Page 34 of Her Orc Protector

"How..." My voice cracked from disuse. I swallowed and tried again. "How do you two know each other?"

Uldrek stepped into the room, ducking slightly under the low doorframe. Rain still clung to his hair and shoulders, the scent of wet wool and smoke trailing in with him. Something in me tightened at the sight—not relief yet, but recognition. A tether pulling taut.

"We don't," he said, his eyes on Ellie. "She said to come. I came."

Hobbie made a dismissive noise and hopped down from his shoulder with surprising agility, landing lightly on the bed beside me. Without ceremony, she pressed the back of her hand to Ellie's forehead, then her neck, her expression unreadable.

"Too hot," she announced. "Been burning all night, hasn't she?"

I nodded mutely.

Uldrek moved closer, crouching down beside the bed so that our eyes were level. The claiming mark on my shoulder seemed to pulse in his presence, a dull throb beneath my skin.

"You slept?" he asked, his voice low.

I didn't answer. Just shook my head once, a tiny movement that sent the room wobbling slightly around me.

He didn't scold me for it. Didn't push or demand or suggest. He just stayed there, solid and present, while Hobbie rummaged through a small satchel. The brownie pulled out packets of herbs, a small stone mortar, and what looked like strips of clean linen.

"Hold her still," Hobbie instructed, already grinding something in the mortar. The scent was sharp and medicinal—moonleaf, I thought, and something cooler, like feverroot.

Within minutes, she had created a paste and was spreading it on a strip of linen.

"This goes on her chest," she said, setting the poultice aside. "And this," she added, producing a small vial of amber liquid from her satchel, "is for her gums. It will help, but she needs a proper healer. One that can tell if this fever's a warning or just a storm blowing through."

I shifted Ellie in my arms, suddenly aware of how stiff my muscles had grown. "I don't know where—"

"I do," Uldrek cut in. "Kazrek's still seeing patients. He'll help."

I hesitated. Taking Ellie out in the damp morning air seemed risky, but keeping her here with nothing but exhausted instinct and brownie remedies seemed worse.

"Let me just..." I gestured vaguely toward my traveling satchel, still packed and ready in the corner of the room from force of habit.

"Go ahead." Uldrek stepped back, giving me space.

I eased Ellie onto the bed, and Hobbie immediately took over, applying the poultice to my daughter's chest with gentle firmness. I watched for a moment, oddly disconnected, before turning to gather my meager belongings.

My hands weren't quite steady as I collected a clean shirt for Ellie, an extra blanket, the small wooden rattle she'd grown attached to. Behind me, I could hear Hobbie muttering asshe tidied the room, snatching up soiled linens and discarded clothes with brisk efficiency.

When I'd finished, I turned to find the brownie had already secured Ellie in a fresh wrap. She looked smaller than usual, her face flushed, eyes closed but moving beneath the lids as if she were dreaming.

A thought struck me. "I can't..." I paused, embarrassed, but I needed to be honest. "I don't have much coin. To pay for your help."

Hobbie didn't even look up from where she was repacking her satchel. "Coin's for the greedy." She shot a sly glance toward me, something almost like amusement glinting in her eyes. "Just make sure the grumpy dwarf bakes more of those honey biscuits. Fair trade."

It startled a laugh out of me—small and tired but real. "I'll see what I can do."

Uldrek shook his head slightly and moved to open the door. "Ready?"

I nodded, taking Ellie back into my arms. Her weight was so familiar, so essential, that some of the fog in my mind cleared just from holding her. I followed Uldrek out of the room, down the narrow stairs, and into the quiet common area of Tinderpost House.

Gruha stood by the hearth, stoking the morning fire. She looked up as we passed, eyes lingering on Ellie, then Hobbie, then Uldrek in turn.

"Kazrek's good," she said. "Saved my cousin's leg last winter. He'll take care of her."

"Thank you," I managed.

She nodded once, then turned back to the fire. "Tea when you return."

---