Tania

by Daniela Jackson

  There’s more and more obstacles as we climb—enormous brown stones, fallen trees, wild streams. A few statues of our gods. The air thins and becomes harsher. Crisp coldness pricks my face. I see a place where we can camp—it’s a rock formation—three walls covered with patches of green and purple mechica and a roof.

  “There.” I point my finger to our shelter for tonight.

  “Really?”

  “Start the fire.”

  “Where am I going to pee?”

  “Outside the shelter.”

  Isabella growls and starts gathering twigs as I put my bag on the ground and take two mugs, a pan, a pinch of dried mechica and three matches out of it. I pass the items to Isabella and go to piss behind a fallen tree. As I return to our camp, I see that my wife has no idea of how to start the fire.

  “You’re Vahan’s daughter.” Sarcasm tinges my voice.

  “Fuck. Off,” she mouths in Earth language.

  I knew my marriage would be challenging. Vahan has given a lot of freedom to his daughters and that’s why they are so rebellious. So wild.

  “I have the right to punish you, Isabella.”

  “Oh really?”

  “I can smack your ass.”

  “Now?” She rolls her eyes.

  Maybe she needs more time. It was quite abrupt. She was a free girl on one lunar triad, and became a married woman on the following lunar triad.

  “Say sorry, and I won’t punish you,” I say and feel like an idiot.

  She rises to her feet and slaps the mechica and matches into my hands. I see tears in her eyes and something squeezes my heart.

  I’ve never hit a woman. The men of my tribe don’t hit women. Vahan doesn’t hit women.

  My brother has punished Alyssa only once so far. He’s regretted this for all these moon cycles.

  “I need to pee,” Isabella says and walks off.

  Alright. Maybe if I’m more patient, she’ll be a better wife to me.

  I start the fire then go to the stream and fill the pan with water. I return to our camp. Isabella sits inside the shelter on the blanket and watches me with sad eyes.

  “You’ll learn everything,” I say.

  She drops her head.

  I prepare herbal tea and fill our mugs with it. We drink and eat the bread Vosgi baked two lunar triads ago.

  “Two lunar triads,” I say, “until we reach the border of my village.”

  “You have the papers in case we encountered hunters?”

  “Yes.” I nod. “That’s the least of our problems.”

  Chapter 11

  Isabella

  I finish my meal and rise to my feet. “There’s a stream… I need a bath.”

  “I’ll go with you.” He sounds neutral.

  “No, I can—“

  “There’re wild animals out there.” He sounds serious in a morbid way.

  I curse under my breath and walk towards the stream. Arnau follows me closely behind. We stop by the bank, and I shake my jacket off. Arnau shakes his off and smirks at me.

  Heat fills my veins.

  I start unbuttoning my shirt and my husband watches me like… like I’m his wife.

  “Turn around,” I say.

  “No.” Amusement coats his voice.

  I step back, turn my back towards him and shake my shirt off then remove my boots. A splash makes me shudder. I hear another splash, louder, followed by Arnau’s growl. The water must be freezing cold. I lower my trousers and step out of them. Huffing out, I turn around and hug myself. Arnau is standing in the stream as the water covers his body down from his waist. He splashes his face and chest and walks towards the bank. I turn my back to him as he passes me. I’ve seen naked men in Yasen’s anatomy books. I’ve seen Arnau taking a bath in our pool. Well, he didn’t see me naked, not until now. He is a beautiful man—every inch of his body is beautiful. His cock is big and beautiful.

  He disappears behind the wall of bushes, and I step into the stream. The strong current almost knocks me off my feet as the coldness pricks my skin like a thousand needles. I whimper.

  “Hurry,” Arnau growls from behind one of the bushes.

  I squat down, gasping and squealing, and wash my private parts then splash my chest and face. My teeth chatter together. I growl and run out of the stream. My hand reaches up for a navy leaf of meetaca, and I chew it to clean my teeth. A very useful plant that can survive almost everywhere. I swallow it because it’s healthy for your gut, and I see Arnau with the blanket spread between his hands. He wraps it around us both. My body moulds to his. We are naked. We’re shivering. My husband’s cock is rock-hard.

