter, lifting just enough for him to get a glimpse of a lifted breast. “Not by daily trade, but most have fought in battle and would answer the call to arms should the king command it.”

  He escorted her past the booths, enjoying the way she tried not to get excited about a stack of scrolls and giant silver-edged books, yet completely glanced over a stack of lace and ribbons. When she accepted his offer to take her to market, he’d been ecstatic to know she would let him show her as his wife for the whole town to see. And see they did. Wherever Lilith walked people stared and pointed and tried to get her attention with a smile. She acknowledged everyone with a little wave, but didn’t seem pleased by it. More often than not, Lilith would try to hide in the shadows or turn his direction down the less crowded path. Being born into his position, Sorin thought nothing of the attention.

  At first, it seemed odd that she wanted to “know him” and he had a difficult time making conversation flow. Bianka had never tried to know him. She just took what she wanted and left him with a tattered reputation. Normally, with the other knights, he would discuss battles, training, wenching, tournaments, duty and honor, or generally cursed the Caniba tribes. Lilith wanted to know about him—what he thought about living in a castle surrounded by so many people, if he liked a particular shade of blue, if he read books or sang or played games or did any number of un-knightly type things. But the more she talked, the more he realized he didn’t have much of these other things in his life. Castles were acceptable, but he’d lived most of his life in an encampment inside a tent and surrounded by nature. Blue was a fine enough color, but he preferred the red of his family crest. He read missives from the king, sang drinking songs around a campfire and he played games, but they were tournaments designed to enhance battle skills.

  With each answer he gave, he saw a pitying wave cross over her eyes. He didn’t like it. Any other woman would be proud of his accomplishments and life. Lilith appeared sad for him, but she never said anything about it beyond a nod of her head and a thoughtful, “Oh.”

  “Can I ask you something else?” Lilith paused near the end of a cart selling raw leather and touched a couple of pieces.

  “Yea.” Sorin suppressed a smile. She’d been asking him questions all day. Seeing the merchant, he pointed down to a stack of leather strips, held up two fingers and pointed toward the castle. The man nodded, not moving from his place next to the cart. Like always, Lilith didn’t seem to notice his purchase.

  “Is Jayne dead? And the others who were in the cell with me? Are they all right?” She turned her eyes to him and he hated the frightened expression in their depths. “Sera said you sent the two who had philter home, is that true?”

  “I did not,” he stated. “It’s not my duty to see to it, but they were sent back to Divinity unharmed. They were not suitable.”

  “And I am?” She gave a small laugh. “They didn’t exactly interview us. They just looked in a cell and pointed at the two who were crying.”

  A measure of pride filled him. “You carried yourself well.”

  “So the others? Karre, Paige and Jayne?”

  “Jayne we shall see in a few months and you can ask her yourself, but my brother would not harm her.” Sorin silently added, Unless he had to. “Sir Aiden has taken Lady Paige to their home. Sir Vidar and Lady Karre reside near the battlefront at Spearhead. I am sure both ladies are well. We do not beat our women…” He lowered his voice and slipped his hand along her hip, daring to touch her and hoping she didn’t shy away like in the hall. “Unless they ask us to.”

  She shivered but didn’t jerk away. “I’ve been watching, listening, since I’ve arrived. I know you need women because you don’t have a lot of your own. I know you made a deal with Divinity.”

  “Yea, we did. They approached us during battle. We almost slew them as allies to the Caniba.”

  Lilith slipped away from his touch and he felt an acute disappointment. Sorin followed her past the next cart of animal pelts, pointed at two soft furs, and motioned to the merchant. Not wanting the conversation to die, he told her about the first meeting with Divinity, the otherworlders’ proposal for trade and assurance that they could find willing women who’d love to come to live at Staria.

  The light clanking of a blacksmith drew Lilith’s attention as she watched the man forge a blade. Sorin knew him well. Helmut produced some of the finest swords in all of Staria. He had several hanging on his weapons’ wall.

  “But they didn’t tell us about it. They kidnapped us and sent us here.” Lilith motioned toward the center of the market. Peasants continued to mill about, the busy sounds of their daily lives oddly comforting in their familiarity. “I’ve seen plenty of women who appear unattached. Why not marry one of them?”

  “Unattached?” Sorin frowned, following her gaze. “Where?” He’d only seen three unattached females, but it would be years before any man thought of marrying them.

  “Everywhere,” she stated. Lilith looked around, finding a willowy sprite of a woman next to a group of five men. “There. She looks single and she’s pretty. No wonder all five men are fighting for her attention. Why not seduce her with your power and rank? Or there, the dancing flower lady, I’ve seen her kiss three different men.”

  “They were her husbands,” Sorin explained.

  Lilith paled and she gasped. “You mean, I could have more than one husband?” She hugged her arms around her waist. “They could just come up and choose me?” Her eyes darted around the market, as if waiting.

  Sorin tensed. “You wish for more—?”

  “No!” she instantly denied. “I didn’t ask for one husband. Is that why everyone keeps staring at me? Am I on the market, in,” she gestured around, “the market? We have to go. I don’t want some pig farmer jumping up and grabbing me. I highly doubt he has a high-tech facility like where I’m from. If you think I’m a wreck living in a castle, you don’t want to see me on a farm. I don’t do dirt or dung.”

  He relaxed somewhat amused by her reaction. “It’s different with the peasants. The men choose, but are encouraged by the women who often take two or more husbands and never from the same family. Once a family is formed, they all have to agree before another man is let in.”

  “And there isn’t jealousy?” Lilith bit her lip and scrunched her nose, instantly fascinated now that she wasn’t being hunted by pig farmers. Sorin recognized her expression. She was analyzing and thinking again. What did she call it? Taking mental notes? Her constant curiosity didn’t go unnoticed. The few times she’d talked to merchants it had been to ask detailed questions about their trade and their wares—how they were made, how long it took, how they liked living in a village towered over by a castle.r />
  “It is necessity. The men need wives and poorer families can live and work in larger numbers. This way, no one starves, everyone has shelter and families are protected. Those women who do not wish to marry choose a life of service following the armies. They’re well taken care of and treated like queens.”

  “You mean whores.” She nodded in understanding.

  Seeing a knife with a pretty silver hilt carved with pictures of the forest, he picked it up and waved his hand to get Helmut’s attention. The man kept working, hammering without watching his hands. Sorin indicated he planned on taking the blade. Helmut smiled and turned his attention back to what he was doing. Sorin handed the knife to Lilith. “I’ll teach you to use it. Every woman should know how to protect herself.”

  “What? Running and hiding behind you isn’t an option?” She laughed, taking the weapon from him. She pulled it from its sheath and examined the sharp blade. “I don’t think my money works here.”

  “Why not? Mine does and what I have is now yours.”

  “Thank you. It’s sweet.” She glanced up and graced him with a faint smile before turning her attention to the gift.

  By all the gods, he wanted to kiss her. Just looking at her made his body tight from head to foot. Why wouldn’t she reach for him? Didn’t she want him as he wanted her? Even now he burned.

  Fool.

  Idiot.

  Weak.

  Sunlight illuminated the back of her long neck, as wisps of blonde hair escaped her upswept locks. He hesitated, but finally slid his arm around her waist to walk next to her. She didn’t pull away. He clung to each sign of her acceptance of him.

  “Tell me about Bianka.”

  Sorin dropped his arm from her, feeling as if she’d struck him. “There is nothing to tell.”

  “You know that’s not true. What happened to her?”

  “She’s dead and her death is on my head. It was my duty to protect her, but I couldn’t get to her in time.” Sorin quickened his pace, forcing her to keep up.