“If you wanted to meet her so badly,” Kinna said, “You could’ve joined the horde for dinner. Plenty of opportunities to introduce yourself to the new human bride.”
The new human bride. It sounded weird. And a little wrong. Like Beth was there to replace Sonya in some way. But she knew Sonya had nothing to do with Uthar.
The woman sighed. “I don’t feel like being social these days...” She adjusted her blouse and smoothed down her skirt, and that was when Beth noticed she was all dressed in black. Her hair was black, too, though there were a few streaks of gray in it. They made her look sophisticated. “I’m still in mourning. And I know you don’t understand, Kinna, because mourning and grieving is not something you orcs do. But I need time.”
The mage sighed. “You’ve had time...”
“I’m sure you don’t miss me.”
“We miss you a lot.”
Beth’s eyes widened. She would’ve never expected Kinna to say to anyone that she missed them. Who was this Sonya person, and what had she done to make the mage like her? Could she teach Beth her ways?
“Anyway, Beth doesn’t know who you are. I thought it was time that you two met. Since we just found out that she’s with child. Uthar’s child.”
“Oh!” A genuine smile spread on Sonya’s face, so genuine that it reached her dark blue eyes. “That’s wonderful news! Congratulations!”
“Thank you.”
Gorya brought tea and homemade pastries and set them on the table. She smiled at Beth and congratulated her. Then she sat down, and they all started to drink tea and nibble at the food.
“I would’ve loved to have children of my own,” Sonya said. “But Goran didn’t want any more children. Not after Morok had disappointed him. When his son left the horde, Goran felt it like a betrayal. To heal his broken heart, he took me, but made it clear from day one that all he wanted was a companion. Someone to share his house and his bed with. A bride, a mate, but not a future mother. He was old, too. So it wasn’t like...” She exchanged a glance with Gorya, and then tried to catch Kinna’s eyes, but the mage couldn’t care less. “Well, you know. I don’t think he could have children anymore.”
“I’m so sorry...”
“Don’t be. Goran offered me the best he had. A lovely home, a family, friends... We had some good years together. When he passed away, I couldn’t stand to live alone in that big house. So I asked Uthar to allow me to move here. I know the horde cares about me, but I needed to be alone. I needed to grieve in peace.”
“You’ve grieved enough,” Kinna said. “It’s time to rejoin us.”
Sonya rolled her eyes and gave Beth a conspiratorial smile. “Orcs... You know, I envy them.” She looked back at Kinna. “I envy you. You see death like the most natural thing in the world. You don’t suffer when someone dies. You’re convinced he is embraced by the spirits, gone someplace better. You don’t get attached, you don’t feel lonely...”
“Of course we feel lonely,” Kinna protested. “When we’re alone. But you’re not alone. You have us. You have everyone. And now that Beth is here, someone like you, someone from your world, maybe you’ll come out of your house more often.”
“Maybe,” Sonya conceded. “Though, you know what? I personally don’t miss you that much. Since I moved here, you’ve all been visiting me all the time. I couldn’t be truly alone even if I wanted to.”
Kinna didn’t look offended. She grinned and sipped her tea, feeling proud of herself that she hadn’t given up on Sonya. Beth observed them in silence. It was clear that they were friends, and since she was here with them, invited for the first time, she felt like maybe she was finally on the right path to getting what she wanted.
“Tell me more about Goran,” she said, thinking that must be the way to Sonya’s heart.
“Goran the Vengeful. He earned his name in battle, in his world, not here. When I met him, he didn’t strike me as vengeful. We had a peaceful life together. He took care of me, and I took care of him. I was more than ready to give him a child, but he didn’t want that. It was hard to accept at first, but then again, I couldn’t complain. These were the beginnings of the institutes for orc tributes. Orcs came and took brides, and not all of them treated them right. Not immediately after the war. So, I was lucky. He was always nice to me, always gentle. We spent hours talking. He told me stories about his world. He sometimes spoke about Morok’s mother, too, but not often. Only when he got nostalgic. I wasn’t jealous, though. He was all mine. What more could I ask?”
Beth could tell that Sonya was sad she’d never had kids. But she was just a tribute, like her, and she’d had to respect her orc mate’s wishes. Just like Beth was respecting Uthar’s.
“Now tell me about yourself, Beth.” She leaned over and squeezed her knee. “I love your dress, by the way.”
“Thank you.”
“And your beautiful hair! Look at that! Is the color real?”
Beth blushed. “Yes. I got my great-grandmother’s hair.”
Sonya really wanted to hear about her life, but the problem was that Beth didn’t want to divulge anything important with Kinna and Gorya there. She felt like she could tell Sonya anything, but only Sonya. At least for now.
So, she only told her about her job, and how she’d considered taking a sabbatical at first, but then realized how stupid that was, and quit. The women laughed at her expense, and Beth noticed the tension that had first been between them had dissipated. She told them about her apartment, and how she was thinking she might have to sell it at some point. That was partially a lie. Abby lived in her apartment, but Beth didn’t mention her. Not yet. Because then they would ask about her and wonder how her sister had ever agreed with Beth offering herself as tribute. She couldn’t get into any of that, and she didn’t want to lie, either. Lying was never a good policy. But she could omit some things for the time being.
They finished their tea and talked some more. The sun started to set, and when Kinna stood up, Beth did so too, feeling it was time to go. Uthar should’ve returned by now, and he was probably looking for her.
“Visit me again, Beth. Let’s go for a walk in the park.”