I look down at my necklace. It is beautiful, a golden swirl of metal keeping the beautiful translucent jewel in place. I look back at him. He's still sifting through the necklaces.He sighs. "Over the years, I've gradually gotten them returned. First Gentle Raven's…then my mother's and Snow flower, and now white Lion's. I thought foolishly that a part of their souls would be kept in the topaz even after they left the tangible world, that I could keep them with me still." He buries his head in his hands. "I lose everyone that I love."I still clutch the little jewel around my neck like it is my lifeline. Tears sparkle in my eyes. "I'm so sorry," I whisper. "If you want to cry, I'll…"He whips around with fire in his eyes. "You want me to cry. You asked me that same question earlier, even when my sister is alive. Do you want me to feel more pain than I already have?"I jump a little at his tone of voice. I breathe a sigh."Sometimes it's best to let it all go."His face is twisted in ago

"Well, I am fine" I reply. "But Cesar's been distraught over the health of his sister. I can't blame him. She is a good, and kind woman."Michelle nods and pulls a dark green tunic out of the river, lays it into a flat stone, and scrubs a bar of soap onto it. She looks up at me and smiles. "Your necklace is very pretty. Did King give it to you?"My hand goes around the necklace sitting on my neck. I nod my head. I take out a pair of deerskin pants and dip them in the river. "Mind if I use your soap?"Michelle shakes her head. "No, not at all."I scrub the pants with the soap, lathering them in bubbles. Michelle dips another shirt into the water next to me. "You know, I've heard much about that necklace."I look over at her with interest. "And what did you hear?""That it is the trophy necklace," Michelle replies. "Any a woman who is lucky enough to get the topaz necklace is said to be very important to our king." I breathe in and out very slowly. "Is that so?"She nods her head. "Very

I want to ask Michelle when she fell in love with Drinks of Waterfall and if she knew, or really could have known her own heart before he gave her his. Instead, I lean back in the chair and let the wind blow in from the window, hoping that it would whisper to me the answers he never says.I sip more of my wine, my dizzy spell intensifying. I want to ask all the characters in the books I've read if the hero ever got bored of his lover once evil vanquished and rode off into the sunset alone, without looking back. I want to ask him why he has any right to scale the perimeters of the steps I took while locked up in my towerwhen it was he, himself who put me there. I want to ask him why he has any right to make me feel this way when he was the one that trapped me with his kind smile and gentle touch.I want to ask him if the wine has the power to reveal the hearts of boys and men and if it could tell me as much as the scars on his back or the look in his eyes when he speaks so gloriously

I clench around his cock, making him roar in pleasure, and throw his head back, slamming into me harder. It feels so good. He promised he would make it feel good, and it most certainly does.He's mumbling sweet things in my ear, dirty things. "Such a good girl," he mumbles softly, his teeth catching my earlobe and sucking it into his mouth. The quick strokes drag the through my veins and make my body surge with somean unknown force of pleasure."Oh harder," I moan. He's taking it gently because of me being his budurwa, and his wanting to take it slow to savor the moment, but it's driving me insane. "Please!"He cannot deny me my request. He is like an animal with the way he forces himself into me so passionately. I try To prop myself up on my elbows to give myself some ground, but with each thrust into me, he brings the air into my lungs then knocks it right back out.I throw my head back against the pillows and grasp the sheets so tightly until my knuckles turn white. His breathing

"Giya ga sarki."(Wine for the king.)At first, he only stares at her in interest. The child's smile falls slightly, as she must be feeling intimidated by her king's steely gaze. I nudge his arm. He looks over at me in interest. I nod my head as if telling him to take the wine and be kind to her.I know he's not very good with children, only because he doesn't quite know how to act with them. He was always the youngest child in his family so he never had experience. He wants his children but needs to learn a little first.He plasters on a smile when I signal him to and takes the cup. "Na gode Tsai," he says to her (Thank you very much).The little girl's smile instantly comes back and she runs to her mother in the excitement that the king had just spoken to her and smiled at her.Suddenly someone starts to chant in the Hausa language. I realize that it's Three Horses. The drums and flutes play in tune with his chanting. The people around the giant fire in the middle of the shagali mov