Yarima Abubakar | Fifty-eight
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EVIL IS MADE NOT BORN
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The air, soft and kind, melted on my skin in fiery drizzles when I tasted the sweet salt of Hareti on Nimah's thin middle finger. It was first a meek kiss at the back of his palm before it was a slow lick, and then my senses were bursting with vivid colors of desire.
Around us, the scent of Hareti prevailed, as if to submerge and torture my willing body in aches of need. Perhaps I should have considered this before accepting Nimah's innocent offer and deciding to taste her. There was to be no end in the tunnel of lust I decided to thread, for there was no hope of an orgasm or even the slightest touch to aid relief.
Nimah's innocent offer was guaranteed madness for days without an end to my season of denial, but in that moment, as my tongue mastered the curves of his fingers, my heart danced in sheer delight. His fingers, thin and long were easy to suck on two to three at a time, and his skin was soft and sweet in itself.
Greed for him crept in, and without any thought given to it, my palm slipped under his silk emerald gown, wanting to touch him in ways I never had before.
Like plush velvet, or pure Egyptian silk, woven on finely polished wood by delicate aged hands, Nimah's thighs filled my palm and I squeezed. By all things precious and divine, he was soft and tender there, and to my surprise more plum than I could have ever imagined. The thinness of his waist created this illusion that he could not be squishy, too. But he was and it felt miraculous.
There was a shudder from him, quiet heavy breathing entering and escaping his lungs and gradually, the smell of him engulfed me. Cinnamon and a hint of lavender made the scent of Hareti more pleasing to my nostrils.
There was no more of Hareti to taste on his fingers. I had consumed it all and was hungry for more. More to lick, squeeze, and suckle on. I craved more of everything I had been denied for months, so there was not much thought given to Nimah's boundaries when I continued to slide his gown up his thighs as I kissed wet fingers, already covered in my saliva.
His body adjusted, leaning back and I moved forward, hovering over him until his back met the cushion. There was no demand from me before he was lifting his ass up to allow his gown pass further upward, and soon enough, Nimah was half exposed under me. Only then did my eyes flicker open as my lips departed his fingers and I gawked at the pale body below me covered in the soft haze of moonlight and dim golden lamps, with pink nipples pebbled and inviting.
I trailed my eyes between his legs where his bulge remained covered by an undergarment the same hue as his gown, emerald green. Flashing through my mind was the first time I saw him naked, how full his pubic hair was, and how well the gold color of it welcomed the creaminess of his cum after he masturbated.
My ache worsened—threading that path while in denial was a tedious affair. I had no control over the movement of my cock. It leaked and pulsed of its own accord.
His breathing was heavy. I watched his chest rise and fall from the nerves, his lips tightly pressed together as unblinking gray eyes stared at me with a million questions swirling in them, desire not yet understood burning. He was nervous, and so was I. For him, but also for me. There was much I wanted, and much he couldn't give me, yet I desired them all at once.
In times like this, Hareti's words reigned supreme. There was no need to think and choose if Reti drew the lines. I needed her to tell me how far I could go, what I was allowed to take and not take from Nimah's body, but I didn't want to wake her. Her eyes were closed, her breathing soft. Nimah had described her perfectly, she looked peaceful and safe, right there beside him, with her hands tucked under her cheeks in rest, so I let her be, and turned to Nimah for direction.
"How much I'm I allowed to take?" I whispered to Nimah.
He blinked back at me and answered with a shaky voice, "I... I'm not sure... what do you want?"
I moved my eyes down to his chest and pointed at the pebbled pinkness that was his nipple.
He was a man, I knew this, I was not expecting his chest to be luscious and full like that of Reti, however, I had been denied the satisfaction of suckling for far too long that Nimah's nipples proved to be the greatest temptation.
Though I had bedded several concubines, male and female in the past, it was never something I craved from them. Reti's breasts were enough and I liked having something that was just between us. I blamed my desperation for needing him that way but came to understand it was more than a measly desperation to suckle, but rather an intense attraction to Nimah's chest I hadn't yet grasped.
"Can I?" I continued in the same whispery tone.
He nodded once. "If it is what you need," his soft voice whispered back.
I shook my head, "Decide."
"I... I don't know, I can't decide, you should decide."
"I never decide."
"You aren't allowed to?"
"I don't want to."
He released a soft breath, his forehead slightly crinkling. It confused him greatly what Hareti and I shared, but there was a better time to explain.
"Let's wake her up and ask her to decide," he continued.
"It's your body. You decide," I countered.
"It's your body, too."
"That's different."
"Why? Because I'm not hers in the way you are?"
