Kaius the Fierce by Cara Wylde
Chapter Thirteen
It had been a good idea to take the train and go by herself. Kaius had driven her down the mountain and through the valley, and they had kissed and hugged a dozen times before he let her go. Now Grace was on a train to her hometown, feeling like she could breathe, think, and finally be happy about what she’d accomplished.
Her orc mate adored her, and he was going to adore her daughter, too. Kaius was going to offer Sasha all the love he’d never gotten the chance to offer his son, Brun. As she thought about that, her heart swelling with each passing minute, Grace touched her stomach. Soon, maybe she could give Kaius another son and ease his pain and his longing. Not that a second son would ever replace the first, but maybe he could bring some joy into his life.
With that in mind, the second she reached her hometown, Grace stopped by the drugstore. She needed to grab a few things, a pregnancy test included. Just to be safe, she bought more tests, then grabbed period pads to last her a few months, medicine, though she hadn’t needed it so far, then paid and went to find a supermarket. She bought sweets for Sasha and a small blooming cactus in a pot for her aunt, to thank her for everything she’d done for her and her daughter. As she walked between the aisles, she found the spices section and immediately thought about the orc twins. With a smile, she reached out to grab as many packets as she could, but something made her stop. She curled her hand into a fist and pressed it to her chest.
“What if Sasha doesn’t want to go?”she silently asked herself. It was the first time this thought crossed her mind, and it paralyzed her. “Oh my God, she might not want to go. She has friends here, she’s used to the place, to the people...” The truth was, Sasha didn’t have many friends. Grace had taken her to kindergarten a few times, but the kid had hated it. Next year, she was supposed to enroll her in school, but the thought alone had kept Grace up at night. Because how could she send Sasha to school in her old, tattered clothes? The only other option was to home-school her and hope to do a decent job of it. Except... now there was a third option – take Sasha up in the mountains to join the horde and learn how to hunt and grow fruits and vegetables in the valley. Learn the way of the orcs. She wouldn’t have a fancy life, but she’d have a healthy, clean, honest life that didn’t require random degrees in exchange for validation. And, who knew? Maybe one day the scientists who’d initially created the portals between the two worlds would rebuild the machine, reopen the portals, and Grace and Sasha could join Kaius into his world. They would meet his son, Brun, and then... Then what? They’d all live happily-ever-after?
Grace felt herself panic. She rushed to the cash register, paid for the sweets and the cactus, then ran outside. She stood on the pavement, eyes closed, breathing in and out.
“It’s going to be okay. It’s okay. We’ll figure it out.”
Kaius would never leave them behind, that was for sure. But his home world was all about war and bloodshed. Could she dare to hope that since the orcs had landed into her world, Hagan and Sogar, the two war chiefs disputing the only continent they had, had made peace? Was she being naïve to pray for it?
“What else am I supposed to do?”She started walking towards her aunt’s neighborhood. It was going to take a while, but she needed time to think. “Everything’s in motion already. I’ll just have to tell Sasha, paint the horde and our future life there in the best light I can, and... and hope she’ll want to come. I wouldn’t be lying, so there’s that.”
She went on and on, thinking in circles. Before she knew it, she was standing in front of her aunt’s door, hand raised to knock. She’d lost all her courage. As her knuckles came in contact with the hard wood, tears spilled down her cheeks. She was about to see Sasha, and that was all that mattered.
The door opened, and Aunt Meg welcomed her with a smile and a short, awkward hug.
“You’re back.”
“Of course I am.”
“You took your time.” But there was no malice in the woman’s voice. She motioned for Grace to step in.
Grace handed her the bag and the cactus and peered inside the living room. “Where is she?”
“Upstairs. Painting.”
Grace smiled but didn’t climb the stairs just yet. She turned to her aunt. The middle-aged woman looked older than she remembered, and it struck Grace that maybe she hadn’t necessarily grown old in such a short amount of time, but she, Grace, hadn’t paid much attention to her back then, too concerned with her plan to go to the institute for orc brides. Aunt Meg was wearing an old, faded robe and slippers that had seen better days. Her hair was clean and pinned atop her head, and she’d even applied some mascara to her lashes.
