Chapter 16
Sixteen
ZAKAI
When Uttin returned to me, Simon and I were in deep discussion on the magic of barbarian cock.
Apparently, there was a difference between them and those possessed by the rest of the world.
Simon’s bondmate had made him come hands free their first night together.
As a former whore, it had never happened to him before.
He took this as a challenge but had yet to manage to make his barbarian come first. Since he had made me come so thoroughly during our time together, I found this fascinating.
Such a skilled sex worker should not have been so easily overcome.
“Tavi,” Uttin said, interrupting our conversation. Simon snorted at the word he used, and I swung around to look at him with a frown.
“What does that word mean?”
He opened his mouth to answer, then seemed to change his mind, waving me away. “It’s a term of endearment. Ask him what he wants. I want to hear more of your skills.”
Rolling my eyes, I gave Uttin my full attention. “Asshole. What?”
Simon barked out a laugh at my own nickname for the barbarian, but I didn’t look at him. I fought off a smirk, raising an eyebrow at the exasperated look on Uttin’s face. I’d never taught him what the word meant, but he was aware it wasn’t flattering.
“I must go train. You will stay here with Simon. I will return later.”
I opened my mouth to protest. I had no interest in staying behind until he pointed out, “My training will be outside. You will get cold.”
My jaw snapped shut, and my gaze flicked to the tent entrance. It flapped in the wind and despite sitting near the fire as far from it as I could get, I could still feel the cold against my skin. I did not want to spend who knew how long out there.
“Go,” Simon encouraged Uttin. “I’ll bring him to see later.”
At my questioning look, he switched to my tongue and said, “Believe me, you’ll want to watch. It’s sexy.”
I hadn’t considered that. It might be worth it to face the cold just to see Uttin all sweaty and ferocious. I nodded once.
“Go. I see later.”
A flash of amusement crossed Uttin’s face before he dipped his chin and nodded. “Be good.”
“No.”
My automatic refusal made Simon cackle. Uttin looked annoyed, but I could see the mirth in his eyes.
He knelt beside me, leaning close enough that only Simon, being nosy and listening in, could overhear him.
He said something I didn’t understand, and Simon’s shit-eating grin preceded him translating, “He said be good and he’ll reward you. ”
A shiver wracked my body, and I bit my lip, considering my options. While I lived for causing trouble, I also wanted my reward. Knowing Uttin, I’d enjoy it very much.
He leaned closer, this time with his lips to my ear so even Simon couldn’t overhear him.
Then he began whispering all those sexy words I still didn’t know into my ear, the tone seductive and downright filthy.
I gave in embarrassingly quickly, nodding rapidly in agreement.
My whole body swayed toward him when he pulled away, and I whined a little at the thought of waiting until later to get my reward.
Couldn’t he bring me back to his tent now and—
“Okay, I’m starting to get jealous,” Simon quipped beside me.
His comment brought me slowly back to reality, and I let out a shaky breath when Uttin pulled away.
He tugged lightly on a lock of my hair, making me bite back a gasp, and a smirk flashed across his face before he stood and walked away.
He stopped before he left, giving me one last heated look, then disappeared, leaving me breathless and horny, forced to wait until later for relief.
“Don’t tell my bondmate that works,” Simon said, drawing my attention to him.
“What works?” I asked, still a little dazed from that interaction.
“The sexy promises to get you to behave. I don’t want him thinking it would work on me.”
I couldn’t help but ask, “Would it?”
He shook his head, then bit his lip to hide a smirk. “Maybe.”
Laughing, I forced my mind away from the sexy barbarian who had captured my full attention and onto my friend. I couldn’t keep Uttin. No matter how much I wished to. I would leave eventually, and he would return here. There was no future for us.
For a while, Simon and I just socialized, both with each other and with other tributes and bondmates.
There were quite a few male bondmates in this clan, and more that weren’t in the tent with us, apparently.
Not all of the male tributes stayed in this clan—a few were given to other clans—but it seemed the biggest concentration of them was here.
“Honestly, I’m glad I stayed here,” Simon explained, leaning back on his hands, his legs sprawled in front of him.
“I know at least one male tribute went to a clan that didn’t have any others.
That would be isolating as hell. Finn was lucky he only had to be here alone for a few months before Patrick showed up. ”
I nodded in agreement. “It seems so strange to me that it is not legal to be with your gender in the towns. In Al Nuzem, it is legal as long as everyone is of age. They are more likely to frown upon it if the object of your desire isn’t of your station.
” One of the reasons it felt impossible for me to find someone of my own that my parents would approve of.
None in the courts that I knew were interested in males like I was.
Simon made a face. “Damn. I didn’t know that.
I’m not sure many people do. If they did, they might be willing to make the pilgrimage to Al Nuzem to start over.
The town where I lived was tolerant, but I wouldn’t consider them accepting.