"You're free in a way I am not," I said.
The air was silent again as I held his gaze, glittering with curiosity and a desire to understand.
What Reti and I shared blurred a lot of lines of what many considered sane. We never cared about the gossips, so we never had to explain. But Nimah was aching for an explanation and at the time, I believed Nimah would think the same too, especially once he saw what it truly was to relinquish control. There was much beauty to it, but after being a servant all of his life how could he comprehend this?
When he said nothing further and dropped my head on his shoulder, my eyes hungrily staring at the rippness of his nipple. "Baby..." I chuckled into his chest. "Please decide. I won't continue if this is your limit, but leaving me like this is difficult."
His fingers slowly tangled with my locs as he said, "You're so different this way, Yari."
I raised my face to look into his eyes, a bit afraid I might have scared him off with my desires. "I am?"
He grinned a little and traced a finger across my cheek, slightly nodding. I was going to ask if it repulsed him when Hareti shifted, bringing her forehead to Nimah's shoulder and we both turned our eyes to her.
"Your whisperings are not silent, boys. I am doomed to a noisy marriage," she mumbled.
I passed Nimah a smile and he chuckled a little. "We didn't mean to wake you," I lied. A part of me hoped she wake up on her own and put me out of my misery.
Kissing Nimah's shoulder she purred and stretched a bit. "Hmm..." Her hand ran across Nimah's exposed belly and then upward until they were on his chest.
She squeezed his right chest and then his left, and from the tension in his shoulders, it was clear Nimah held his breath. I knew what it felt like to be touched by Hareti that way. It could set a bowl of ice on fire. She pinched his left nipple and a quiet whimper escaped him, making me swallow. She was making his nipples appear more inviting than they already were with the way she pinched and squeezed.
"Beautiful aren't they?" she asked and I nodded, biting down on my lower lip, my insides twisting for a command. "Have at it, then, but be gentle," she warned, "he's still too delicate."
I waited no second lowering myself to Nimah's nipple and sucking as gently as I could, which in total honesty was hardly gentle enough for the virgin body below me. He cried a moan and trembled and I squeezed his right chest.
"Easy," Hareti crooned, patting my hair before rubbing my back.
Nimah's moans were increasingly intoxicating. Soft but deep and titillating. From squeezing his chest, I ran a hand over his soft body, tracing a finger around a few of his scars while keeping a good distance between his bulge and mine, some kind of invincible boundary.
"Open your eyes, Princess," I heard Hareti say. "Look at his lips around you."
Nimah whimpered rhythmically, struggling to speak amidst the sensations coursing through him.
"Stunning aren't they?" She kissed him.
"Y-yes," he agreed breathlessly.
Their kisses continued with more intensity and I relished in the wet noises they made. The slurping, Nimah's whimpering, Hareti's gentle purrs. They were a melodic beauty and my cock ached harder to fill something. Until that night, I had barely laid my hands on Nimah, and now it seemed I couldn't stop. Licking and suckling him wasn't enough.
Hareti's fingers wrapped my jaw after a few minutes, lifting me off him and then kissing my lips deeply. "You've had enough, little one," she whispered.
"Please I—" She shut me up with another tight kiss and stared hard into my eyes. "Yes, Your Majesty."
When I trailed my gaze back to Nimah, he was a shuddering mess who could barely keep his eyes open. His left nipple had completely turned red and there were scratches all over his chest from the way Hareti and I had squeezed and clawed. Perhaps I should have felt some guilt then. He was overwhelmed. But all I could think about was how much farther we could take it.
How ruined would he be if Hareti took the reins and did everything I knew she craved to him. If she allowed me further explorations of his body, what would I discover? Would his ass be as soft as his thigh? How small was it and how long would it take me to stretch him to fit me? What did his cum taste like? How much of me could his throat take? They were wicked thoughts, it was not my proudest moment, but Nimah was a thing to lust after selfishly.
"I got carried away," the sound of my voice was too faint even to my own ears. "Thank you, Nimah."
He glanced between Hareti and me, biting down on his lip as a coy smile crept across his lips. "That was... it felt good," he muttered. "I didn't know we could feel things there."
"We?" I asked.
"Men," he replied and trailed his eyes down to his abused nipple.
An airy laugh escaped Hareti and my smile broadened. It was clear some aspect of this embarrassed Nimah, he covered them with his palm, forcing Reti and me into louder laughter.
"There are many places magical things can happen in a man's body, Nimah. And when your body is fully mine, I'll hold no restraint in showing you all of them." She kissed his cheek before lifting his undergarment to inspect him.
