Page 72 of Orc's Pretend Mate

“Why? Why should I?” Vapas asks.

“Because the threats we face in the future are so much bigger than what has come before, it will take all of us if Tajss is to survive,” Rosalind says.

The way she says it penetrates hard. The words are threatening, but she doesn’t say them in that way. She is speaking facts. Things she knows in whatever way it is Rosalind knows things.

Vapas is breathing hard. His hands clenching and unclenching, but slowly the tension drains.

“Can you help my people?” he asks, his voice dropping until it is barely more than a whisper. “Help us be what we were?”

“Help, yes,” Rosalind says. “Restoring what you were? No. I will not promise that. Not to you, nor to the Zmaj who seem to want the same thing. None of us are going to be who or what we were. We’re going to have to be more and better than any of our races have ever been.”

My heart lifts with her words and tears fill my eyes. Rosalind looks over at her child lying in Visidion’s arms. Quiet and peacefully snuggled against his father’s chest.

I don’t think I’ve ever been consciously aware of my own womb before but seeing her looking at her child like that, I am. Very, very much aware of it as an empty ache ready to be filled. I look at Vapas and know that we will make beautiful babies together.

And we’re talking about more than our survival. We’re talking about the world we will be handing to our children. Vapas looks at me and in his eyes, I see the same thoughts.

“For our children,” I whisper.

“Dragoste,” he says, pulling me in closer.

I lay my head against his chest, listening to the beating of his heart.

“Forever,” I whisper as his arms enclose me.

“What now?” Vapas asks, over the top of my head.

“Now, I will do my part,” Rosalind says.

“The Al’fa—” one of the guard Zmaj says.

“Is my next meeting,” Rosalind cuts him off. “Give these two a room to call their own. Phoebe you know the drill. You’ll both report to the Duty Officer the day after tomorrow. Vapas you will remain available at all times for advising and debriefing.”

“I did not come to be a maid,” Vapas growls.

“No,” Rosalind agrees leaning onto the desk. “War is coming. The Shaman will be stopped. One way or another.”

And just like that, the meeting is over.

44

PHOEBE

The room is pretty much the same as the one I was in before, except now I’m not sharing it with three other girls. It’s just Vapas and I.

I took the time to put things in place, including getting my few belongings from my old room. I showed Vapas where the cleaning rooms were and though they kept a guard on him, we were both able to clean up.

Now we’re back in our room with nothing to do. He’s been quiet since our meeting with Rosalind. It makes sense, he had a grand purpose and now it’s a game of wait and see.

The calm that usually radiates from him like a steady flame is gone, extinguished by the weight of this moment. Every tick of the clock gnaws at his restraint, fraying the edges of a patience I once believed unshakable. His jaw tightens, his hands curl into fists, and for the first time, I see cracks in the foundation of his endless kindness. A tension that threatens to snap under the strain.

We sit next to each other by the small fire in the middle of the room, both of us staring into the flames. He puts his arm over my shoulders and I rest my head against his chest. It’s comfortable, but I’m acutely aware of how tense he is.

“It won’t be long,” I say at last.

“No?” he asks.

“I don’t think so,” I say. “They’ll have to decide soon.”

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