And I grew up in that office until I started managing that office at fifteen. Now, at thirty-five, I still managed that office and the guys didn’t do their best to be appropriate around me. I was older; I’d been around awhile so I was one of the guys.

Though one of the guys with tits and ass that I caught some of them staring at on more than one occasion.

But I wasn’t sheltered.

That said, I’d definitely been sheltered from this. Then again, Pop didn’t know this existed. If he did, though, he’d have sheltered me from it. He’d take a slash from a warrior’s sword to protect me from it, as would any one of his boys. I knew it.

I wondered what he was thinking, being at home, me not there. He was probably going out of his mind.

“I know this is strange for you,” the woman said.

Right. Strange. Yeah, she hit that on the head. Strange.

Though, I might use another word for it.

Or several.

“But, you must care, kah Dahksahna,” she whispered on another squeeze.

“My name is Circe,” I told her quietly.

“Pardon, my dear?”

I sighed then repeated, “My name is Circe, not kah Dahksahna.”

“Circe, lovely,” she murmured. “But Dahksahna isn’t your name, it is just you. It means ‘queen’ and you are our queen.”

I decided not to reply. That had been working with the other women, no reply, eventually they’d go away.

Her fingers gave me another squeeze and I felt her bend closer.

“I remember feeling much the same as you. Seerim, my warrior husband, was different than the Dax, of course, but I remember this feeling, my dear. I know it is not a good feeling. But you will come to understand it is their way.”

“It sucks,” I muttered, forgetting about not responding.

“Sucks?” she asked, sounding confused.

“It sucks, it stinks, it’s for the birds,” I explained, rolling to my back again with my arm over my br**sts and I locked eyes with her. “It’s hideous, foul, vile, detestable… it sucks.”

Her eyes got soft and she said quietly, “It is their way.”

“Their way sucks,” I returned and rolled back to my side.

Her voice came back to me. “I understand you see it that way. But, they know of our way, of wooing and falling in love and waiting to claim your mate after your wedding celebration, not the peasants doing that but soldiers doing it, warriors, and they think that is strange. Laughable. Silly. They think it is ridiculous, not to face a challenge, best your brothers in order to earn a beautiful wife. You don’t believe me now, but I promise, as unbelievable as it seems, you will come to understand their way. I have seen, now, ten Wife Hunts since my own. There are girls like you, girls who settle in and enjoy their lives with The Horde. You will too. You just need to get up and face it, learn their ways, be amongst –”

I cut her off. “I’m not getting up.”

“You must.”

“Well, I’m not.”

I felt her get close, her mouth at my ear. “You must Dahksahna Circe. For your slaves, for your Dax, for The Horde and… for you.”

My body got tight and my head turned to her. “My… slaves?”

I watched her nod. “The women who have been seeing to you. Those are your slaves. The Dax has given them to you. It is very generous. Most warrior brides receive a slave, at most two. I have been with my warrior over twenty years and I only have three.”

I blinked then repeated, “Slaves?”

Her face flooded with understanding but still she stated, “The Horde takes slaves. It, too, is their way. In fact, this is the way throughout the Southlands.”

Jeez, these guys were savages.

“That’s insane,” I whispered.

“It is their way,” she replied and I had to admit, I was tired of her saying that.

“It’s insane,” I repeated.

“It is their way, Dahksahna Circe,” she returned firmly. “And if you do not get up, the Dax will be forced to intervene.”

Uh-oh, I did not like the sound of that.

I stared at her. She went on but she did it looking like she really didn’t want to.

“He has bragged greatly about you. The Lahnahsahna, a true warrior’s wife.”

Is that what Lahnahsahna meant?

And…

He bragged about me?

She kept talking. “He told his people he did not claim you. He told his people he battled you before he won you. He told his people you challenged him. The warrior king’s bride fought like a warrior. She did not lay back and accept her fate. She stood strong and shouted in the face of a king. She fought and did not give up. Even knowing she’d taste defeat, she fought on, like a true warrior. He told his people you are not his queen. You are his warrior queen.”

I stared at her not knowing what to say.

She took this as her cue to keep going. “He clothed you in gold before the rite. This is not their way, Dahksahna Circe. A warrior, king or not, never but never covers the bride they claimed before the rite is performed. It is important to them to display their triumph in all its beauty. Dax Lahn clothing you in gold was an announcement to his people that you are more than his Dahksahna, you are the golden queen, the warrior bride. This is not a simple declaration to make. A Dax would not do this unless he believed into his soul that he had claimed the golden queen.”

“Wh… what,” I stammered, “is the golden queen?”

She gave me a gentle smile before saying, “It is the Korwahk people’s belief that the mightiest Dax in their history will find the golden queen, a warrior bride, fair of hair, kind of heart, fierce of spirit. This story has been told for centuries, millennia… the mighty Dax and his golden Dahksahna would unite and the Golden Dynasty would begin bringing the Korwahk nation great wealth, abundant crops, fruitful women. Magic would descend upon the land and the Korwahk people would be safe under the strength of their king and the enchantments of their queen.”

“That’s… that’s… that’s whacked,” I told her, lifting up to sitting, pulling the sheet over my br**sts and when her face grew confused, I explained quickly, “Insane. Crazy.”

She shook her head and sat back, smiling at me. “They do not think it is crazy. They believe it is true. Every generation prays that the mighty king and golden queen will reign during their time on this earth. And they believe when the mighty Dax finds his golden queen, he will clothe her in gold before the rite and install her at his side. This is what the Dax did. And this is not something he would do unless he believed he had found his golden queen and…” she leaned forward, “this is what he did. And in so doing, he brought great joy to his people. But you do not show yourself. You do not walk amongst them. You hide in your tent and there are whispers. Whispers that you are not what he said you were. Whispers that the Dax lied to them, bragged with falsehood, claimed a Dynasty that was not his to claim. And this is very dangerous, these whispers, dangerous for him and for you.”