"I didn't this time," Nimah said softly, a bit of pride in his tone. "I wanted to, but I didn't." He smiled widely at Hareti as if seeking her approval.
"You're growing." She flickered his nose. "But don't grow up too fast."
He nodded. "I just wanted to show you I can handle more."
She kissed his forehead with a smile and rolled out of the cushion, stretching her arms as Nimah and I watched her body move in the dimness.
"You both reek of me, let's grace the baths. I will not stay long, there is a—" Her words were cut short by me sweeping her off the floor into my arms.
"I love to reek of you."
She giggled and we kissed, and then I was carrying her out the door. Our laugh remained cheerful and so were our kisses. When I turned around for Nimah, he was grinning at us sheepishly sitting on the end of the cushion.
I came to adore the way Nimah looked at Hareti and me in our happiest moments. Throughout the time we spent together, it remained as innocent and as pure. Free of envy and resentment, and though a time came when I felt those things when Hareti and he were together, I too came to adore looking at them that way.
"Come along, Princess," Hareti called out to him.
He sprang forth from the cushion and skipped to us, his hand clinging to my blouse as we walked the hallways to the bath.
"I cannot wait to be bound to you in marriage," Nimah said, staring at the tired woman my in arms. "To be bound to both of you," he added, now smiling at me as he played with my dress.
"Someone is eager to find those magical places in a man's body," Reti teased.
Nimah looked away with a shyness I had come to recognize all too well. "It's not just that. Yes, I am very curious about it, but there is more. I just wish to be married and bound by law and divine blessing is all."
Hareti's reply was a little smile as she tucked her head into my neck.
"You and I both, Nimah. You and I both," I said tenderly, planting a kiss on her forehead.
We entered arrived at the baths and wasted no time diving into the running stream. The evening was a soulful cool blue and there was much laughter as there was much beauty. Nimah swam the waters and I swam along.
Something had shifted between us. We were lighter around each other, less guarded, less careful. I hardly thought twice about dunking his head under the pool, or throwing my arms around him as we guessed what stars were which with pointed fingers, our naked bodies pressed against each other by the shoulder.
I do dwell on those moments the most now, it is why I must be precise and delicate in remembering, for it is all I have. There were many woes in our lives, but by some mysterious magic I have yet to know, when we were together, alone, bare, those woes did not exist.
That evening as Nimah and I took kindly to each other's company, making jest with words and perhaps, for the first time without knowing, crossing the lines of friendship, my wife—our wife, who then was yet to be ours in vows, watched us while seated on the baths pavement. Her blue eyes drinking in the moon, dark skin reflecting the water, jaw resting in her palm with her lazy air around the nakedness of her shoulders. She had been that way for most of the hour. Barely joining it, keeping a distance while passing us a smile here and there.
"You see that look on her face?" I said to Nimah who was recovering from a laugh.
"Is that the 'I want to be alone look' or the 'I am saddened in my soul' look," he replied.
"You learn fast."
"She isn't difficult to learn after some time."
"True words. Come along, let us seek answers."
I took his palm and we swam across the stream to her.
"Owner of my soul," I called sweetly in a stained voice, lifting myself out of the bath to be seated beside her. Nimah remained below us, standing in the stream. "If what weighs your heart are the events of the throne court, leave it be for tonight and tomorrow." I took her hand and kissed it. "Not much can be done in the dead of night, beloved."
"Come watch the stars, I think they have arrived early for the wedding tomorrow night," Nimah added.
Hareti tilted her head to the side and rustled Nimah's wet curls. "They have come to watch only you, my pretty little star." She leaned back. "But no," her gaze met mine, "it is not the throne court."
"What happened earlier today? Why were you so distraught?" Nimah asked.
Hareti exhaled, straightening her back. She took her time with a reply, glancing blankly at the water. Nimah and I made no effort to hasten her words. "There is much to be told. The deities play us for fools, my beloved," Hareti said. "I have been deceived."
Her eyes were saddened as she spoke, a profound sadness that the whims of pleasure had hidden from me in the hours before. For the next hour, Hareti began a tale, and our knowledge of this marked the beginning of our future.
She told us of Ogun, but with a truth not written on the walls of his temple. She told of Kasiri, his husband and Nimah's descendant cursed to live out his days imprisoned in his bloodline, and then she told us of Oshun and her quest for a new realm, using deceit to lure mortals into evil. Like children paying heed to a moonlight tale, Nimah and I listened in complete silence. We came to learn of the seed's true nature. It was in Nimah, it was in her, and to my utmost disbelief, it was in me.
There is a bit of regret as to what my next thoughts were. Hareti was always enough—always. But now, the possibility of having her bear my children was once again dangled before me, and for the first time in seven years, I allowed myself see them in my mind-eye, playing in the river.
