Maliha

Her shock melted into concern as she looked to her brother. Maliha wasn’t sure where Urik and his mate had been all this time, but it seemed that no one had been expecting their return. The distance had not lessened the tension between the males.

“I was called home by Savuriya,” Urik muttered, looking to his son with all the sadness of the world.

“I don’t care,” spat Ray’et. “You were banished for a reason Urik. Nothing validates your return.”

Ray’et’s body was stiff as he refused to look at his father. It seemed that Urik’s presence was a hardship on both cousins and yet Maliha could not understand why. Yes, both males held Urik accountable for what happened to Ujarak’s mother, but that had been years ago. But it seemed that time he not lessened the pain.

“My son, please.”

Ray’et melted under his mother’s gentle touch.

“Have you not missed me?” Zoya sniffled, stroking her sons jaw with a sadness that had Maliha’s heart weeping.

She felt like an intruder witnessing this moment of intimacy between this mother and her son.

“Of course, I have missed you mother” gentled Ray’et, gripping his mother’s hand with a softened touch that betrayed his emotion. “But this man-

“This man is my mate and your father, Ray’et, just as he is your uncle, Ujarak.”

“By marriage,” Interjected Ujarak.

His body language was off the scale. Maliha had never seen him so infuriated. He seethed with unbridled anger and she feared that with the anguish of the day, Ujarak would not hold back his tumultuous emotions. Maliha stepped closer to him and lightly pressed her fingers to his back.

She didn’t notice any major change in his body language but Maliha felt some of the anger ease from his aura.

“Family or not, you were banned from this land. The council decided many years ago Urik,” gritted Ujarak.

His fingers clenched into a fist.

“But Savuriya has called me home. It has been over ten years and the time has come. I cannot ignore her calls. She demands we put the past to bed.”

“Never,” thundered Ujarak.

Everyone flinched at Urik swords, even Maliha who had no understating of the depths of the situation knew that those words were too much. He had gone too far.

Ujarak growled, his fist beating against his chest in a wild rage.

“My mother’s blood is on your hands just as it was upon my fathers. Banishment was too kind a punishment.”

Urik staggered back at the pure ferocity in Ujarak’s step. Zoya, reached out to stop Ujarak but not even her gentle touch could stop him from gripping Urik by the neck.

“Ujarak,” Maliha called, panicked by the dark shade of red that Urik was turning.

She looked to Ray’et for help, but her pleading look was only met with one of such cold loathing for Urik. She turned to Nahi, but her friend could not meet Maliha’s stare for fear that Maliha would see the shame that Nahi held deep in her heart.

“Ujarak,” she pleaded.

Maliha’s hands shook as she pulled at the back of his top. Her fingers rubbing along his back as she tried to soothe his anger. His eyes clenched at the sight of his uncle and all the memories he brought with him.

“You could have told him to stop, but you didn’t. Not once.”

Maliha’s heart broke a thousand times for Ujarak’s pain, for all of their pain. She knew that he felt this was retribution, but this wouldn’t help. It never could.

“Please Ujarak.”

Her whimpering finally broke through to Ujarak and he dropped Urik to the floor in a gasping heap.

The elderly man clutched at his throat as his mate sobbed at his side. Ujarak’s face was molten with rage as he glared at a man that he had once held in reverence. A man that his father had once looked up to.

He knew that Urik could not be held accountable for the actions of his father, or Nahi’s mother, but Urik had known when no one else had. He had known Kain like no one else. He was Kain’s advisor, his confidant and instead of telling his nephew to stop, he had become an enabler to Kain’s toxic ways.

“I know I am just as much to blame as Kain or Mina is,” Urik croaked.

“Every day I look at my hands and see your mother’s blood. The blood of a woman I did not protect. I knew she was sinking and I did nothing, I praised your father for having two women even when I knew it was wrong.”

Maliha flinched against the barrage of ugly truths spewing form Urik’s lips.

“I even helped conceal his whereabouts. I knew, and I did nothing to stop him. I helped him desecrate our beliefs and in doing so I dishonoured my family. I dishonoured my mate. I dishonoured you both, I dishonoured this tribe.”

Urik was sobbing by the time he had recounted all the ways he had failed the people closest to him. Guilt was heavy in his heart because though he had not been the one to do wrong, he had enabled the situation.

“And yet I am here this day, begging that you forgive me for the sake of this tribe. For our nation.”

Ujarak snarled at him, his large body pacing in suppressed anger. His fingers itched to crush this man he had once called uncle, but he could not. To do so, would be to ignore the good he had done. Without Urik, Nahi would have never returned home and Ujarak would have never known his sister.

“To forgive is to forget and I will never forget what you did. Your inaction contributed to the demise of my mother.”

“I admit I failed as an advisor, as a Drezir and as an uncle but Ujarak, this is so much bigger than us. The Svolik are moving.”

