“Mommy!”
“Tansey,” Calista calls. “It’s Ethan.”
“Mommy?”
This time. I turn around and my breath hitches at the sight of my sweet boy sitting atop a gorja with Verig’s arm around his waist.
Verig hitches Ethan against his chest and slides off the gorja. He sets him down, squatting next to him, and speaks to him while pointing at me.
With all my might, I run to my Ethan, blind to the people around us. I don’t care who is watching or how much I shriek as I lift him into my arms, hold him tight, and squeeze him. His little arms wrap around my neck, and his face presses against mine. Feeling him in my arms, taking in his scent, is beyond description. I’ve forgotten how he smelled, the peace of holding him close to me. I stop hugging him only long enough to shower him with kisses.
“I missed you, Mommy.”
“I know, my little man. I’m sorry I was gone so long.” I look into his dark blue eyes as I sweep back his hair, that’s much longer than when I last saw him. He’s an inch taller, too. I’ve missed so much.
Quickly, I visually scan him from head to toe, my hands moving over his arms, head, and face, checking every part of him. Briefly, my eyes veer over Ethan’s head to Verig, who stands by his gorja, proud and tall.
Then it hits me. He brought my son here, to the orcs, where we can never leave.
VERIG
Tansey’s facelights up with a joy I’ve never seen before. I’m honored to witness this reunion, and I’m at peace knowing I’ve finally given my female what she needs. Then the memories of Haaka holding Veeya strike. I push those memories back, as I will not let the loss of my family dim this moment.
Tansey’s hands fly up and down her son, touching, inspecting, assessing. Six human females gather around and whisper among themselves, several with tears in their eyes. The orcs working nearby look at me with wariness. They know what I’ve done.
When Tansey stands, her expression sours. “You brought my son here against my wishes,” she says, hiking him up onto her hip.
“You needed him. I could not return you to New Earth. This was the only solution.”
“I said I didn’t want him brought here. I was very clear about that, but you warriors ignore what others want. You think that because we’re women or human, that our opinions, our needs don’t matter, that we’re only here for your…” She covers her son’s ears. “For your use.”
“I brought him here for you, female. You need him.”
“I need him to be safe.”
“He is safe here. You both are, because I vow on my life that I will never allow another to harm you.”
“Really? Can you keep the other orcs from looking down on us, or making negative remarks about us being human? I can take it, but he’s just a child. Not a commodity you orcs want.”
“He will be treasured, as any other youngling.”
“But he’s not like the orc children here, is he? He’s human andmale. He’ll always be weaker, smaller.Human. And he won’t be a child forever. He’ll grow up into a man. I’ve heard what you and the other say about human men. That they are weak, stupid, and untrustworthy. Your comments and those of the others show me exactly how your people will treat my son. That’s why I didn’t want him here. He’ll be hated and denigrated merely because of his species, not for who he is on the inside.” She turns and walks away from me.
“I will ensure this doesn’t happen,” I call after her.
She spins on her heels, fire in her eyes. “You can lead your warriors, but you can’t make them believe humans are as good as orcs. Of all the selfish?—”
“I was thinking of you, Tansey. And Ethan.”
“You were only thinking of what it would take to keep me here. You have no idea what it is to be a parent, what it is to worry over a child, and fear for his life. You don’t deserve to have a youngling, not until you learn that their needs come first. I’ll never forgive you for this, Verig. Keep the hell away from us.”
She storms off, the other human females quick to surround her, swallowing her and the youngling into their ranks like a legion of guards protecting a grak.
A hand lands on my shoulder. Kodex. “She doesn’t know, Verig. If she did, she would not have spoken those words.”
“Whether she knows or not is irrelevant, because she is right. I do not deserve to have a youngling of my own. I wasn’t thinking of her wishes, only myself.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