Little dark-skinned babies with blue or brown eyes, laughter that could shake a mountain, and grip that would conquer kingdoms. I could see them, hear them, and almost feel them. It was an unexplainable joy, but I shouldn't have, at least not in that moment. I had made peace with being fatherless and convinced myself that being a father was not all there was to happiness. It was something I could live without—until it wasn't.
"This is the whole truth," Hareti concluded.
I had stopped paying attention a while ago, I wasn't sure what her last words were, and I was thankful she hadn't noticed. Certainly, she would have asked, 'What are you thinking, beloved?', and of course I would have lied and said, 'nothing'. She'd see the truth in my eyes and it would have hurt her.
"Do you both understand what this means?" Hareti questioned.
Nimah passed me a glance and I held his gaze as he said, "The three of us carry the seed and the Goddess Oshun threatens consequences if we do not complete the bond."
"No, not that," Hareti rose from the ground. "The seed of life is why we are here. Nothing is a coincidence, nothing is by chance. Not even your affections for me," she said and I giggled. "Something funny, Yari?"
"You're predictability is, beloved." I rose. "Oshun tells you it is all by her doing and you believe her? Why? She has lied to you about everything else."
"Kasiri revealed this to me."
"In truth, I have little understanding of how this Kasiri is possible," Nimah said. "How could someone else dwell within me without my notice."
"But you did notice. In your dreams. You went to him."
"I came to you."
"Kasiri is quite skilled at deception. He showed you what you needed to see to make all this possible. Within you, Princess, is a power unlike anything I have ever encountered. Kasiri assumes until the bond is complete, you will not be capable of wielding it. But, I have no intention of completing the bond."
"Hareti," my forehead crinkled, "you would disobey the Goddess?"
"If I am to be with child, there will only be two outcomes. I will either birth a monster or have my blood become a slave to a monster. And I choose neither. Imagine giving up my blood to serve a Goddess that torments her own people, it is abominable to me, why would I subject my child to that?"
"You assume what will become of our blood, Reti. But who is to say what lies ahead?"
Hareti rolled her eyes, her lips pouting in annoyance. "To give Oshun the satisfaction of an heir would be rip to me to shreds. I will not do it, beloved. I will not sacrifice any more of me for Arjana."
Hareti had always been a woman of pride, this came as no surprise, but this time, her pride was not guided by good cause. I could stand beside her above all things because the things she stood for were right in the end. But my young heart considered this shallow and a bit too selfish.
"These are words guided by ego. You are forfeiting yourself," I accused.
"Forfeiting? Forfeiting? You know how much I resent being manipulated, you know how much I resent lies. The deities plot for their own satisfaction. The name of my crown is chanted in the streets alongside vile words. I give them everything and my reward is naught. I will not subject myself to such atrocities any longer. If the world wishes to burn, I will let it and I will fan the flames." Her voice was calm but her eyes shone with anger.
"And what about me? What about us? You speak as though it is only you in this relationship?" I pushed on.
"How so?"
"Children, Hareti. We could have children." I had said it, and it was out there, squeezing around us. My skin pricked once I understood the line I had crossed, but there was no going back. Not on this.
With her eyes narrowing at me, she said, "Having children has never mattered to you."
"It was beyond our reach. It is not now. This is something to consider."
She took two steps backward and crossed her arm around her chest. "I see. When it was beyond my control it was an amicable decision. But now that it's my choice, you are beside yourself with grief of a future not yet certain."
I huffed a breath, "I am not beside myself, I only ask that you not make this decision alone. There are three of us, and thus, all three should have a say."
"About what exactly? If I forbid my body to bear children, it would do so, for it is my temple."
"All that talk about how much you would have to be a mother was a lie?"
"Of course not."
"Then why are we excluded in this decision? You've barely even asked Nimah."
Hareti's eyes slit to Nimah who had remained silent in the stream. "Alright, then. Nimah, what say you?"
"Yes, Nimah?" I turned to him.
He gulped, glancing between us. "I am uncertain of what the question is."
"Do you think we should breed monsters?" Hareti questioned.
"Don't call our future children that!" I chastised.
"They can't hear us!" Hareti returned.
"If both of you start arguing again, I'm packing my bags to Uwari?" Nimah's eyebrows crooked with the threat.
"But he—"
"Ah," Nimah interrupted Reti with a finger. "My turn to speak." He lifted himself out of the bath and stepped forward. "We have all the time to worry about children, a lifetime's worth, it need not be right now, my greater concern lies with why now?"
"Why now?" I asked.
