Beth touched her stomach. “But... how? So soon? I don’t feel different.”
“Maybe you’ll feel sick, maybe you won’t. I don’t know much about human females and their biology.”
For her sister’s sake, Beth hoped Kinna was just being humble.
“I must tell Uthar,” she realized. A smile spread on her lips. She looked up at Kinna, and her heart filled with warmth. She was grateful the mage had visited her and made her drink the strange potion. “But he’s out hunting... Maybe we can go find him.”
“The captain can wait. You’ll tell him later. At dinner.”
“What? In front of everyone?”
“Yes. This doesn’t only concern him. It concerns the horde. We haven’t seen orclings in far too long. They will be overjoyed.”
“I still think it would be better if...”
“Nonsense! We can’t find the captain, anyway. Who knows how far he’s gone?”
Kinna surprised Beth by taking her hand and pulling her out of the bathroom.
“There’s someone I want you to meet,” she said.
“What? Who?”
“Don’t be so silly and curious. You’ll see.”
Beth rolled her eyes but kept silent as she followed the mage out the door and in the direction of the park. Kinna didn’t let go of her hand, and Beth felt a bit awkward. But not awkward enough to pull free.
Chapter Twelve
The house was on the other side of the park. It was small and isolated, occupying only the ground floor. There was a wide porch, and flowers lined the alley that led up to it. On the porch, Beth saw two figures – one of an orc female, and another of a human woman. The orc female was old, with gray hair and ashen skin, and Beth recognized her from the dinners she’d had with the horde. Her name was Gorya the Patient. She was the one who could build anything with her hands. The woman was young, though not as young as Beth. She guessed she could be in her forties.
Kinna let go of her hand and grabbed her long robe, lifting it as she walked up the stairs.
“Look what the cat dragged in,” the woman said, grinning.
Kinna huffed. “There are no cats around here.”
“And who is this? Oh... Beth! This must be Beth!”
Beth approached the woman and her orc companion, unsure what to do with her hands. She fidgeted as she tried not to stare at the woman.
“I’m Sonya.”
Sonya. She’d heard that name before. She remembered thinking how... human it sounded.
“Hi.”
“Hello! I’ve heard so much about you. Sit down.”
Kinna sat down, and Beth did, too. Gorya announced she would bring them all something to drink and disappeared inside the house.
“Well? Aren’t you supposed to say the same?”
Beth hesitated. “I’d like to, but the truth is... no one has told me anything about you.”
Sonya shot the mage an annoyed glance. Kinna barely acknowledged it.
“I’m disappointed,” Sonya said.