Page 42 of The Orc's Wife

I managed to change my dress one day, putting on the shapeless brown garb of the palace servants in place of the leathers I had been wearing since the feast. If I ever needed to get away, I would have better chances if I looked just like any other servant.

Oriana came one night, six days after her first visit, slipping in when Urzulah was snoring hard after a late feast one night.

“Here,” she said, giving me the Essence of Spider’s Tear. “You must reapply it from time to time to keep your deception going. It is working, by the way. Urzulah was trying to convince her father of Urgan’s innocence.”

I clenched my fists, trying hard not to picture Urgan, chained and locked up, tortured and beaten. He was alive. That was all that mattered.

“And?”

Oriana rolled her eyes.

“No one treats her seriously, not even her father. She has been banned from the dungeons, too, so she can’t go to see him. It’s good. Urgan might not think as fast as usual now. He might not realize what’s happening if she came simpering to him.”

I shook my head, trying to force myself not to ask that question… But I had to know.

“How is he?”

Oriana gave me a hard, long look.

“Getting worse,” she said. “They are starving and torturing him. Some of his wounds are infected. They brought him a physician yesterday, though. The Imp really wants Urgan’s soldiers to be the ones to kill him. Poetic justice.” She cackled madly, shaking her head. “He’s a fool, blinded by foolish tales. But thanks to his folly, Urgan will live until they get here.”

“And when will that be?”

Oriana watched me for a moment, hesitating. Finally, she gave me a curt nod.

“You’ve proven yourself capable. I can tell you, and you won’t let it slip. Grikh met with them and tried to delay them. They are taking a longer route, so they may get here in ten days. It might not be enough. We are preparing something… but we need more time.

“And Grikh can’t just tell them outright what’s happening. Even in Urgan’s army, some are less loyal. They may run directly to the Imp if they smell betrayal.”

“How much time do you need?” I asked.

“Two or three days more than the ten we have.”

“Can I help?”

She tapped her chin, looking me up and down.

“Eat. If you’re pregnant, you need to stay strong. And… you may try to convince her Ragan is untrustworthy. It’s only his testimony that the Imp has against Urgan. Thankfully, Urgan hasn’t said anything during interrogation, and he won’t. So, if you can undermine Ragan, it would be helpful.”

“I will.”

She nodded, giving me a severe look.

“I meant it. Eat. Sleep as much as you can. This rebellion won’t be worth anything to me if my whole family falls ill and dies.”

She left, and I sat down on my straw mattress, counting on my fingers. Could I be pregnant? My monthly was due in a few days… I would find out then.

But the anxious thoughts that were plaguing me kept me from obeying Oriana’s orders. I couldn’t sleep, thinking about the worst possibilities. What if Urgan died? What if the rebellion failed? What would happen to me – and to my child, if there was a child growing in my womb?

I sat there, fretting and thinking, until Urzulah’s hateful voice jolted me out of my thoughts.

I started carefully including Ragan in my tales, very subtly at first to gauge Urzulah’s reactions. I said he had given Urgan a hateful look, and that I thought he might be jealous of something Urgan had. But Urzulah wasn’t good at subtlety, and all my hints flew over her head.

A few more days passed, and I wasn’t getting through to Urzulah with my hints. And my monthly wasn’t coming. I was beginning to worry twice as much, not just about Urgan, but about the child I could be carrying.

So I gave the lie to Urzulah in the most direct way, doing my best to aid the revolution. I said I had overheard Urgan’s conversation with Ragan, and it was Ragan who had told Urgan that Urzulah was intended for someone else. And then, I told her Urgan had met with him again, and Ragan revealed to him he was planning to become the next Imperator.

According to my story, Ragan wanted Urzulah for himself, but not because he loved her. He despised her, and I repeated every scornful word Urgan had ever spoken about her, attributing it to Ragan. And I added even more – as many hurtful insults as I could think of.

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