Ujarak wasn’t listening to Urik’s words. His anger was clouding his mind to all that his uncle was saying.

“Yidashay and Mahmatain are uniting the whole of the Yari Soleen are divided.”

“You speak of myths.” Grumbled Ray’et his arms folding across his chest.

“Myths?” Gawped Urik, looking to Zoya for support.

“I speak of myths, yet you have been to the Nushtar mountains and seen the Kyat tribe. You have seen the Draganir’s that live beneath their skin. Is this not part of the so-called myth?”

Silence.

No one could dispute Urik’s words which made Maliha all the more interested in what exactly Urik was taking about. She had never heard of the Yari Soleen, it had never been mentioned and yet Urik felt so strongly that they should unite. Maliha was reminded that there was so much more to this tribe than she had grasped in the past few months of being here.

“I am telling you now Uja-”

“Enough,” Ujarak snapped.

“I have had enough.”

Ujarak flicked his wrist dismissively before he charged away from Urik, leaving the man mid ramble.

Nahi looked to her aunt and uncle apologetically before she chases after her brother in what would be a heated conversation.

“I do not know what your purpose is Urik but know that I do not trust a word that falls from your lips.”

Urik flinched at his son’s cold tone and the impersonal use of his name. She could see the tears in his eyes and though Maliha felt bad for his pain, she could not ignore all the things this man had admitted to. He had stood by idly whisky a woman had sunk into a deep despair. He had watched their Razi desecrate their holy beliefs.

It was hard for Maliha to look at Urik. Not because she hated him but because looking at him all she could see was who he was now. He was sad and alone. A man full of guilt.

“I - I umm,” Urik choked defeatedly.

Maliha stood alone in front or Zoya and Urik. Everyone had disappeared leaving her with these two strangers and her now, lukewarm bowl of soup.

“I am sorry,” Maliha sighed. Offering them the food before she retreated away.

“No more than I am.” Urik’s heartfelt words caught on the wind and followed her retreat.

Maliha wandered aimlessly through the camp, restless energy boiled inside her. Her mind was working double time, picking up pieces of information from the confrontation and trying to slot them in with the pieces of knowledge she already had but it wasn’t working. There were still so many pieces missing to the puzzle, but she knew that Malika’s book would have all the answers she needed.

“That was intense.”

Maliha spun in surprise at Sabra’s contemplative voice. The woman had taken a special shining to Maliha which she found quite unnerving. It was probably born out of the resemblance Sabra saw between Maliha and this mysterious woman she reminded Sabra of.

“Yes, it was very intense,” Maliha muffled awkwardly.

The confrontation had been so cut throat and full of emotion that she felt as if she were being disrespectful talking about it. It wasn’t her place to discuss what she had heard but Maliha could tell that Sabra was going to try and weed information from her. Maliha didn’t think Sabra was malicious. In fact, in the short time Maliha had known Sabra, Maliha found her to be the exact opposite.

She was caring and observant and it was that observant behaviour that made Maliha weary.

“It seems that the past always has a way of upsetting the future.”

There was something in Sabra’s voice that had chills climbing across Maliha’s body. Sabra’s eyes had a pale ethereal sheen to them that reminded her of the look that entered Makula’s eyes when she was in a light trance.

“I-I-” Maliha stammered unnerved by Sabra’s words and the look in her eyes.

“I think I’ll go find-”

“Mama,” called Enzo as he hastily staggered his way to Maliha’s side.

“Enzo, what are you doing? Where is Hafiza?”

Maliha tutted looking for the elderly woman. She spotted Hafiza’s silvery hair through the congregation of people. The older woman making her way to Maliha had a stern look on her face.

“Maliha,” she panted to a halt, “he wouldn’t sleep without finding you. Sorry.”

The woman shot a reprimanding glare down at Enzo, but his eyes were already drooping in exhaustion.

“Thank you for watching him, Hafiza.”

Maliha smiled apologetically at the distressed and annoyed woman. Enzo was still a handful, he still had a propensity to wander off and poor Hafiza had been at the receiving end of it.

Maliha scooped Enzo up into her arms, his head resting on her shoulder as he sunk into a sleep just like that.

“I guess it’s time I put him to bed,” chuckled Maliha, waiving Hafiza good night and turning to do the same to Sabra.

The Sujurrah looked at Maliha with interest as she tilted her head in farewell.

Maliha trudged back to her rent with a restlessness energy trapped inside her. Sabra made her feel uncomfortable. There was just something about the woman. It was as if she knew who Maliha was, as if she saw down to Maliha’s core and it made Maliha feel weird.

Maliha quickly checked on Xiuri and Kamir before she headed to her tent to sleep.

A dark figure sat crumpled outside of her home, broad shoulders sweeping to the ground in defeat.

“Do you want to talk about it?” She questioned, looking down at his tired face.

Ujarak’s head shook in rejection. Maliha nodded her head and continued past him to the flap of her rent.

