SILENT WORDSW
hen Baski came out of the palace to search for Remeta, Uyah told her that she saw Remeta going for a walk with the king and the slave princess. It surprised Baski that the king would let Remeta tag along, which also brought a smile to Baski’s face. Recently, she had so much to smile about. Her baby, her Remeta, was getting better as the days went by. Healing didn’t happen all at once. As a gradual process, Remeta was getting well.
It was the early hours of the night, and Remeta had to take her potions. Baski went in search of her, taking the river path instead of going through the woods. She heard laughter, and the footsteps of a child chasing the chirps of crickets. Baski smiled again, knowing she had found Remeta even before she saw her.
“Remeta, it’s time to go,” Baski called as she came out in the clearing and saw her daughter holding a cricket.
“It is?” Remeta pouted at her mother. “But the king and my queen are still at the riverbank.”
At the riverbank? Baski couldn’t comprehend how the evening walk between the king and his slave would come to be. An evening walk was the best pastime for relaxation, letting out steam, letting go of worries, of calm and serenity. The king always enjoyed going alone the few times he went.
It made her wonder how it was going between them, and Baski didn’t know if it was curiosity or worry that the king might punish her that drove her to the few steps forward and strain her neck to oversee the riverbank.
The king was kissing Danika.
Umm… No.
Baski blinked hard to clear the hallucination. She looked again with clearer eyes. The image hadn’t changed. She gasped.
“What is it, Mama!? Can Remeta see!?” Remeta was already walking towards her as she asked.
Baski quickly held her daughter’s arm and started walking away from the area. “No, Remeta cannot see. It’s the waters of the river swallowing its bank. It’s n-nothing.”
“The river is being mean. Does it want to kill its bank?”
“That’s the way rivers do. They have to flow around. They don’t stay in one place. Their banks understand.” She led Remeta into the woods as she distracted her daughter.
“Oh. So, it’s a river thing?” Remeta asked.
“Yes, it’s a river thing.”
“Are you sure my queen will not be angry at Remeta because she left without telling her?”
“No, I’m sure your queen will not be angry.”
“Is she not your queen, too? She is everybody’s queen,” she said to her mother as they walked.
“Whoever is Remeta’s queen is also Baski’s queen,” Baski deadpanned.
“Because Baski is Remeta’s mother?”
“Because Baski is Remeta’s mother,” she confirmed with a nod.
“Can Remeta tell her mama that she loves her?”
Baski stopped suddenly and stared at her daughter. In the past few weeks she had added weight and looked brighter than ever. Tears burned the back of her eyes. Baski had lost hope that she would see her daughter this way. “She can,” she said hoarsely.
Remeta grinned and hugged her. “I love you, Mama.”
Emotions crowded Baski’s throat. She hugged her back. “I love you too, my daughter. I love you so, so much.”
She could never thank Danika enough. She could never thank the creator enough for bringing Danika into their lives. The things she did for her Remeta—for the king.
The creator sent that woman to their people, Baski thought as she continued leading Remeta back to the palace.
King Lucien was kissing her.
The thought was running around in Danika’s head without actual penetration. She was too shocked—too dumbfounded.
The brush of his lips was tentative at first, an unhurried sweep of his mouth against hers. Every muscle in her body locked up; he made a low sound deep in his throat that sent shivers down her spine.
The king was kissing her.
His lips caressed hers again, nibbling and clinging to them until they parted with a gasp. He deepened the kiss with the thrust of his tongue.
The knowledge finally hit home. The king was kissing her!
Danika’s eyes were wide open. Her senses went into overload, firing in every direction. The kiss was everything she could’ve imagined a kiss to be, and then some. Sublime. Explosive.
Danika’s heart fluttered wildly from a yearning so deep that darts of pleasure shot through her veins as his tongue plunged deeper into her mouth. His tongue licked hers, and his lips sucked hers. She moaned into his mouth, her hand tightening in his. His tongue parted her lips and swooped inside again, tasting her, seeking her warmth. She felt his hand at the back of her neck, holding her to his ardor, and she felt her heart racing against her chest. Her eyes slid closed, and she gave herself over to the kiss.
His lips were soft, and he tasted male. She held onto him for dear life while he plundered her lips for so long, she didn’t know how long had passed.
The sound of the flowing river, the chirping of birds, their erratic breathing, and her soft moans filled the air and surrounded them.
When he pulled away, Danika was dazed and drunk from his kisses, her lips red and swollen.
King Lucien didn’t know where the urge to kiss her came from, but when she sat down on the wooden bench, he couldn’t stop noticing their plumpness. He’d given in to impulse.
Now, he wished he hadn’t because he wanted her more. He wanted to do a lot of things to her—with her. It did not make sense.
He glanced into the dazed blue eyes staring up at him, his hands holding her soft body to him. His eyes lowered to her lips before he forced his eyes back to hers. He had started this evening; he would allow himself to enjoy it as it lasted.
Tomorrow, he would return to his responsibilities as a king to his people. Tomorrow, he would remind himself about his duties. He would remind himself that she was his slave and the daughter of Cone. But for this evening, he would let himself enjoy this peacefulness. This serenity. This calmness that came from her presence and a walk away from duties and obligations.
“Are you alright?” he asked with a crease of his brow.
“I’m fine,” she whispered. She licked her lips, and she could still taste his tongue.
When he pulled away, Danika moaned at the loss of his lips on hers. The kiss had overwhelmed her, and her body tingled for him.
She stared at the river in front of them while her thoughts were only in the slight distance separating them. She hadn’t recovered from the long night she spent in his arms the previous night, but her aching body still longed for his. She would be there if he demanded her be in his bed again tonight. She would let him have her any way he wanted her—even if it hurt or felt way too good. That’s how much she loved him.
Night had fallen, but Danika didn’t want to go back. She wanted this moment with him to last forever. And so, when the king rested his head to her shoulder and closed his eyes, Danika felt a warmness settle over her.
“My king?” she whispered.
“Mm.” He didn’t open his eyes.
She hesitated. “May I touch your hair?”
A pause. “You may.”
Her left hand was still ensnared in the protectiveness of his, so she curled her other hand to his hair and began stroking softly and rhythmically. The early night slowly began falling into a night. They welcomed the darkness too—a world of their own.
They hadn’t said anything for a long while, but they didn’t need to—two people who communicated better in silence than in words.
Finally, the king raised his head. “We have to go back.”