“You look good.”
Aunt Meg rolled her eyes. “Should I call Sasha? She’s asked about you every day.”
Grace wiped her eyes. “I don’t know what to say to her.”
“Well, since you’re here and you look more radiant than ever, I suppose your plan worked. So? Are you an orc bride or not?”
Grace nodded. “His name is Kaius. I told him about Sasha and he immediately sent me to get her. The horde can’t wait to meet her.”
“What are you waiting for, then? Go tell her!”
“Aunt Meg, what if she doesn’t want to come?”
The woman opened her mouth to say something, then changed her mind and shook her head. “You go tell her and see.”
But Grace didn’t have to go upstairs, because Sasha had heard them. She came down running, almost tripping over her own feet. Grace caught her in her arms and pulled her tightly to her chest. She kissed the top of her head and inhaled deeply.
“Baby, I missed you so much!”
“Mommy, I missed you more. Where were you? You promised you wouldn’t be long.”
“I know, baby, I know. I’m here. And I will never leave you again.”
Sasha wiggled out of the embrace and looked up at her with furrowed brows and concerned eyes. “Well, I knew you didn’t really leave me. I was just worried you’d take even longer. Did you find what you were looking for?”
Grace laughed. “I did.”
“A new place for us?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” She hugged her mother again, and Grace had to wipe her eyes over and over.
“Baby, I have so much to tell you.” She took her by the hand and pulled her into the kitchen. Aunt Meg followed them, placing the bag of goodies onto the counter. Grace reached for it and gave it to Sasha. “This is for you. To apologize for taking so long.”
Sasha’s brown eyes went wide with excitement. “All is forgiven,” she declared as she started rummaging for her favorite candy.
Grace watched her for a few minutes. Her aunt made tea, and they sat in silence and waited for Sasha to not be as preoccupied by her candy hoard.
“Baby, you know about the orcs,” she started timidly. “Mommy told you about them before.”
“Yes. I remember. Aunt Meg told me so many stories while you were gone.”
Grace exchanged a glance with the woman. Meg shrugged, but a small smile was playing on her lips. Grace had a feeling her aunt had made sure this conversation wouldn’t be as hard as Grace had feared.
“What do you think about them?”
Sasha looked up at her mother. “I know there was a war, but now there’s peace, and the orcs live in the mountains and don’t bother anyone. They’re nice, and they like to hunt and mine for crystals.”
It was true. Most hordes had built caves only to find precious and semi-precious stones underground. They started mining them and selling them to humans for money to buy things they needed. There were also hordes that used the wood in the forests that now belonged to them to build exquisite furniture and sell it in towns. From what she’d gathered, Kaius and his horde were more focused on being self-sufficient. Especially since they had the means.
“That’s true,” Grace said. “And they take human brides because they need to build families.”
“Yes.”
“What do you think about that?”
Sasha shrugged. She was starting to lose interest in the conversation as she unwrapped another chocolate candy. “Everyone needs a family.”
Grace smiled. “That’s true. And you know... the women who go to live with the orc hordes... it’s their choice. They first volunteer, they live in a special place for a while to learn about orcs, and then they find an orc mate and move in with him and his people.”
“Aunt Meg told me,” Sasha nodded.
“And what do you think about that?”
Once again, she shrugged. “I guess it’s no different than a girl choosing to be with a boy.”
Grace let out a breath of relief. Her daughter was too young to have any preconceptions about orcs. Luckily, her aunt had always been impartial to orcs, and when Grace had told her about her plan, she’d apparently done her research and told Sasha only the good things.
