“This is ridiculous.”
“While Abby gets the captain,” Sonya said, “I need to change the sheets. And I’ll help you change, as well.”
Beth couldn’t care less about the bloodied sheets and the state she was in. The windows were wide open, but the room still smelled sour and coppery. She sensed the women were trying to fix all that before Uthar was allowed to see her, and she felt infuriated by the whole thing. He was her mate. They were going to spend the rest of their lives together, and what Kinna, Sonya, and even Abby was implying was that he couldn’t see her like she was now – tired, vulnerable, in pain, soaked in sweat and blood. Because it wasn’t... appropriate.
She felt like it was bullshit, and she wanted to remind them that these weren’t the Medieval Ages, and she wasn’t going to hide this side of her from her man, just so she wouldn’t offend him.
She doubted Uthar even cared about these things. Some traditions had to die.
But Abby had vanished already, and Sonya was trying to help her up. Beth sighed and decided that she didn’t have the energy to argue, anyway. She also felt disgusting, so a change of clothes sounded like a good idea. Sonya brought some warm water and a cloth, and before she helped her slip into a clean dress, she washed her gently, as best as she could while she was lying in bed.
Kinna had yet to show up. Beth paid attention to the noises in the house, trying to determine if her baby was there, in one of the rooms. Had the mage taken him to her house? To the infirmary? She had to trust that she knew what she was doing. She’d seen her heal open, gushing wounds filled with poison. She was more than capable to take care of her baby.
“Drink this.” Sonya gave her a cup that was filled with a foul liquid. It smelled like dirt. “Kinna said to give it to you when you’ve regained full consciousness. It’s strong.”
“Finally! Something that will work.”
She pinched her nose and drank it in one gulp, then pressed her hand to her mouth and squeezed her eyes shut, trying not to throw up. After only a minute, she started feeling relaxed and a little lightheaded. The pain was fading, leaving her body sore in a soothing, delicious way. She sighed and let herself fall onto the pillows. Sonya brought the clean blanket up to her chin. Her lids were heavy, but she didn’t feel like sleeping. Only like lying there, comfortably, thinking about nothing in particular. A smile played on her lips.
“See? That’s better.”
Sonya continued to clean the room and make sure everything looked presentable, including Beth, who was mercifully silent and blissful.
Half an hour passed, and Uthar was nowhere in sight. Beth wondered if Abby had gone to get him at all.
Kinna finally showed up.
Beth lifted her gaze to where the mage was standing in the doorway, and the bliss on her face vanished when she saw the mage’s expression.
“I’m doing everything I can,” Kinna said in a grave tone. “You have nothing to worry about, Beth. I just need some more time.”
“What happened?”
“He was a little early, that’s all. He’s small for an orc baby.”
“It doesn’t make sense.” But Beth couldn’t muster the energy to be angry or upset. The medicine she’d ingested kept her calm even as her mind was racing. “He’s an orcling... He’s as strong as his father, right? He will be okay no matter what.”
“That’s right. I must go now. He will be okay no matter what.”
As Kinna left, Beth turned to Sonya, not quite understanding how she could be so calm and collected when she felt like she was dying inside. Her baby was not fine, and here she was, unable to react properly. What had Kinna put into that concoction?
“Sonya...”
“Yes?”
“Don’t leave me too, okay?”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“Good.”
Because Beth had no clue what the hell was happening to her, why everyone seemed to be busy someplace else, and how she was supposed to wait here and not do anything. If Sonya left, she was sure she would descend into madness.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
He hated that the females kept him away from his mate and his baby. He’d heard her scream, and cry in pain and despair, but he couldn’t break the rules that had been set in stone by his ancestors, and run in there to be by her side. He paced the street, back and forth, back and forth, coming up with the worst scenarios in his head. As much as he wanted to have orclings with Beth, he decided then and there that one son or daughter was enough, and he wasn’t going to put her through this ever again.
Then the screams died down, and he heard the first cry of his baby. He wanted to rush inside, but he thought better of it. He had to trust the females. He had to trust Kinna the Mage that she knew what she was doing. He resumed his pacing, and when Kinna walked out with a small bundle in her arms, he ran to her, arms outstretched.