I did see they didn’t really have furniture in Korwahn. Mostly lots of cushions and thick rugs over tiled floors. Even the dining room-ish room had a long, very low table with twelve big cushions set on the floor around it. There was no room with a desk in it that would say “study”. There were six bedrooms and each had a bathroom-ish type room off it with chamber pot behind a screen and basin with jug of water and the master (I was guessing it was the master) had another room with a big, carved wood wardrobe and an actual chaise lounge. Each bedroom had real-ish beds, that was to say, the platform was two feet off the ground, the mattress was twice as thick as the one in our cham, there were twice as many pillows at the head and it was covered in silk sheets (no hides) and intricately embroidered silk quilts. But no headboard or footboard.

The best of the lot in the house was the bathing room off the master suite that was really like a bathing pool, with cool blue and green mosaic tiles and blue and green pads on the edges. The bath was big enough to swim in and had a big window that opened to a balcony that looked out over Korwahn and the vista beyond it. At my delighted intake of breath, Twinka grudgingly slid up a heavy, wooden door and a gush of steaming water flowed into the bath. I saw that the bottom of the bath had a slight decline and there were four narrow pieces of some gummy type substance that plugged up drains at the opposite end to the water.

“We have,” she stated haughtily in Korwahk, “a direct feed from the hot spring. We are,” she went on snootily, “one of only seven houses in all of Korwahn who have such a blessing.”

I nodded thinking blessing was the word for it. The water gushing in (before she slammed the door down again), was clear and clean and steaming and I could not freaking wait to take a bath.

Twinka stomped out, I followed her and we continued our tour. I noticed on the walls there were interesting paintings or sheets of copper or silver with designs pounded in the metal and even heavy, carved framed mirrors (and, seeing myself for the first time in months, I had to say, Korwahk sun, Jacanda painted face, love and pregnancy suited me – even I had to admit, I looked freaking great).

It was all sparkling clean and clearly well taken care of by Twinka who looked like she could keel over at any minute but moved like she was about twenty-three.

That was kind of it except for the square roof (with the courtyard hole in it) which was absolutely freaking awesome. It had a bunch of colorful pots, huge to very small, filled with spiked greens, trailing plants and vibrant flowers. It also had an area with what looked like lounge chairs for lazing in and catching the sun that had thick pads on them. Another area with a round iron table ornate with curlicues and four matching chairs. And the last area was an abundance of thick mats and huge, brightly-colored silk pillows.

Total oasis. The best spot in the house, no doubt.

After the roof, it was downhill from there and Twinka rushed me through a kitchen at the back that had what looked like a fire-burning oven as well as rudimentary stove and a long, battered table. Out the backdoor through a small, tidy courtyard (with more potted plants) was where the slaves quarters were, four small rooms, two on top, two on bottom, each room had two twin-sized pallets on the floor, two drawer wooden dressers beside each pallet with one, measly candleholder on each dresser.

Hmm. I was going to have to do something about that.

Packa, I had learned from Jacanda, had served Lahn the longest and took care of his food and cham needs prior to my arrival. He had purchased the rest of them at an auction two days before the Hunt (where many soon-to-be husbands saw to the needs of their future wives).

From Oahsee (who asked Bain who answered), I learned Lahn bought slaves prior to the other Hunts he attended but did not participate in as Dax then sold them immediately after when nothing struck his fancy.

Therefore, Packa was the only one who’d been there.

And by the time we arrived back in the courtyard area, Lahn was gone but my girls were there with trainee warriors lugging in our stuff from the wagon outside and the girls were looking around with awe.

The minute Twinka saw them, she opened her mouth to speak.

And the minute she did, I got there first.

See, I dug it that this was her place, I totally got that, but these were my girls.

And no one bossed them around.

In Korwahk, I quickly introduced my girls to Twinka, Twinka to my girls and then I announced, “These things can stay here for now. Twinka, please give my girls a tour of the house and then they’ll need some time to bathe, put on clean clothes, rest for a bit after that ride and have some food. After that, these things can be unpacked.”

Twinka squinted up at me with a mouth so tight it tripled the wrinkles surrounding it.

Then she muttered, “Gay na tahnay,”**** glared through my girls, then raced off.

They all glanced at me as they raced off after her.

I pulled in a breath and let it go.

Then I went in search of Lahn and found him coming out of the bathroom-ish room and into the master suite.

“Hey,” I said on a big smile. “I like your house. The roof is freaking awesome.”

“Dohno,” he muttered as he walked passed me to the door.

I instantly deflated and I didn’t even know I’d inflated.

Then I turned rather despondently to follow him with my eyes. I figured he had Horde and war things on his mind and was in king mode so he was away to do king things.

But okay, so sure, he only lived here two months out of the year so this probably wasn’t an important place to him and sure, he couldn’t know that in my world, a husband bringing his wife home for the first time was a big thing.

But still…

At the door, instead of walking through it, he grabbed it and threw it to.

Then he turned back to me.

Then I caught the look in his eye.

Then I gave him another big smile as he stalked toward me. Then I let out a laughing cry when he got to me and caught me up in his strong arms.

We tested out the bed first.

It was huge, it was soft and it was sturdy.

We tested out the bathing pool next.

It was divine.

* * * * *

Let’s just say Twinka didn’t like Ghost.

Like, at all.

And we’ll also say she didn’t like the familiarity, consideration, caring and casualness with which I treated my girls and flatly refused to respond positively to me doing the same with her.

But I didn’t care.

I was f**king queen.

I’d endured a Hunt. I’d witnessed a suicide-slash-execution. I’d watched a challenge for the Dax. I’d survived a bloody attack in my cham. I’d assisted in a minor medical procedure with only the most primitive of instruments at our disposal. I’d seen one of my girls beheaded. I had belatedly made one helluva match between a tiny, sweet, beautiful, timid Fleuridian girl and a dark, proud, taciturn Horde warrior.