He doesn’t know me. Doesn’t care to know Ethan.
How stupid of me to sleep with him! He’s a selfish prick who only wants me for sex. No wonder he wants me to forget about Ethan. No matter how long the orcs keep me here, I’ll never forget about my little guy.
Paloma lets out a scream, bringing me back to what I should be doing. I grab her hand. “Focus on the breathing. In and out. In and out.”
I look at her belly. She’s huge, not surprising for having an orc baby in there, but five months…That’s awfully short for a pregnancy. What if this baby doesn’t survive? The orcs could blame me.Killme.
Verig flashes in my mind. He’d never let them harm me. He thinks I’m his, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned about these orcs in the time I’ve been here, it’s that they don’t allow anyone to take anything from them. Not without a fight.
It’s odd how I haven’t given Baloq a second thought until now. I haven’t been worried about him. My spine stiffens as I realize why. I feel safe with Verig. Something I never experienced with Nash or when I was locked in my cell, where I could be cornered—trapped—too easily.
Verig may want me and only me, but he hasn’t taken any of my freedoms away. If anything, he’s returned them. I can roam this entire camp without being followed by him or anyone else.
“He only watched over me when Baloq had me,” I mutter. “Because he didn’t trust him.”
“What?” Paloma says. She’s breathing easier now. She must be between contractions.
“Nothing,” I say. “I wish I had a watch or some way of timing the contractions.”
“They’re coming closer together.”
“Are you sure?”
She glares at me.
“Right. You’d know better than anyone.” I exhale slowly,thinking of what to do next. “Not much to do at this point except time the contractions, keep you comfortable, and distracted.”
“Distracted?”
“To reduce your anxiety.”
“Let’s talk about Verig,” she suggests.
“Great. My favorite subject.” I roll my eyes.
She laughs. “You’re being too hard on him. He’s a nice guy, just reserved. It took me a while to get used to him. Though that went both ways. He didn’t like me at first. Probably still doesn’t, but he supports me and Atox.”
“I can’t imagine you had an easy time with Atox, especially since you were the first human here.”
“Don’t let Atox hear you address him by his first name. Only a few have permission to use it. It would be seen as disrespectful. Has Verig said you can call him by his name, or does he insist you use his title?”
I blow out air. “I don’t give a flying fuck what Verig wants.”
“Okay, touchy subject, then. We could talk about what you’ve been doing in camp. I haven’t been getting around as much lately.”
“I get it. Late-stage pregnancy is uncomfortable. Dealing with Phoebe, even more so.”
She laughs again. “She is outspoken, isn’t she?”
She rules the women’s quarters like she’s a drill sergeant.
“That’s not a bad thing. The women need someone to lead them. I thought that would be me, but some of them see me as a traitor. They don’t trust me, not like you do.”
“They’re adjusting, for the most part. Phoebe complains about the women who don’t do what she says.”
“Leadership isn’t always easy. I see when Atox struggles over making the right decisions, especially when it comes to things like exiling a warrior. They have hard choices to make. Verig included.”
Paloma lets out a huge wail at that point, and I jump off the bed.
