Kaius the Fierce by Cara Wylde

Chapter Sixteen

They caught the train late at night. Not because it had taken them long to pack Sasha’s few clothes and toys, but because Aunt Meg was a terrible driver.

“Better safe than sorry,” she said as she drove way under the speed limit.

“Did you think the same when you pulled a gun on my ex?”

Sasha was asleep in the backseat, and Grace woke her up gently when they reached the train station. Then, they’d had to wait. Meg waited with them, yawning every two minutes.

“Will you two be okay?”

“We always are.”

“I mean it, Grace. Isolated in the mountains with no phone signal... I can’t come to your rescue.”

“You won’t have to. And, anyway, when did you ever come to my rescue?”

“You’re right. You always came to me when things were bad. I was just there.”

They were silent for a few minutes. Sasha was dozing off again, exhausted by the events of the day.

“Thank you,” Grace whispered. “For everything.”

Meg huffed, but a smile was playing on her lips. “You’re welcome. I know I wasn’t an ideal Auntie, and after your Uncle Keith passed away...” She shook her head. “Alas. You turned out okay.”

Grace chuckled. “I guess so.”

“Sasha will turn out better.”

“I’ll make sure of it.”

The train pulled into the station, and they hugged. Sasha was conscious enough to say goodbye and kiss Aunt Meg, then the second she saw herself on the train, she fell into a deep sleep. Grace played with her soft, brown hair as she hummed to herself. They were alone in the compartment, and she was grateful for that. After the day from hell that she’d had, she needed some quiet time to think.

“It’s over,” she murmured to herself. “This marks the end of one period of my life, and the beginning of the next. It’s going to be a good one. Has to.”

She couldn’t sleep, so she stared out the window, mostly at her reflection, since it was dark outside. Her hair was disheveled and needed a wash, and she looked years older. She wasn’t wearing any makeup, and now she regretted not taking a minute to make herself look presentable. She took out a pocket mirror and studied herself in the dim light of the train compartment. She pulled at the skin around her eyes to smooth out the wrinkles and frowned. She had to take better care of herself now that she didn’t have to worry about making rent and paying the bills. She was only twenty-six, going on twenty-seven, and she felt and looked like she was over thirty. But she was sure a good night’s sleep and a long hot bath would fix the exhaustion written on her features and most of her newly-formed wrinkles. Oh, and the lack of stress. That was going to help, too.

“I need to make some changes. I need to put myself first once in a while.”And that didn’t mean putting herself before her daughter. It just meant she needed to start looking after her health, her figure, and how she dressed and carried herself. She needed new clothes, too, and either Birma and Beka would agree to take her shopping in town, or they could also show her how to make herself some leather and fur garments. She wouldn’t mind dressing like the orcs. Their clothes looked comfortable and warm, making them great for living in caves and in the woods. She could make clothes for Sasha, too.

She combed her hair with her fingers, doing her best to untangle it. She only hoped that when she reached the valley, Kaius wouldn’t freak out at the sight of her. Grace knew that he wasn’t shallow, but that didn’t mean she didn’t want to look her best for him. At the institute, she’d learned that orcs found human females beautiful and desirable just because... they were human. And different. But she didn’t want to bet her future on that. It was only natural for a man to want his woman to be pleasing to the eye. And now that she didn’t have to work two jobs anymore, Grace would hopefully have plenty of time to tap into her femininity and charm her mate every day. She’d managed to seduce him, managed to make him love her, even, and to accept the child she’d had with another man. Now, Grace had to keep Kaius. He’d said he loved her. She’d said the words, too. So far, so good, but she couldn’t take that for granted.

She couldn’t take Kaius the Fierce and his horde for granted. It was time for her to become the best version of herself.

Grace and Sasha got off in the town nearest to the valley, then Grace called for a cab. It took her a while to find a driver who was willing to take her to the valley of the orcs, and when she did, she quickly got into the car and promised him a hefty tip.

“Not that I have anything against the green-skinned beasts,” the man said, “But I hear it’s best to stay out of their way.”

“They’re harmless, I promise.”

He sized her up over his shoulder. “You one of them orc brides?”

“Yes.” She said it with pride. No matter what anyone said, this had been the best decision of her life, and she wasn’t going to let herself be shamed for it.

The cab driver shrugged. “Someone has to do it. To keep the peace.” He started the car, and he didn’t talk to her the rest of the way.

Grace was grateful for the peace and quiet. Sasha was awake and playing with her favorite doll. Grace was glad to notice it wasn’t the doll Carl had given her. This one was an old thing, a Barbie knock-off Aunt Meg had bought for her birthday two years before. When the sky brightened with the first rays of sunshine, Sasha glued her nose to the window to stare at the fields they were passing by.

“Are we there yet?”

“Soon.”

They drove through two deserted towns, then finally, they reached the valley.

“This is as far as I go,” the driver said.

“It’s perfect. Thank you.” She paid the man, then urged Sasha to help her with their luggage. “We’ll have to walk for a bit.”

But they didn’t. She took a few steps, and then Kaius was there, flanked by Thrak and the Giant. He motioned for his raiders to take the girls’ bags, and the two tall, monstrous orcs stepped towards Grace and Sasha carefully. They nodded at Grace, but their eyes were fixed on the little girl, who was staring at them with her mouth agape. They moved slowly, as to not scare her. She didn’t even flinch, though, and that made Grace feel proud of her.

“It’s okay, baby.”

“I... know...”

Grace squeezed her shoulders, and when she noticed that Sasha wasn’t tense at all, just curious and fascinated, she let go and walked towards Kaius. She wanted to run to him and jump into his arms, but she forced herself to take things slowly. It had been a while since Sasha had seen her be affectionate towards a man, and Kaius was not a regular man at all.