He nodded and looked Reti's way. "You said nothing is by chance. Nothing is a coincidence. War knocks at our door, the Nazimabian king strutted into the throne court and roused the elders like it was nothing. In the wake of Oshun's revelation, I worry about the 'co-incidence' of these events."
I reached for the dry cloths lying lazily across a bench, offering both Nimah and Hareti one to wrap themselves. "You are far thinking, little star."
"He is right. The deities have proven to be masters at plotting. We must think ahead." Hareti turned her back to us as she wrapped the white cloth around her chest. "Before the midnight crow sings, oracles will assemble in the palace. Oshun showed me a vision. They were gathered in numbers in Amadioha's shrine planning to rebuttal our marriage in favor of the Nazimbian king."
"Do you not find it uncanny how easily our people are swayed by cowry and divinity," I noted.
"They have not changed since they first gave the keys of this kingdom to the West," Reti replied.
"Wasn't the African Union Treaty written in Arjana?" Nimah asked.
"Yes," was Reti's reply as she turned back to us.
"Then why is the council worried about Umaru's threat? I mean... in the case of promise violations, which is was the treaty is, domestic law is applied. If it was written by Arjanian lawmakers, I am certain domestic law was applied. It has been on my mind since we held court."
"Tell me more about this law?" Hareti implored, a seriousness in her voice.
"Section 1345 of the Promise Act that guides the formation of the treaty makes it clear only immediate family members can contest a promise violation. Life partners, children, parents, and such. If that is the case, Umaru cannot petition the African Union, right? He is only a distant nephew."
"Did the late commander ever marry?" Reti asked me.
"None that I know of... and he was the only surviving heir of his late father. Could it be–"
"He has someone. The commander has someone we cannot contest." Hareti turned away, stalking back to the window. "This is why he is so confident. Perhaps this information has reached the ears of our elders."
"And the oracles?" Nimah asked.
"The entire council wavered in an instant. Amara did mention the night before, a gathering was held. I assumed it was just for bribes. But what if he gave something more? Evidence as solid as a rock that he would in the end triumph."
"If there was such a thing, where would it be?" I asked Nimah.
"The libraries. We would have to look over the treaty for flaws."
"I had scholars examine it closely before, nothing was found."
"They weren't looking for this," I said.
"What are we even looking for?" Hareti asked.
"A reason why the Nazimabian king can contest the treaty in violation of the Promise Act. I'm not sure what it would look like. But I'm certain I will know it once I see it," Nimah replied.
" I suppose we begin while the night is still young. If we are lucky and we find it before the oracles arrive, then there will be no bloodshed today." Hareti turned back from the window. "But if we don't, and the oracles strut into my palace, my childhood home, to rebuke my marriage. None of them will depart with air in their lungs." She started towards the door with fast steps, leaving me bewildered. Nimah followed and after a few seconds so did I.
"You do not mean that," I called out as we entered the passages.
"Every word, Yarima. I have never meant something more true. They dare lay claim to my birthright? They conspire and they lie and they cheat. I have allowed the wings of fools spread too broadly in my kingdom in the name of fairness, but not anymore. Anyone who stands before me and demands my crown will perish."
"Oracles are the mouthpiece of the deities. You will incur the wrath of all those they burn sacrifices to," I warned.
She seized her steps and faced me. "When have the deities ever spared me anything else other than their wrath? The deities and mortals. They play a song and hold up my arms with strings, and like a fool, I have danced. Not more, beloved."
"You're better than their weakness."
"I thought I was."
"Reti... this is what Oshun wanted... can't you see?"
"Perhaps. She might be cruel but she is no fool. She has stirred the waves of politics longer than I have breathed. I did not want them dead under her command. I want to give them a chance to repent from their sins against me, beg for my forgiveness, and swear loyalty to my name. And if they do not, I will act as all deities do, swiftly and selfishly for my glory. In the name of the deities they will march to the palace, and in my name they will die."
Our eyes were locked in a cold haunting stare, something dark lurked between us. It was newly born and unforgiving. My skin crawled as I ground my teeth in annoyance, fighting to understand.
"This is not you, beloved," I began slowly. "The curse plays wicked tricks on your mind."
Hareti exhaled, her shoulders squaring in her stand, her chin tipping forward. A second passed, and then another before she asked. "What color are my eyes?"
"Hare—"
"What. Color. Are. My eyes?" she repeated, her eyes burrowing into mine.
I held my breath, and for too long a minute, we regarded each other.
"Blue," I answered.
***
Thank you for reading.
This is a two part upload, but I am still unsatisfied with the quality of chapter 59. You will get in a few hours or tomorrow.