Page 29 of The Goddesses' Gifts

I snorted and waved a hand to dismiss the silence, pointing to my ear so she’d understand we weren’t protected anymore. I leaned back and returned to combing her hair.

CHAPTER 13

OZANNA

“One awful thing at a time,” I murmured to myself after Zelfek closed me back in my prison. He’d done me the kindness of leaving his light for me though. There was no mistaking his care of me after Dulanzo’s attack for anything else. Whatever he’d been made to do no doubt wore heavily on him. But his hand had been steady and gentle when easing the tangles from my hair. And he’d been careful to mind my dignity as well.

When I’d been too numb after hate-fucking the monster of the mountain, I wouldn’t have cared if Zelfek had seen my body. He’d had the full view well beforehand. But it was thoughtful. The kind of care I’d given victims I’d rescued on my patrols. I just hadn’t wanted any of the others to see me so battered. To see that I was weakened, that I was an easy target. Perhaps Zelfek wasn’t as deserving of my ire as I’d once thought. I’d extended my trust on instinct, and though he was fallible, it was a relief to find I hadn’t been mistaken.

I looked down at my hands and found that the swelling was down. The bruises faded further. I’d never been healed by magic before, and it struck me as peculiar that it would take so long. But it would have been longer still if I’d waited for it to heal all on its own. No doubt Zelfek’s addition of the lavender to the bath had helped some, but it was miraculous to see the bruises fade away so quickly! By this time tomorrow, it would be almost as though the attack hadn’t happened.

Zelfek had procured much warmer clothes for me, even a cloak. No doubt in anticipation of escape. I was grateful though because the mattress on the floor was too cold for comfort. I bundled myself up and waited for him to return with Oshruli.

When the door opened next, it wasn’t Zelfek, but two elves I didn’t recognize. I stared up at them in shock, but they only shooed me off the mattress. There was a part of me that wanted to be afraid of them, but there was something about them that … well, resonated with me. Similar to that sense of familiarity I’d felt with Oshruli. That and they didn’t give two shits about me once I was off the mattress. They dragged it and the broken bed frame out of the room and then brought in a whole new bed. It wasn’t much different from the last one, sturdy and wooden, though it was quite a bit larger and, most importantly, didn’t stink of Dulanzo.

I started crying again. These unnecessary tears were really starting to make me angry. Which made me cry harder. It made perfect sense that they’d replace the bed if they wanted me to remain healthy. It wasn’t a big deal. But replacing the mattress felt like a kindness, and one I hadn’t expected here surrounded by males. Especially considering everything Lhoris had told me about this place. It still felt like a very silly thing to cry about, but I’d always thought I’d have a community that included women when it was time to understand the nuances of pregnancy. Zelfek wouldn’t lie about crying being part of it, would he? It felt terribly unfair and lonely to experience this turmoil without female solidarity, so I didn’t bother fighting the tears too hard.

The two elves froze in place and exchanged worried looks. One of them asked me a question I couldn’t understand, and I said as much. Not that it was terribly intelligible even if they could understand the trade language. They spoke back to me in soothing tones and held their hands, palm out, toward me, as if trying to calm me. It only made me cry harder. They all but panicked, doubling down on their efforts to hush me, approaching with pleading in their eyes.

“St-stay aw-way,” I sobbed, though I didn’t think they intended to hurt me. They were just frightened, which triggered the instinct most social animals have, to stay still and be quiet to search for the source of their fear. But it was clearly my crying that upset them, so we were left frozen in place, staring at each other in a particularly confusing standoff.

Zelfek sighed heavily from the doorway. “Crying is … let’s just say, bad luck. A bad omen, maybe?” He gave the two elves a hard look and put Oshruli down.

The boy ran to me and climbed up my clothing to wrap his little arms around my neck. He chattered away while I hugged him back. Then he gestured for the two elves to come closer.

I looked to Zelfek for an explanation.

“He wants you to meet his older brothers,” Zelfek explained. “They were offering to comfort you when I showed up, by the way. Lirraco and Thimdrac are what the humans might call nice boys.”

“They don’t look like boys,” I argued through sniffles.

“Physically no, they’re adults, but as far as maturity goes, they’re boys. Younger than Lhoris, older than you.” Then he spoke to them. “They want to know if they can approach you now.”

“Oh, um, yes?” They hadn’t even dared to approach me when we’d been alone and Zelfek’s presence, and translation, was extremely reassuring.

Lirraco and Thimdrac approached me cautiously and engaged in a rather lengthy exchange with Oshruli. In which Oshruli told them his name, and mine, many, many times. Then he reached up and grabbed my face with both hands and made me look at his brothers. He told me their names many times as well, thumping them each time he said their respective names. I nodded every time and repeated after him until he was satisfied I wouldn’t forget who they were.

“Thank you for the new bed,” I said rather lamely to them. Zelfek translated and they nodded sheepishly. They no doubt smelled what Dulanzo had done to me on the mattress when they moved it. Wasn’t I, in some fashion, their stepmother? And that thought led to a hiccupping sob of embarrassment.

The boys all started trying to shush me again. Zelfek barked at them in elvish. They ceased their fussing and my weeping tapered off.

Will I cry like this the entire pregnancy? Gods, I really wished I could ask Judith.

“Why are they nice boys?” I asked with a tremor in my voice. “Nobody else here is nice.”

“They were lucky enough to grow up in a sibling group,” Zelfek explained. “They’ve always had each other. They lend each other strength in the face of adversity.”

“And you brought them here to move furniture?” I knew there had to be more than the need for strong backs to bring them, specifically, down here.

“No,” Zelfek snorted. “I brought them here to move furniture and help attend the pregnancy. They’re Lobikno’s, so their magic will be better in tune with both babies.”

I blinked at him. “I’m sorry, what?”

“The healer said he thinks there are two.”

With a slow shake of my head, I held up a finger as if scolding him and sighed heavily. “No. That’s one too many things at a time.”

Zelfek cocked his head, gave me a peculiar half grin, and shook his head. “Okay, but they …” He pointed at my belly. “… need more magic than one surrogate can provide. Lobikno might be enough alone since he’s the father, but we are what you have available. I’d get the others to help, but they’re on duty.”

---