N. Walters - Fabric of Fate

What had he told her? Both brothers would compete sexually for her favors. She hadn’t really believed him. She opened her mouth to speak and shut it again. What could she say? She didn’t understand these men or their world.

“It does not matter what I told her.” Abrah stepped out from the bathing chamber. He sauntered over to the side of the bed and picked up his pants, pulling them on. “She is going home as soon as the tapestry arrives.”

It felt like an accusation of the worst kind and a sliver of guilt pierced her. But why should it? She hadn’t asked to be brought here. “I have a life,” she began.

Abrah ignored her as he yanked on his boots and tunic. The warmth from their time together dissipated quickly, leaving her feeling cheap and easy.

“Tell me about it.” Heroc put his arm around her shoulder, pulling her against his side.

“What is the point of talking?” Abrah lifted a four-foot sword from the wall. And how had she missed seeing that? He swung the blade easily in his hand, cutting it through the air several times. “She is leaving. Fuck her while you have the chance.” With that, he turned and strode from the room, leaving her alone with Heroc.

Tears pricked her eyes and she blinked hard to push them back, but one slid down her cheek. She tilted her head against her shoulder, brushing it away.

“Here now.” Heroc lifted her onto his lap, being careful to keep her blanket tucked around her. “No need for tears.” He used the corner of the blanket to wipe away a second tear.

He shook his head and sighed. “Forgive Abrah. He feels things too deeply and hides it behind anger.”

Audrey wasn’t sure she agreed with Heroc’s assessment of his brother’s behavior, but he did know him better than she did.

He tilted his head to one side. “You do not believe me.”

She shook her head. She couldn’t lie to him. “He made his position very clear.”

Heroc stood and strode to the table with her in his arms. “You must eat to keep your strength up.” He sat and pulled over the tray. “How about some bread?”

He was being so sweet to her she had to eat something even though her stomach was in knots and her headache was threatening to return. She picked up one of the thick slices of bread and nibbled on a corner. Flavor exploded on her tongue and she gave a moan of pleasure. How long had it been since she’d eaten anything?

Her stomach growled when the food hit it and she took another bite. Heroc pulled a wooden cup with a steamy liquid in it toward her. “I thought you might enjoy some tea.”

Audrey really wanted a cup of coffee. She’d hadn’t gotten used to her new status as a tea drinker yet and missed the punch coffee gave her. She knew that tea had to be her new beverage of choice if she hoped to get strong and healthy again. She just had to embrace the situation and make the best of things. Heroc had gone to a great deal of trouble to fix the tray of food for her and she truly appreciated his efforts. “That’s wonderful. Thank you.”

He lifted the cup toward her lips and she took a sip. “Careful,” he warned. “It’s hot.”

The warm liquid hit her stomach, releasing some of the knots in it. She took another nibble of bread.

“You eat and let me tell you about my home.”

Suddenly she wanted to know all about this place and the men who lived here. “Dannon Keep, right?”

Heroc nodded and grinned. “Very good.”

She felt like a prized pupil and a strange sense of pride filled her. To cover the unexpected emotion she took another bite of the delicious bread. There were slices of what looked to be a white cheese so she put a piece of it on top of the bread and tried it. Her eyes almost rolled back into her head it was so delicious. She had some more.

“It is only my brother and me now, and our people. Our father is dead these past three years and our mother and brother died of a fever this past year.”

She stopped eating and stared up at Heroc. Pain was etched on his handsome face. Pain she readily understood. “I’m so sorry. I lost my mother to cancer. It was only the two of us.”

“You are alone?” He seemed truly distressed by that news.

“Yes. But it’s okay,” she hastened to reassure him. “I’ve always depended on myself. Always knew I couldn’t depend on a ma—” She broke off before she finished not wanting to insult him, but he finished her statement for her.

“You knew you could not depend on a man.” He shook his head. “What is wrong with the men of your world?”

“Nothing. I just take care of myself.” And why that suddenly felt very hollow and lonely, she didn’t know. She’d always lived that way.

Heroc rubbed his large hand up and down her spine. “Even the strongest needs someone to lean on occasionally.”

“Even you?” He was strong and, she had no doubt, very capable of taking care of himself.

“Of course.” His eyes widened and he seemed truly shocked by her question. “I have Abrah and, before that, my family.”

“But no woman,” she pointed out. Most men had trouble making commitment.

He pulled her closer to his chest and rubbed the bottom of his chin against her scalp. “No, no woman. As I’m sure Abrah told you, women are scarce here and brothers must share one if they are blessed enough to find one who will join with their family.”

“He was serious about that?” She admitted to herself she’d thought that had been nothing more than a line designed to get her into bed.

Heroc tipped her back until she was resting against one broad arm and staring up into his face. His long, black hair was tied back, framing his incredible face, which was perfect except for the slight crook in his nose. Abrah’s face was a slightly rougher version of his younger brother’s. His usually smiling mouth was now a firm line of displeasure. She certainly had a knack of pissing off the Dannon brothers.

“Yes. It has been this way in Javara for hundreds of years.”

“How did it happen?” She freely admitted she was curious about this place. She’d probably be freaking out if she didn’t know she’d be leaving in three days, closer to two now. But both men had been adamant on that point and she believed them.

That in itself was shocking. But she tucked that thought away as Heroc began to explain.

“No one knows why it happened but more boys began to be born and far fewer girls. Within a few generations there were not many females left in our world. Men were killing one another, brother against brother and friend against friend. It was a bloody time in our history and threatened our entire existence.”

He rubbed his fingers over the curve of her cheek. “Men would have killed for the right to claim you.”

She shivered and he pulled the blankets more closely around her. “But not now?” Audrey couldn’t wrap her mind around the idea of someone killing in order to bed her.

“Not usually. Men share a woman now. Brothers can claim a woman between them. One for every three brothers. If there are four brothers they can claim two women if they can find them. Sometimes they even share among four if the woman is willing. Other families also have the right to challenge another if the woman is not claimed.”

“That sounds…” She didn’t quite know how to explain her thoughts. It was so different from the monogamous culture in which she lived. But even in her world people cheated and slept with others.

“I know there are many other cultures that do not live the way we do. That much has become obvious over the centuries, as tapestry brides have been brought here from many other worlds. It may seem strange to you but it is normal in Javara, a matter of survival.” He picked up her cup and brought it to her lips. “Drink before it grows cold.”