  Arnau wraps his arm around my back and shoves me towards the fire that’s burning fiercely. He could kiss me at least, but he doesn’t.

  We lower to the ground by the fire and sit on the other blanket. Orange sparks shoot into the air as the twigs crackle and the flames swish.

  “Now what?” I say.

  “Now we’ll try to warm you up.” There’s a delicate softness in his voice I’ve never heard before.

  “You’re as cold as I am.”

  He chuckles and strokes my back up and down. I’m hyperaware of every callus on his palm.

  He could kiss me. Why does he not want to kiss me? I am his wife. Everything happened so fast, but we are married. We could kiss. I know he can kiss. He kissed me once. What a kiss. I was stunned. Pissed off. Aroused. I want all of that once again.

  He could fuck me. Why does he not want to fuck me? I know why. I’m not my mother and he probably just noticed that.

  “You loved her?” I ask.

  “Kendy?”

  “No, not Kendy. My mother.”

  “I did.”

  Right. My skin is darker than hers; my hair is darker than hers. My eyes are wolf-like as she describes them. I’ve never seen a wolf, but she claims they’re beautiful animals.

  “I’m not like my mother, huh?” I ask.

  “No.”

  Fuck. It hurts.

  “I’m an imitation,” I say, my voice sounding dramatic.

  “You’re Isabella, Vahan’s daughter.”

  “But you’d prefer her to me, huh?”

  I see him grit his teeth, and I shrink into myself. His hand travels to my head, and he winds my hair around his fist. I manage only a sigh as he pushes me down so I lie on my back. He crawls on top of me, spreading my thighs with his knee. His spicy, masculine scent clouds my mind. Heat radiates from him to me. A few thick droplets tear off his muscular chest and splash against my collarbone.

  It probably means that we’re finally going to fuck.

  I suspect he can close his eyes and imagine her. Despair floods me and makes me breathless.

  Arnau

  I’ve always thought I can say things clearly. I told her she was everything to me. Why does she keep asking me about Alyssa? That was a very long time ago. That doesn’t matter now. Isabella matters to me now. My son matters to me. The safety of Nassara matters to me. Alyssa is my friend, my brother’s wife, nothing more. Everything is as it should be.

  Isabella’s wide eyes fix on mine as her breasts rise and fall in an erratic rhythm.

  She has really nice breasts with olive areolas. No, not nice. Perfect. And she has a perfect round ass.

  We should fuck. It would make everything between us much easier.

  “What do you want me to do?” Isabella squeaks.

  “Just be quiet.”

  She sucks in a breath. “Are you doing this because of the respect you have for my father?”

  “For fuck’s sake, Isabella. Be quiet.”

  Why can’t she just smile for me and spread her legs as a good wife would? Why can’t she just look at me with love in her eyes?

  She doesn’t love me—that’s why. She doesn’t want to fuck.

  Isabella

  He sits up and props his elbow on his bent knee as a cloud of vapour leaves his mouth. I guess, we’re not going to fuck.

  We’ve been friends since
forever. We trust each other. Why is this marriage so ridiculous then?

  He doesn’t love me—that’s why. He loves my mother and respects my father—that’s why.

  Embarrassment rolls over me. I feel like an ugly insect. I pull the blanket and curl up into a ball. Arnau lies down beside me, his chest moulding to my back.

  “Sleep, Isabella.”

  “It’s cold as fuck. I won’t be able to even have a short nap in this fucking cold. My lungs hurt from this harsh air.”

  He pulls me closer to him as the heat radiating from his body warms mine. It’s pleasant. Arousing. Yes, I’ve always wanted him to be my husband—that dream wavered on the edge of my consciousness from the moment I turned thirteen. We’ve been raising Tancred together. But, Arnau was unavailable to me until he was. I roll on my other side.

