Page 11 of The Orc Queen

“You saved us. That’s all that matters. You came for us. That’s all I will remember.” I say as I caress his hand with mine while I swipe my thumb on his lips and caress his skin.

“I vow to never place you in danger in the future. Forgive me, my dove.” He begs.

“Win for us at dawn, Igor. That’s all me and the little orcs need.” He smiles a little and I smile back, but I know I am asking a lot. “Win tomorrow, so we can have a home here and show all of them you are no longer the lost one.”

All his movements halt. But he doesn’t say anything on it, he just nods.

“You’ll tell me about it someday, right?”

He nods again. I see a hint of regret, maybe shame, maybe fury behind his eyes.

“So, is the name Imp part of that conversation?” I don’t know why I find the name Imp funny for him. I take the cloth and rub soap on it. I start rubbing it on his skin. He still needs to get clean.

“My father gave me the name when I was in my 30s after a war. He called me the Impaler.”

My mouth falls open. I don’t know why I expected that to be a funny story. I have never known Igor’s brutal side because he has always been tender with me, but it is becoming more and more evident that others know a very different Igor.

“Do I want to know?” I ask, focusing on a particularly stubborn dried blood blob next to his nose.

“Because it’s you, you probably do want to know. But let’s just say I earned a reputation in this realm after that war and the next war I stamped the reason for it.” He says.

Silence befalls us as he studies my reaction to what he says. I don’t know how I feel with my mate being known as a brute even amongst folks as brutish as orcs, but it changes nothing with my feelings for him.

“I was a brutal orc before I was banished, Aria. Venturing into mad, I had become out of control and far from reason. Don’t tell them I admitted this, but maybe they were right banishing me in the first place.”

I don’t know why I find that funny. “Why would telling them be a bad thing?”

“You will see as time goes but power struggles don’t end here, Dove. When you earn your place, you have to work constantly to keep it.”

His face is quite serious. He looks almost apologetic.

I inhale and exhale. “I will learn too.” I pause. “Hey maybe you can teach me to fight too after I give birth.” I grin.

He chuckles. “Who are you planning to fight?”

“Hey, you never know when I might need to defend your honor, Mr. Prince Imp.”

He laughs and his lips caress his tusks in that way I like. I take the bar of soap and rub it on his hair. He lifts me a little so I can reach. I can’t even get as close as I would before the babies. I wash him and he lets me take care of him. I rub some of the herbs on his face and some on his shoulders.

“So, I have to ask. I remember you told me that male and female mates don’t really share bedrooms…”

He smirks with his eyes closed as I massage his scalp. “Worried you might have to sleep without me there, Dove?”

“You know how needy I am. So, do I need to devise a plan to sneak into your chambers, orc?”

He bellows a laugh and both of us vibrate. This feels good. Like we are settling to us once more. Even the herbs are working fast. I can see and feel the difference in his skin already.

“You would sneak to my chambers even if I am on the other side of the mountain?” He is very much amused.

“Yes.” I answer simply.

“With your very pregnant belly?”

“Yes.”

“Insatiable human.” He smirks.

“Hey, you got me used to everything.” I grab his nose and squeeze, cutting his air way.

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