“Thank you.”
Abby rushed into the living room, where her wig was waiting. Beth stayed behind. She watched Kinna as she started clearing out the table, pretending that Beth wasn’t there.
“You’re a good person, you know,” Beth said.
“I’m not a person. I’m an orc. A mage.”
“So, you’re a good orc?”
Kinna shot her a glance that could kill. Beth chuckled. It was her turn to be unimpressed. Now that she knew what Kinna was made of, she didn’t care about her pretend coldness anymore.
“Anyway, thank you. This means a lot. It means the world, actually.”
Kinna averted her gaze, then her eyes softened, and she gave Beth a smile.
“I’m happy to do it. And not just because my captain ordered me. I would’ve done it anyway. I would’ve done it if you came to me first and asked.”
Beth bit the inside of her lip. She wasn’t sure what to say to that. It had taken her a while to trust Kinna, and now she felt a little bad about it. Not that Kinna had been easy to trust or to like, but Beth could’ve been more understanding, seeing how she’d so easily gotten in bed with the man Kinna was in love with.
She reached out and touched the mage on the arm.
“Thank you.”
Kinna nodded, and Beth squeezed and let go. She went to find Abby.
* * *
“I am not living with you. No way.”
Beth groaned in frustration. Could Abby be more difficult?
“But I got your room ready! We have two bathrooms. Sorry, three! One is downstairs. Uthar isn’t home most of the time. He wakes up early, pops in again around lunch, then he doesn’t show his face until dinner.”
“Right. So, you’re bored, and you want to inflict your boredom on me.”
“Seriously...”
“Yeah, seriously. No. You have so many buildings you don’t use here. So many apartments.”
“They’re completely run down.” Okay, that was a bit of an exaggeration. Even if the orcs didn’t use them, they kept them in decent condition, and Beth had lovingly cleaned and organized a lot of them just to pass the time. “This room is cozy. See?” She pointed at the bed she’d just made. Everything was clean and crisp. “You had nothing against living with me at home. What’s your problem now?”
Abby shrugged. “I got used to being on my own, I guess. And no, Missy didn’t move in at any point. She just dropped by to make sure I was fine.”
“Well, I can see why. You’re not exactly a delight to live with.”
“Come on, Betty. Can’t I have my own place?”
“Ugh! Fine.” She slammed the door and started down the stairs. “I’ll show you some of the better apartments. Fair warning, though, I stripped them of books, coloring books, and crayons.”
Abby rolled her eyes. “I brought my own book to read.”
“Just one?”
“I’m not staying long, so...”
“You’re staying a while. You heard Kinna.”
“But she’s a great mage, isn’t she? I doubt it will take forever.”