Beth smiled against his chest. “I remember. It’s funny now.”
“No. It wasn’t funny then, and it’s not funny now.”
“It’s different, though, isn’t it? Because I was a tribute, and that meant whoever chose me had a right to choose me for whatever purpose.”
“It’s not different.”
“Well, then... Let’s just say we found each other so we could help each other.” She pulled free and placed a hand on his cheek. “How about that?”
He smiled. “I think that works.” He leaned in and lifted her up at the same time, so their lips met in a sweet, gentle kiss.
Beth melted against him. She let him support her weight. Not just her body weight, but the weight of her soul, her emotions, her worries, fears, and hopes. He could do that for her. All she had to do was let him.
“We’ll bring your sister here,” he said, looking into her eyes with immense love and kindness. “Together.”
* * *
“Betty, I don’t know... I don’t want to.”
Beth squeezed the phone.
“What do you mean you don’t want to? I talked to Uthar, and we’re ready to come get you right now.”
She heard Abby sigh as she clattered about in the kitchen. She dropped something and cursed under her breath.
“Are you okay? What happened?” Beth was growing more and more alarmed.
“Nothing. A plate. It slipped.”
“Be careful. Where is Missy?”
“She has a shift today.”
Beth munched on her lip. She was upstairs, in one of the bedrooms she and Uthar didn’t use, wondering if Abby would agree to live with them while Kinna the Mage figured out how to help her.
“Abby, tell me why you don’t want to do this. This was the plan all along.”
“It was your plan, not mine. Don’t pretend you did everything for me, Betty.”
“I am not pretending! I never said that, and I would never...” She took a breath. “I did this for us. The both of us. I admit that I wanted a break from life, and work... A permanent break. And I wanted a family of my own. But I also wanted to find a solution... for you. Since Mom and Dad...” She swallowed heavily. “We’ve been on our own. Just the two of us. We’ve had each other, and that made things easier. I don’t know what I would do if you...” Tears welled up in her eyes. “I can’t lose you. Okay? I cannot lose you. I’m in a position where I can help you. I can make this all go away. Orc magic is powerful. Like nothing you’ve ever seen. I have to doubt that Kinna can heal you. Abby, I will not take no for an answer. We’ve come this far...”
Beth heard her sister sigh. The scrape of a chair on the hardwood floor, and she knew she was sitting down. She was probably too tired to do anything, and she should’ve been in bed, not in the kitchen.
“Okay, I’ll come,” she said, defeated. “I’ll come and see you, see your orc mate and the mage. But I can’t move there, Betty. I don’t think I can live with an orc horde.”
Beth smiled. “Don’t say that before you see this place. But it doesn’t matter. You don’t have to stay. When you’re back on your feet, you can return to your life. Your real life. The apartment is yours. Missy can move in if she hasn’t already. You can do whatever you want.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
Chapter Seventeen
The horde captain made his raider, Lonar the Beast, in charge the next day, took one of the orc cars, and drove up to the house, where Beth was waiting. Sonya was waiting with her.
When Beth told her that she and Uthar were going to see her sister and bring her to the town, Sonya’s eyes had brightened with interest. And longing. After so many years with the horde, she wanted to see the world of humans again. Even a few hours would be enough, and Beth immediately agreed. She hoped that if Abby saw Sonya, she would feel safer.
The two women rode in the back as Uthar took the wheel and drove them out of town. The orc car was a massive vehicle that was a mix between a modern car and a carriage. The orcs had started building them a few years after they came to the humans’ dimension, when they realized that if they wanted to be able to fit in and share this world with humans, they couldn’t ride their krags everywhere. On the highway, krags were a pain to ride, and dangerous to everyone. Usually, the orcs cars didn’t have a ceiling or walls. They were open. But sometimes, orcs would use tarps to cover them and turn them into wagons. Uthar had done this now, knowing that the human females needed protection from the wind and dust – two things that didn’t bother orcs in the least.