  I loved Kendy. I was kind of jealous that she was his wife, but I loved her. I was happy for them. When she died, I decided to take care of Tancred out the best I could. He is a lovely boy. He deserves a happy childhood.

  Arnau began to be more and more distant after her death so I just focused on Tancred. Until my school-mates started talking about freeing Zaria from the tyranny of our gods. I love Zaria and her people. I wanted a better world for my little boy. I wanted him to be proud of belonging in Zaria.

  Suddenly, being Arnau’s wife became my duty towards my beloved planet.

  Until he kissed me. That brought a lot of chaos to my head.

  “You never paid attention to me,” I say. “Until—“

  “You grew up.”

  I sigh. “And became like her.”

  “Isabella.” There’s frustration in his voice. He kisses the tip of my nose, his lips hot and wet. “What do you want me to tell you?”

  “I want you to tell me that I’m not like her.”

  “You’re not like her. You’re annoying and she’s not. You talk too much and she’s rather quiet.” He grins as though he has fun at my expense. “And you have the roundest ass I’ve ever seen.”

  My throat pulses. I don’t know whether I’m mad at him or in love with him.

  “So there’s no other woman with such a pretty ass on Zaria?” I say.

  “No, only you.”

  “What about my tits?”

  “They’re perfect,” he rasps, his eyes blazing. “The most perfect tits on Zaria. The most erect nipples on Zaria.”

  “You love me?” I feel myself getting wet between my thighs.

  “More than anything.” He growls, his face sharp. “I wish you could love me.”

  I want to yell that I love him, but his mouth covers mine, and he kisses me with such passion that I melt. His tongue strokes mine and it’s like a primal dance. My body seizes with fire and burns for his.

  “Slowly,” he says. “You need it slowly. I can see that now.”

  I want to protest. “I need—“

  He tumbles me over on my other side and spoons me within his body. “Sleep.” That’s an order, so I sigh my disappointment and obey him.

  His arms shelter me as his body warms mine. I’m tired. I’m in a cocoon. My eyelids grow heavy, and I drift off into oblivion.

  Arnau wakes me, and I see he’s already dressed. Smoke rises from the pile of ashes in three thin streaks.

  “Hurry,” he says.

  I grab my clothes and pull them on and then run towards the stream to pee, wash my face and clean my teeth.

  “Isabella.”

  “I’m coming.”

  I join Arnau, and he smiles at me. His face looks boyish. Something has changed between us. It feels like some kind of tension. Like the air before a violent storm. An invisible force pulls me to him, and my eyes zero in on his full lips and white teeth. Yes. I want to kiss. Arnau hangs the bag on his shoulder and pulls forward.

  Arnau

  I wish I could have stayed with her in that shelter, but we have to get going. She catches up with me and watches me with curious eyes. Shocked eyes. I don’t know whether it’s good or bad. Then she smiles for me and warmth washes over my heart. We could be even better friends now. We could respect each other and support each other. That’s a good foundation.

  We step onto a narrow path that slithers up a gloomy mountain. A river rumbles around its flank, its surface rippled. The pale blue foam from its whirls glitters in thin streaks as a delicate mist rises from the water in lacy grey clouds.

  “Focus, Isabella.”

  “I know.”

  I should focus, but the images of her naked body course through my head. Her soft form felt so delicious in my arms when she was asleep. She is just perfect. Beautifully curvy in all the right places. She smells like wyasna. Like magic. Like sin.

  We move at a steady pace until I notice my wife barely walks. I decide to stop and camp in a small cave. Isabella collapses to the ground as I check whether there’re no wild animals inside. It’s safe, but smells of shit. I start the fire, spread the blankets and drag my wife inside. She lies down and falls asleep.

  Right. There’ll be no kissing tonight.

  I sit outside the cave and guard my wife, adding twigs into the fire. Thoughts fill my mind. Dirty thoughts. I want to have my wife on all fours. I want her to whisper dirty things into my ear and beg me to fuck her. I want her to suck my dick off and caress my balls.

  I want her to love me.

  Slim arms wrap around me from behind.