The orc captain leaned in, and Grace wrapped her arms around his neck. He pressed her to his broad chest, one big hand on her waist, and the other at her nape, his fingers sinking into her hair. He breathed in deeply.

“You’re back...”

“I am.”

“I thought you’d take longer, but you didn’t.”

Grace bit the inside of her cheek. “I wanted to spend the night, but something happened and... it just wasn’t a good idea.”

He took a step back so he could look at her. “What happened?”

Grace waved him off. “I’ll tell you later.”

Sasha stepped behind her mother and peered up at the green-skinned stranger. She took in his sharp tusks, the way he was dressed, the weapons at his belt, and the tattoos on his arms. She studied him with interest, as if to determine if he was one of the good ones.

“Kaius, this is my daughter, Sasha. Sasha, this is... Kaius. I told you about him.”

“You’re his bride,” Sasha stated simply.

That made Grace blush a bit. “Y-yes.”

The girl nodded, then after a second of hesitation, she extended her hand in greeting.

“Nice to meet you. I like it here.”

The captain stared at the girl’s tiny hand with wide, slightly amused eyes. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do, so he just smiled.

“Good. Because this is your home now.”

Grace took Sasha’s hand in hers and pressed her to her side. She’d expected their first interaction to be awkward. After all, Sasha had never seen an orc in the flesh before, only on TV, and Kaius wasn’t known for his skills with children. Especially human children who were definitely not his.

“I’m glad you like it,” said Grace as she kissed the top of her daughter’s head. “Wait until you see the caves.”

“Oh, caves! Yes! I will feel much safer in the caves.”

That made Grace pale. She chuckled shyly and threw a glance at Kaius, hoping he wouldn’t latch onto Sasha’s weird comment. But Sasha wasn’t done yet. Apparently, she’d gotten over her initial timidity, accepted that she was now among green-skinned orcs that were so tall she could only see their eyes if she really craned her neck, and was feeling confident enough to start babbling like the six-year-old that she was. She’d slept well, it was early morning, the air was crisp and invigorating, and she was suddenly full of energy.

“I can’t wait to see the caves! And it’s good that we’re so far from home, because there’s no way he’ll find us here. Right, Mommy?” She didn’t give Grace a chance to speak, though. She moved away from her and took Kaius by the hand. Well, not by the hand, but by his thumb. She didn’t bother to try and look up at him again, and instead studied her surroundings as she led him gently deeper into the valley. “I hope he doesn’t go back to Auntie Meg’s house. That would be a mistake, because Auntie has a gun, and she’s not afraid to use it. All the girls in my family are strong like that. I never want to see him again. He scared me so much! And made me angry. I never want to see him again.”

Grace caught up with them and was silently praying that Sasha would shut up already. Kaius eyed her suspiciously.

“Who is she talking about? Who is this man who scared her?”

Sasha pulled at his thumb to get his attention, and finally looked up at him, squinting her eyes. “I’m down here. My real daddy. He’s bad. He tried to steal me, but Mommy and Auntie stopped him.”

Kaius froze in place. When Sasha pulled at him thumb again, he didn’t budge, and she frowned. He turned to Grace, his eyes darkening with menace.

“Is this true? Her real father tried to kidnap her?”

Grace sighed. “I was going to tell you, I promise! But I’m so tired, and I didn’t want to get into it so soon. Especially since nothing happened.”

“It doesn’t sound like nothing happened.”

“Oh, we’re fine,” Sasha offered. “We’re here, in one piece.”

“Jesus, since when do you have so many words in your vocabulary?” Grace was feeling a tad exasperated. She knew Sasha talked a lot, as all children did, but this was too much, too fast. “I’m sorry, it’s okay. You’re only telling the truth.”

Sasha blinked up at her mom. “Was it supposed to be a secret?”

“No! No, no, no. It’s just...” She fixed Kaius with her gaze, hoping she sounded convincing enough. “Nothing happened. He showed up, made a scene, but he didn’t try to kidnap Sasha. He was only trying to get a reaction out of me.”

Sasha grinned. “He got a reaction out of Aunt Meg.”

“Grace, I can’t tolerate something like this,” Kaius said in a low, firm voice. “Someone tried to hurt you and your daughter. And now that someone is out there, free. That is unacceptable.”

“No, it’s okay! I told him I’m with you. I mean... I didn’t tell him your name, or anything. I didn’t tell him where we were going, obviously. But he knows I’m with an orc horde, so trust me, he won’t make the same mistake again. Above everything, Carl wants to live.”

“Carl.” The name rolled off the captain’s lips in a strange manner, as if it was poison that he couldn’t quite spit out. “I will take care of Carl.”

Sasha cocked an eyebrow. “What does that mean? Take care of him... I thought you were going to take care of us.”

Grace groaned. “No, that’s not... it’s different.” Then, to Kaius, “You won’t.”

“I will get rid of him,” Kaius clarified.

“Oooh...” That made more sense to Sasha, but she was still oblivious to the real meaning of the words. “That won’t be necessary. Auntie Meg already got rid of him. She made him get into his car and leave.”

“I will...” Kaius growled.

“No.” Grace stopped him with a hand right to his mouth. She looked him deep in the eyes. “Nope. We’re here, we’re safe, we were never in real danger anyway, and everything is fine. Let’s just go home and forget all about Carl.”

“Is that what you want?” He sounded disappointed.

“Yes. It is what I want.”

Kaius sighed. “All right. I promise I will protect you.”

Grace kissed his cheek. “Thank you. That’s all we need. I mean, we also need some food and a hot bath.”

Kaius smiled broadly, then bent down and lifted Sasha like she weighed nothing. To him, she was like a feather. The girl yelped, then laughed when the orc set her on his shoulders.

“Let’s go home.”