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Fen smiled. "Yes. Thank you for this."
"You can take it off or on. I won't force you to wear it," he replied. He shifted uneasily. "I don't like that you're still a slave. I just didn't know how to get you otherwise."
Fen sat back on the cushions. "Can I ask why you bought me at all?"
"I want to make a deal with you," Khan began. He had rehearsed the speech but still felt awkward. "I want you to pretend to be my royal concubine for one year. I will only ask you to tell me stories about your lands, your gods, and your magic. Occasionally, you might have to attend some boring dinner or feast with me to play the part. Once the year is up, and they open the Gates of Horus back to Geb, you can return home."
Fen rubbed at the rune mark on her thumb. "It doesn't feel like the full answer to me. There have been hundreds of slaves over the years, probably some of my own people who could have told you about the lands I've come from. So why offer me this deal and no one else?"
Khan took her hand and touched the rune mark. "This is why. My people believe in signs and omens. This mark has been haunting all my dreams and visions formonths. I think there is a reason our goddesses brought us together, and I can't let you go until I know why."
Fen's eyes turned thoughtful. "I can try to help you find an answer to that. I can't guarantee that if I petition my gods, they will answer me in this place."
"They seemed to have answered fine when you threw a curse at Nektos just now," Khan replied, making her laugh softly.
"What makes you think I cursed him?"
"I could feel your magic, Fenrys."
Fen's full lips curved into a smirk. "Are you going to chide me, master?"
"Not at all. Nektos deserves whatever you gave him." Khan realized he was still holding her hand and let it drop. He didn't want to get over-familiar with her too quickly, and he really didn't like the heat that bloomed in his blood when she called himmastereither.
"If you tell me what you need for your petition and your magic, I'll make sure that you have it, Fen," he said. "You only need to ask."
"I would really like some clothes that aren't see-through," Fen replied.
Khan laughed, and the pressure that had been tightening his insides finally eased. "I can arrange that. I think it'll make Kashmet sad, but he'll get over it."
* * *
As a prince, Khan had an extensive wing to the palace. He only used a handful of the rooms, and Kashmet and Kemes had their own chambers.
There had always been a set of rooms built for a consort or concubine that he'd never used and had only been into once when he had returned to Ankhara. If he was going to keep up the facade that Fen was his concubine, he would make sure all the servants knew that the rooms were now hers.
"For the next year, this will be your sanctuary," Khan said, opening the doors and allowing Fen to enter in front of him. He couldn't imagine how different everything was from her own world.
She looked about with wide eyes, taking in the silk-covered chairs and cushions, the bedroom with the large ebony bed covered in delicate hanging curtains. There was also her bathing chamber and an eerily empty dressing room. He had dismissed the idea of buying her clothes because he wanted her to choose them for herself.
"I can get Kemes to help you find whatever clothes you like." Khan shifted his weight a little awkwardly. "She and Kashmet live in their own rooms connected to ours, but I want you to know that they won't ever step foot in here without permission. And neither will I."
"And you're not worried that I'm going to try and escape?" Fen asked, staring out the large windows at the palace's lush gardens below.
"Why would you? I'm going to give you whatever you want here. The Gates of Horus take massive amounts of energy to open. The Thothi only allows it once a year, so it's not like you can run home," Khan replied, crossing his arms. "No one is going to hurt you, Fenrys. I swear it, and so will Kash and Kemes. I'm pretty sure Kash wanted to marry you after the arena fight, and Kemes loves the idea of another woman being around."
Fen sat down on the edge of the bed. "I can feel your sincerity. I would know if you were lying to me. It just might take me a while…to get used to your kindness after everything that's happened."
Khan didn't know how to handle the tears that were suddenly falling down her pale cheeks. He knelt down in front of her and gave her a clean handkerchief.
"You are a priestess who should haveneverbeen treated in such a manner, Fenrys. My mother was a priestess too, and that something like this has happened to you is abhorrent to me." Khan reached over and lifted her chin so he could look her in the eyes. "You are touched by your gods, so in the eyes of my people, you are sacred. I would no longer consider myself a man if I didn't treat you as such."
Fen surprised him by taking his face in her hands and pressing a kiss to his forehead. "May the gods bless you for your kindness."
Khan felt the warm touch of divine power move over him. He had never felt anything like it except at the temple of Inanna in the north. How did a foreign woman have such access to the goddess?
"Oh, the kissing is starting already, is it? I'll take mine next, Fen," Kashmet said from the doorway.
Fen laughed, her hands dropping from Khan's face. He shot Kash an irritated look as he stood.