I couldn’t cuddle or sit in my lover’s lap like I can here. Can you do that in Al Nuzem?”
I tipped my head thoughtfully. “I’ve never seen it myself, but a few of the staff are in same sex relationships.
They don’t hide it or pretend otherwise.
And I happen to know the bakery where my staff gets my favorite breakfast is run by two men and their teenage daughter.
They are a happy family, and no one treats them poorly just because of who they love. ”
Simon raised his eyebrows and huffed. “Must be nice. Honestly, given how much the towns hate people like us, I’m surprised they don’t just kick us out and send us to Al Nuzem. In some towns like Patrick’s and Finn’s, loving the same sex is a death sentence.”
Startled, I jerked my head back. “Death sentence? Truly? But why? Who does it affect other than those in the relationship? Why should the government care who is with who?”
With a shrug, Simon replied, “That’s the question of the century, my friend. Maybe once you return home, you can spread the word about the tolerance in Al Nuzem. If people knew where it was safe to go, they might attempt to make the journey.”
I nodded fervently. I would tell whoever I could and see if something could be done.
I wasn’t sure if my parents would get involved—I didn’t know their thoughts on the matter—but I was pretty sure my second oldest brother would support me.
His best friend was in a relationship with another male. He was never bothered by the thought.
Clapping his hands together, Simon jerked his chin toward the tent flap. “Now, come on. I’m betting my barbarian is with yours, and I want to watch sexy men wrestle with each other. Let’s go.”
“But it’s cold,” I protested with a pout. I wanted to go and see Uttin’s fighting skills, but I also wasn’t looking forward to going out there.
Simon made a face, then put a finger up.
“Stay here for just a second.” He walked around the fire to the other side, leaning down to speak with an older woman who was helping prepare the food.
When he gestured in my direction, I shot him a questioning look, but he ignored me and continued to speak with the woman.
She waved at the fire, saying something in response, and the chubby redhaired man next to her knelt down beside it to fetch something.
When Simon came back, he had stones wrapped in cloths and handed me one, cupping the other in his hand. “It’ll keep our hands warm at the very least. And when they are finished, our barbarians can warm the rest of us.”
Smirking, I wrapped Uttin’s cloak tighter around me, holding the stone close to my chest. I braced myself when Simon led me out of the tent, grimacing at the sharp wind. How the sun could be out but the air still be so cold was beyond me. It was misleading.
We followed a well trodden path past the half-buried tents and toward the forest. Simon had warned me about the forest and the creatures that were inside it, so I didn’t want to go anywhere near there.
Luckily, the area that we stopped at was just outside the forest edge.
There was a blazing fire and a larger area cleared of snow where barbarians were circled, watching the fight in the middle.
My mouth fell open when I noticed Uttin facing down the terrifying barbarian I’d had the misfortune of bumping into my first day.
They circled each other, trading blows and pushing apart like some kind of dance. From the sweat pouring off the both of them, they’d been at this a while, and still they both moved steadily like they felt no fatigue at all.
“Matthew,” Simon hissed, beckoning a pale man with shaggy brown hair over to him.
The man was about average height for the people of this country, but more filled out than those I’d met in the towns.
He had a bow slung across his back and more weapons attached to his belt.
Despite his range of weapons, he looked nervous, and when he stopped beside Simon, he clung to Simon’s hand like a lifeline.
“Zakai, this is Matthew. He’s Einar’s bondmate.” He jerked his chin toward the barbarian facing off with Uttin. My eyes widened to the point they felt like they would fall from my head.
“Him? Really?” I squawked.
Simon translated my words, then switched to the barbarian language, speaking slowly but in full sentences so we both could understand. I didn't understand all of it, but every word Simon knew I wouldn’t know, he translated.
“They bonded for Matthew’s protection and fell in love later. Matthew saved my life once. He’s a good man.”
The brunette blushed fiercely and shook his head but didn’t say a word. I cocked my head with a frown.
“Is he mute?”
When Simon translated the question, Matthew grimaced. Simon chuckled and squeezed his hand in reassurance. “Not mute. Criminally shy. He wasn’t well treated in his own town and still has a stutter when talking to strangers. He’s getting better, though. With people he trusts, he can speak.”
“Ah.” I nodded. I’d heard of this affliction before. My aunt had it before my mother married my father and brought her along when moving to our capital city. It took time and training for her to speak eloquently. “That’s okay. I prefer to talk. Does he speak my tongue?”
Simon snorted and shook his head. “No. He’s still learning the barbarian language. You need to learn the common tongue. You aren’t doing yourself any favors by refusing.”
I made a face. “I’m already learning one language. It would be impossible for me to learn two.” Then, thoughtfully, I added, “But if Uttin rewards me the same way, I wouldn’t say no once I’m better with the barbarian language.”