Free Doira'Liim (The Beautiful Whisper of the Goddess Saga) by Krystal Orr

bears him children, keeps his home, and prepares his meals and clothing. Her desires are no more. She lives only to satisfy her mate."
         Silence washed over the two women. Arizira's mind was buzzing with questions. Why would any woman wish to become part of such an establishment? The men did not value their mates? They simply used them for pleasure and comfort? "That is wrong, Tah-li. Your spirit can not soar if its wings are clipped."
         Talliea said nothing. She studied the Arniran's profile intently. "Do you have a mate?" Arizira attempted to keep her voice even and her question innocent. Despite being told to stay away from the Esu and limit contact, something about this particular woman drove a madness into her being and kept her from adhering to her duties.
         Swallowing, Talliea paused and looked down into the fire between them. Her heart thudded against the inside of her ribs and her mouth felt dry. She did not wish to discuss these matters with Arizira. Yet, how was she to deny someone who was so wholly interested in her in every way? Glancing back up, she noticed Arizira's amazing eyes were still watching her.
         "I do not have a mate, but very soon I shall. There is a man in my clan who has...declared his claim to me. The rules of my people allow me some time to either agree to mate with him, or to wait for others to state their wish to take me as a mate." Arizira's nose turned up and her flawless features took on a sour appearance. "That is distasteful. You are not free to fall in love and allow your spirit to find that which completes it?" she asked.
         Talliea swallowed and her dark eyes took on a sad light. "No, Ari. For Esu women, there is only duty. It is believed that we do our part for Esuval by giving ourselves completely to our men. Once a woman is bound to her mate, she then is marked forever by the tattoos of his house. What little freedom I have now will be gone forever once I am mated and my skin inked."
         Arizira stood up and walked over so that she could kneel before Talliea. She noted the defeated sag in the Esu woman's shoulders, and the woeful cast of her dark eyes as she sat next to the fire. Someone so lively and curious and captivatingly beautiful should not be kept in a cage! "Tah-li, your life is your own. I will not speak against your belief, but I will tell you of my own. Aitla teaches that love is the highest emotion we can hope to achieve in our life. The women of my tribe believe that true love is a once in a lifetime occurrence. Attraction comes and goes, but it is thought by my people that true love is the ultimate goal of our lives."
         Talliea smiled softly as she listened to Arizira's words. They sounded wonderful and beautiful and she wished her own life could be governed by them. "A few of us are gifted with finding our," Ari paused for a moment and furrowed her brow in thought, " Doira'Liim ," she finally said. "What is that?" Talliea asked, her eyes staring deeply into the silvery-blue in front of her.
         Arizira smiled and reached up to tuck a stray strand of hair back behind the Talliea's ear. "It means "spirit mate." It is shrouded in mystery because so few of us have ever actually experienced it. The bond is said to transcend earthly bounds. It is a connection more powerful than anything under Aitla."
         Outside, the wind picked up rock and twig and leaf alike. Muddy pools sloshed against the base of mighty trees as the storm continued to ravish the landscape. Talliea could not seem to take her eyes away from Arizira's. The easy and gentle smile the other woman was offering her somehow seemed to calm her, and her thoughts no longer lingered on her dilemma. How strange it was that someone she had only spoken with twice before was able to elicit such a sense of tranquility in her.
         "Your world is far more beautiful than my own, Ahmanae," she whispered.
         "Then we shall make your world as mine."