Of course, things weren’t as simple as Sasha saw them. Becoming an orc bride wasn’t the same as a girl choosing to be with a boy, or a woman choosing to be with a man. The women who offered themselves as tributes usually did it as a last resort. At the institute, Grace had seen cases that were much more dire than hers, so she was never going to complain again. At least, she’d messed up her own life single-handedly. Sure, she’d been dealt a tough hand, but she could’ve handled things better. That was on her, and she was taking full responsibility for it. One day, she’d tell her daughter everything.
“Sasha, what would you say if Mommy told you she met an orc... an orc captain...? And that she was welcomed into his horde and now she’s come to take you to meet him and his orcs, too?”
The girl stopped chewing. She looked at Grace with wide, curious eyes, her mind trying to wrap itself around what she’d just heard. It was one thing to hear about orcs and be told stories by her aunt, and another thing to actually meet one. Or many.
“Is he nice?” she asked.
“He is.” But her question made Grace’s heart ache. Sasha had seen her date a few men, trying to find someone who was good for both of them, and she’d seen her sadness and disappointment when those men had proved to be not even half decent. “He is more than nice. I told him about you, and he wants to meet you. His horde lives in the mountains, in caves, and there’s an underground lake with hot water... They have a mage who can enchant anything... You’ll like it there.”
“He can enchant anything?” That had gotten her interested. “Can he enchant this?” She grabbed a random candy and held it up.
Grace blinked, then smiled. “Yes, I think so.”
She dropped the candy and held up a wrapper. “Can he enchant this?”
Meg laughed and poured herself more tea.
“Sure,” said Grace.
Sasha looked thoughtfully at the empty wrapper. “Maybe he can enchant it so another candy grows in it as soon as I eat it.”
“Err... I don’t know, but we can ask.”
“What’s his name?”
“The captain’s...”
“No, the mage’s name.”
Grace laughed. “Right. Ulgan. They call him Ulgan the Delirious.”
“What does delirious mean?”
“It’s when someone is not... entirely rational.” It was hard for her to explain, especially when she didn’t want to paint it in a negative light. Ulgan might not have been all there, but he was sweet and completely harmless. “Ulgan is special, you’ll see. He’s so funny. He says the most unexpected things, but the magic he does never fails.”
“All right. Then maybe he can enchant all of the sweets!” She spread her arms wide and jumped off the chair.
Meg and Grace laughed for a minute, but when Sasha settled down, Grace took her tiny hand in hers and squeezed to get her attention.
“So, do you want to come with Mommy and live with the orcs?”
Sasha bit her lower lip. “You’re an orc bride now, right?”
“Yes.”
The girl thought about it for a second, and Grace held her breath.
“What is his name?”
She knew she was asking about her mate’s name this time.
“Kaius.”
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Yes, I want to go with you and see where he lives.”
“And if you like it...”
Sasha shrugged. “I guess we can stay. But we’ll visit Aunt Meg sometimes, right?”
Grace let out a breath of relief. “Yes, of course we will.”
Meg huffed and stood up to rinse her cup in the sink. “Well, that’s something I wasn’t expecting. Either of you wanting to visit me in this old place.”
Grace grinned. “So, you agree that the house is old and could use some improvements.”
“Who’s going to pay for it?”
“Maybe I can help... at some point.”
“Is your orc mining crystals?”
“Err... no. He’s more into agriculture.”
Aunt Meg was getting ready to come up with a good comeback when someone knocked on the door.
“I’ll get it,” Grace said as she jumped from the table and passed Meg her empty cup.
Sasha was busy folding the wrappers and counting her candy, not caring about who was at the door.
Grace opened it absentmindedly, thinking it must be a neighbor or the mailman. When she lifted her gaze and met the chocolate-brown eyes that she loved so much on Sasha, she almost screamed.
“Hey Grace,” the man said. “Long time no see.”
“What the hell?! Carl? What are you doing here? How did you...”
She didn’t get to finish her sentence. Aunt Meg came to the door and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.
“Yeah, Grace,” she said with a sigh. “So, while you were gone... this happened.”
Carl was Sasha’s biological father.