Page 9 of The Orc's Wife

Would it be prudent if I went to visit her without Urgan? I wanted to ask Mina if there were any etiquette rules for such an occasion but bit my tongue. I was her lady, after all. Urgan wanted me to be the Empress one day. If I revealed how lost I was, how utterly confused and ignorant, she might lose all respect for me and tell all servants how hopeless I was.

And then, I would have no allies at all. An honorary orc, indeed! So, neither a human nor an orc. My situation was looking grimmer and grimmer.

I took a deep breath. My life had just changed in every manner possible. I was in the city, far away from my home village. I was now mated, and to an orc, no less. An orc general whom the Imperator wanted assassinated.

And I had an enemy who wanted me dead, too. Urzulah had made it clear how she despised me. I’d never had enemies like this before.

Orcs had been our enemies in the village, of course, but none of them had ever focused on me personally. I was just one in the multitude of humans, an anonymous face in the crowd. And there was safety in anonymity.

Now, here, I could no longer be anonymous. I was suddenly someone of note, the general’s human mate. I would have personal enemies now.

I gasped when Mina tugged on one of my knots especially hard and bit my lip at once. Why hadn’t I thought it through before letting Urgan put that mark over my breast? Had I really been so dumb, sounthinking, that I hadn’t even taken the time to consider all the consequences of becoming his mate?

I sighed, putting my hand over the mark, now hidden by the dress. It wouldn’t have changed anything. Even now, despite all the hardships and fear, I still ached for him. Seeing his ferocious, green-skinned face in my mind’s eye made my heart pound with excitement. And with anxiety.

I was worried for Urgan. And I wanted him so much that my body was shaking from the emptiness, the loneliness of his absence.

So that was that.

I wanted Urgan and I wanted him whole. And that meant I needed to act. No matter what he said, I wouldn’t sit in his chambers like a frightened animal in its cage. I would do whatever it took to aide him and not be a burden.

And for that, I needed to learn as much as I could.

“It’s ready, lady Una,” Mina said after she had pinned up my hair in a twisted braid snaking its way around my head.

“Perfect. Now we’ll go out.”

Mina didn’t contradict me, but she kept sending me resentful looks. I wasn’t behaving like I was supposed to, I guessed. The proper way for the general’s human mate to behave would be to sit demurely in her quarters and wait for the return of her dear mate. Well, I was anything but proper.

And I was going out.

We climbed the stairs, passing few servants and no orcs. Urgan and Grikh had told me the Imperator’s court was a nocturnal affair, with feasts and games going late into the night or even until dawn.

Now, it was early afternoon. Most of the palace dwellers were probably still sleeping or just waking up. That was perfect. I could slip out unnoticed.

My only concern had been Urzulah, but we didn’t meet her. And soon, we were out of the palace, walking fast down the cobbled slope to the gate in the wall.

The guards paid us no attention as they stepped aside to let us through. Mina was walking a step behind me, and I could hear she was muttering to herself, although her voice was too low for me to hear the exact words.

For now, I let it slide, because the orc city was consuming my full attention.

It was bustling with activity. There were so many orcs and humans in the streets, walking, talking, shouting. Carts drawn by normal horses, and orcs riding astride their fanged dragon horses, a seller pushing a cart with steaming platters of food… I stopped, my mind overwhelmed by the sights, the noises, the smell of food.

I watched as a young woman carrying a large basket of laundry went across the street, deftly maneuvering between the horses and carts. An orc horse crapped on the street, leaving behind a heap of steaming horse droppings, and immediately a human with a bucket and a shovel ran over to clean the mess. He was done and off the street as soon as another rider approached.

I turned to Mina, unable to keep up my pretense any longer. I needed answers.

“Mina, help me out, please. I’ve been mated to Urgan for three days. I’ve never been to the city, and I barely know anything. Will you help me learn?”

“Three days?” she asked incredulously. “No wonder you’re so lost! You poor lamb. Of course, I’ll help you!”

Well, being called a poor lamb didn’t sit right with me, but I’d take it over her disdain any day. Her face was much kinder now and she clearly didn’t think less of me for not knowing anything. That was a relief.

“So… How do we cross the street without getting trampled?” I asked.

Mina looked left and right, stepping to the edge of the traffic. Suddenly, she caught my hand and pulled me onto the street, seemingly straight under the hooves of an enormous orc horse. At the last moment, she veered left and pushed ahead.

We were on the other side of the street, and I was feeling faint and half-dead already.

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