Once Akira was done, she quietly trotted over to him and tapped his shoulder.
"You must be light on your feet, I didn't hear you coming." Thaggar said turning to look at her.
Akira smiled knowing he was lying because she had noticed his ear twitch as she approached him, a tell tale sign he'd heard her.
"You should eat something now. We'll be moving on soon."
"Aren't you hungry?"
"I don't eat much while traveling."
"How much longer?"
"Another two days."
Akira frowned inwardly thinking about how Tak and Rai would have to travel alone on their journey back.
"Don't worry, I'll have warriors accompany them as they'll be returning with gifts."
Akira nodded and made her way back to where everyone else was. Tak already had a plate of food for her and he wordlessly handed it over to her.
"Where's Taki?" Akira asked not spotting the chatty girl anywhere.
"She fell and hurt her knee." Tak said simply as he sat down patting the empty space beside him for her to sit.
"I should go and check how hurt she is."
"She's with Savvy. I'm sure you don't want to be alone with her."
"You knew Thaggar was married?" Akira asked feeling sad because she felt betrayed.
"Sit, Akira. Your husband might be a king but he can't stop everyone from feeling aggrieved when they have to wait for you to eat."
Akira pressed her lips in a thin line and sat down, bitting down hard on some dried meat. She coughed after the salt nearly made her choke. Salt was a rare commodity in the South so she was surprised at just how much they had put on one piece of meat.
"You'll live well and our people will benefit too. I proposed that we strengthen our tade relations with the North and he said he will consider it."
"But we have nothing to trade with Tak." Akira reminded her brother.
Kanaq was old fashioned and too hell bent on following the ways of their ancestors. Their village even refused to be part of the Southern kingdom even though it was safer to live in much larger groups. The worst part was that most of their men also agreed with this while the women had never even left the village.
"I'll speak to Kanaq when I return and mother can speak to the women as well so they communicate with their husbands. That way we can have Kanaq pressured into agreeing to the trade."
Akira nodded and continued to eat. She realized Tak had stirred clear of the conversation she intended on having with him but she said nothing as she didn't want to give him more trouble than he already had.
"We're leaving!"came the voice of the man driving the cart.
Akira spotted Thaggar who was already on his horse watching as his men hurried to pack. She got up along with Tak and handed her plate to one of the men who nodded at her.
"See you later."
"See you."
The next eight hours were hellish for Akira. For some reason they were moving faster and seemingly more recklessly. She kept bouncing up and down uncontrollably while everyone else seemed like they felt nothing, this of which Savvy wouldn't stop laughing at her for.
She had hoped Thaggar would stop this ruthless march by sunset but he seemed to not notice that it was already dark. A sigh escaped her lips when they finally stopped to let the horses rest as well. Akira's leg's were wobbling when she got down from the cart.
"I fell and hurt myself but I'm fine yet you are here looking like you survived an ambush." Taki taunted slapping Akira's back playfully.
"Is that how you'll speak to my wife?" Thaggar's voice rang out.
Taki and Akira turned to the source of the voice, finding Thaggar standing with his arms crossed across his chest. He looked upset probably thinking Taki was the same as Savvy. He scanned Akira and noticed her shaking legs.
"What happened to you?"
"She's exhausted from the travelling. You act like everyone here is a warrior." Taki said frowning,"And I love sister Akira very much. I was just teasing her."
Thaggar nodded and walked towards Akira and without a word, he took her up in his arms and carried her to his tent that had been prepared. She was quiet, holding her breath while everyone watched. Savvy looked aggrieved as she watched her husband go with another woman while he had not paid her any attention.
"I will get some warm water, stay here." Thaggar ordered as he placed Akira on a soft straw mat.
She nodded wordlessly and waited for him to return. When he came back, he asked her to lie down so he could massage her.
"You don't have to. I can do it myself." She softly tried to dissuade him but he thwarted her hand away when she tried to take the clothe from his hands.
"If you take it, I'll take that as a sign that you can manage to stay up all night so I can make your legs shake for different reasons tomorrow."
Without hesitation, Akira lay flat on her back and shut her eyes. Thaggar's chuckle rang out from above her making her cover her lower half even though he said he wouldn't do anything. The truth was that she didn't want him to notice that moisture had already pooled between her legs. She felt so ashamed of how she was feeling.
She heard Thaggar grunt above her, his hot breathes landing heavily on her shoulder. She opened her eyes and found him staring at her. She felt breathless, getting lost in his gaze. He sat up straight and mumbled something to himself that she didn't hear then he gently started to massage her thighs. When he attempted to massage her in her thighs, Akira strongly objected to him doing so.
"You didn't mind last night." Thaggar pointed out and she turned beet red,"Are you scared you won't be able to resist me?"
Akira sat up, trying to leave but he pinned her to the floor, one hand pinning both of hers above her head. Before she could say anything, Thaggar placed his other hand between her her legs. An involuntary moan escaped her lips and she arched her back.
"Seems like I was right." He growled.
Thaggar bent down and kisses her until she couldn't breathe anymore then he moved to her neck and bossom. She had a tight shirt on that pressed her breasts together while leaving enough at the top to leave anyone curious about what was underneath.
He released her hands to fumble with her shirt and skirt while her hands flew into his hair to urge him on. She pulled him against her whole body as if she wanted to absorb him while his hands and mouth explored her body.