“Stay a while?”

Ujarak climbed from his seated position and followed her inside the tent.

He made his way over to Enzo’s bed silently, Maliha following behind him.

“Where are you sleeping tonight?” Maliha questioned as she gently set a sleeping Enzo down on his palette.

Ujarak shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly as he sunk into a cushioned stool.

“You can stay with us.” Maliha murmured as she stripped Enzo from his clothes and left him to rest.

“Thank you.”

The first words that Ujarak had Muttered to Maliha since he graced her footsteps were full of such raw emotion they had Maliha rocking back on her feet. Ujarak was a cauldron of feelings just waiting to boil over.

“Help me bring the beds to the middle,” Maliha instructed.

They worked in silence as they joined the two beds together in the centre of the tent. Maliha headed to her corner of her home and quickly wiped her body with the fresh water she kept in a bowl. Once her skin was clean and she felt refreshed, she slid into a thin slip of material and climbed into the bed.

Ujarak followed Maliha’s lead and quickly wiped down his body before stripping down into nothing but the small piece of cloth that covered his private area. He slid into the bed behind Maliha and wrapped his arms around her waist. Pulling her body into his chest.

Maliha lay in Ujarak’s arms. Her eyes wide open as she listened to the tribe preparing for bed. The bustling of leaves was accompanied by hushed lusty moans of lovers whose day had been long and emotional. Maliha’s skin burnt with mortification as she lay awake in Ujarak’s arms listening to the sounds of couples reaching their peaks. Her body sizzled with arousal, her legs clenching as she tried to ignore the heat emanating from Ujarak’s skin. Her legs shifted as she tried to suppress the ache growing between her thighs.

One of his large hands gripped her hip tightly and halted her movements.

“Stop moving,” he rumbled.

“Sorry,” Maliha hastily replied, her eyes clenching closed at the hard thickness that nestled into her behind.

She stiffened her body and tried not to move. Her chest barely moving with each slight wisp of air that came from her lips. She felt so awkward. She couldn’t relax into his warmth because she knew that doing so would only force her arousal to climb to unbearable heights.

A deep sigh parted the short strands of her hair as Ujarak rolled away from her and onto his back.

“If I am making you uncomfortable, I can leave.”

Maliha rolled onto her side to face him. Her head resting on her hands as she stared at his side profile.

“It’s not really you that is making me uncomfortable, it’s just-”

Maliha hesitated briefly before whispering her next sentence.

“Can’t you feel the tension Ujarak?”

At her whispered sentence, Ujarak rolled onto his side until he was facing Maliha. Their lips almost touching.

“Of course, I feel it, Maliha,” he crooned.

“I am finally in a bed with you and your hair has grown so long now.”

They both remembered the promise that Ujarak had made. He had said he wouldn’t touch her until her hair was shoulder length and though it didn’t completely touch her shoulders, it skimmed the top so slightly that it wouldn’t even make a difference.

“I guess it’s a good thing that we aren’t alone,” Maliha chuckled nervously.

Her thighs quivered at the unreadable look that entered his eyes.

“That wouldn’t stop me.”

And to prove his point, he wrapped his arm around Maliha’s waist and pulled her chest flat with his. A deep moan rattled form her lips as her nipples grazed against his bare, warm chest.

He nuzzled his face into her shoulder and then followed the column of her neck up to her ear.

Nibbling on her earlobe he whispered, “I could have you now and Enzo would sleep right through it all.”

Her whimper of need was met with the fullness of his lips. He pressed his mouth firmly to hers and then his tongue coaxed her lips open. Tongues slowly intertwining as his hands travelled down the length of her back until he was gripping her ass.

Her rolled to his back and took her with him. Her legs straddling on either side of his hips as her hips ground against his.

A harsh moan gasped from her lips and her hands sunk into his hair. She gripped the silky strands as he grunted against her. She was delirious with feel of his decadent kisses and his hardness that throbbed between his thighs.

“Ujarak,” she susurrated.

Sitting up, she began pulling her nighty down her arms, baring her aching nipples to his hungry gaze. His calloused hands came up to grip her body. His thumb stroking against her nipple and then halting abruptly.

His hips bucked upwards and Maliha toppled to the side of the bed. Her clothes crumpled as fear clung to her.

“Did you hear that?” Ujarak grated, his chest rising up and down in choppy breaths.

“Yes I-”

Maliha jumped as the blood curling scream tore through the night again.

Ujarak shot to his feet and ran to the other side of the tent. He quickly slipped on his trousers and gripped his knife in his hand.

“Do you have a knife?”

Maliha nodded choppily as she slid her dress back into her place and pulled her knife from its hiding place.

“Good. Stay here with Enzo. I’ll come back.”

“Okay,” she whimpered.

“Okay.” He repeated, gripping her face in his hands and kissing her before charging through the tent door and into the pitch-black night.