  “Go have a nap,” Isabella says.

  “No, that’s my job to watch over you.”

  She chuckles into my ear as the tantalising smell of her musk makes my dick grow hard. “You’re like Earth men.”

  “That’s a good thing.”

  “Yes, that’s a damn very good thing.”

  She sits beside me and we watch the flames for a moment.

  “I will speak to my people, not you,” I say.

  “I know.” She bobs her head. “I could ruin everything.” She lays her head on my shoulder. “What do you want me to do?”

  “Be a good wife to me. My people need to see you’re my wife.” I pass a slice of bread to her.

  “They’re gonna scrunch up their noses, right? That I’m one of the Tadarids?”

  “You’re part foreigner. They’re gonna love this part of you, but they’ll be careful about the Tadarids’ part.” My eyes meet hers. “If they see love between us, they’ll be eager to trust you.”

  “You’re such romantics.”

  “We’re family people.”

  “But you’re not faithful.” There’s bitterness in her voice.

  “My people just enjoy life, Isabella.”

  “This is not my idea of enjoying life. My mother and my father…” Her voice breaks. “You know, they’re so lovely together. They don’t need anybody else in their marriage.”

  “I will be faithful to you, Isabella.”

  Her eyes burn like the flames I’m watching. I know who she is and I respect her for being her. I know who I am. I am Vahan’s brother. I am like my brother and I want to be like him.

  “Are you going to share me?” she asks as her voice stirs.

  Never. She’s my z’onny. My soul mate in every dimension.

  She blinks a few times in a row. “The men of you tribe—“

  “They share because there’s not enough women in the village. They share because there’s nothing wrong with that.”

  “But are you going to share?”

  “No.”

  She narrows her eyes and tilts her head. There is a moment of silence.

  “But you should share me,” she says and looks at me as though she wants to challenge me. “That’s your duty towards Zaria.”

  “No man and no woman will ever lay their hands on you. You hear me, woman? Your every hole belongs to me, you understand?”

  She flashes me a smile, and I know the punnica knows that she owns me. A man should never let his wife know such a thing. Husband should order—wife should obey. That’s how things work in my brother’s marriage most of the
time.

  “What if I want to be shared?” the punnica teases.

  “I’ll smack your ass if you as much as think about another man or woman.”

  She purrs. “You’re like my dad.”

  We sit in silence, but I see her frown, her eyes coloured with a number of emotions—hope, nervousness and others I can’t name.

  “Have you ever hated my father, Arnau?”

  “Yes, but that was a very long time ago.”

  “It’s so strange, you know, that friendship between you and him.”

  “That’s none of your business, woman.”

  She plants a kiss on my cheek. “I’m a very nosey wife, I guess.”

  “You are. A nosey rabbita.”

  She nudges my chest with her elbow and nuzzles her nose against my cheek. My rationality evaporates without a trace. I grasp her waist and plant her on my thighs so she straddles me. My dick screams to fuck.

  Chapter 12

  Isabella

  Arnau is a man of his word. He’ll be faithful to me. And I’ll be faithful to him. He wants to own me, and I want to own him. Just like my parents’ marriage. I like it. No, I love it.

  I put my hand on his unshaven cheek and his eyes flutter. Gods of the Continent, he is at my mercy. I didn’t even realise this.

  Arnau loves me. Me. Not my mother. Me.

  I should love him back. I will.

  “Myths say your people are descendants of a powerful winged creature,” I say. “You must be very… powerful, Arnau.” I rest my forehead against his, as his breath becomes mine. “You must be… massive.”

  Yes, I can feel his massive erection underneath my ass.

  He chuckles. “You tell me.”

  “I’d need to touch you first.” I put my hand on the front of his trousers as a gasp leaves his mouth. I stroke his cock through the fabric. “I’d say you, Eligorians, are very massive. I’d say you, Arnau, are the biggest and the hardest of them all.”

  His hand travels to the back of my neck as he grinds me against his erection with his other hand.

  “I’d say, you, half-breeds, are very tight,” he rasps.