Epilogue Ivy

"You are a lifesaver, Ivy," Riva sighs while wrestling Elwen, one of her twin girls, to apply more of my swamp berry ointment to her gums.

"They are so much stronger than human babies!" she blurts, and I can"t help but laugh.

Riva has it harder than most since she had twins eight months ago. Human twins are a handful, but kits? They are nearly impossible. They develop much quicker: walking, babbling, and developing unnatural strength by seven months old. Since Gwenna and Elwen are half-human, there are some minor differences between them and other orc kits their age. For starters, they have brown hair instead of the typical orc black. They also appear to be more lean, although they will most definitely get their father"s height.

Luckily, Izel assured Evrin and me that I was only carrying one. A girl of my own. I place a hand over my stomach instinctively. It will still be a few months until she arrives. It didn"t take long before I was pregnant, which wasn"t much of a surprise. Evrin and I did little else other than fuck for the first weeks we were home.

"Elwen, hold still. This will help your tusks," Riva begs her little one, but it"s Gwenna who soon comes barreling in to save her sister.

Growling, Gwenna grabs her mother and babbles something incoherent. It"s funny observing the girls' dynamic. Gwenna is strong and outspoken, while Elwen is more shy and relies on her sister. But above anything else, their bond is unbreakable, even at such a young age.

"You tell her, Gwenna," I egg on.

"Not helping," Riva scolds me, and I laugh. The twins have been teething, making them more difficult than normal. Turns out their tusks breaking through their gums is very tedious business. Luckily, I perfected a little concoction out of swamp berries that helps alleviate some of their discomfort.

"Aha!" Riva yells. "Got it!"

Elwen makes a brief grunt in anger but decides she likes the sweetness.

"See, that wasn"t so difficult, was it?" Riva enjoys her mini-victory.

The twins babble to each other in a language only they seem to understand before sitting down and playing with some of their toys.

Riva sighs in relief. "Maybe this time I"ll get to sit for more than a few minutes."

"Don"t worry, I"ll take over," I assure her.

"Ivy, no, you don"t have to. They are my—" she starts, but I cut her off.

"Hey! That"s what friends are for. Besides, I need the practice."

"Gods, I love you. Every day, I"m so thankful Evrin found you," she muses.

"Stole me," I chuckle. "Minor difference but grateful nonetheless."

I stand and walk over to Riva"s cabin window to overlook the village. This part of the swamp isn"t nearly as wet as the rest. There are solid bits of ground with a busy town life, although the cabins are still built in the trees to save space.

"When do you think Evrin and Kal will be back?" she asks and takes a seat in the rocking chair next to me.

"Funny you ask..." I muse and point out the window to Evrin and Kal walking through town laughing. I smile, excited to see my big strapping orc. Normally, I help him craft his swords, but we worry the fumes aren"t good for the baby since I"m pregnant. So now I spend most of my days with Riva. Not that I"m complaining. She has become my best friend ever since she introduced herself that very first day. She is my rock in this ever-changing world.

I smile to myself, I didn't think this life would be possible for me. All those years I spent alone banished from my own people. Scared of the very creatures who soon welcomed me in as one of their own. No longer am I haunted by the man who I once thought stole everything. But he can't steal this. I rhythmically rub my stomach, and admire my mate.

Riva stands to see out the window for herself, and we smile at each other. I know she missed Kal just as much as I missed Evrin.

Suddenly, a bird ascends from the sky, capturing Evrin and Kal"s attention. Their smiles turn serious.

"What is it?" I look nervously at Riva for an explanation.

"It"s Sylas," she whispers and shakes her head, realizing I have no idea who that is. "He is one of the clan"s hunters. He lives far north and only drops his contributions to the clan once a season."

"Is that why we must wait so long for the good hide to return to the markets?" I ask.

"Yeah." She nods. "He may be the least frequent hunter, but he is definitely the best. Kal says he pays equal contributions as everyone else but delivers it in larger batches to save on trips."

"So what"s with the bird?"

"It"s how he communicates with clan leaders. No one has seen him in years. Not even the scouts. All we know is that he lives at the farthest part of the swamps, near the base of the mountain. He only sends messages via carrier pigeons when something has happened."

"The mountain?" My eyes widen. "As in thee mountain?"

Since I arrived, the tension with the Zalk has only grown. Their new leader, Grul, is a fanatic obsessed with growing a warrior clan.

"Mhm." She nods her head. "Something must have happened! The last message we got was right before you and Evrin arrived."

"But why is he so far north? Surely, he would have better chances of finding a mate if he was closer to the clan."

"Well, that"s just it; he doesn"t want a mate," she shouts exasperatingly.

"What?" I shake my head, not understanding. "No way."

"Yes, way!" She nods. "Kal told me the whole story."

"Fascinating," I muse out loud. Kal is a reliable source and a blabbermouth.

"That"s not even half of it." She turns and drops her voice an octave. That"s her gossip voice. Oh, this is going to be good.

"You can"t tell anyone that I told you this. Kal will kill me," she makes me promise.

"I swear." I hold my right hand up, knowing that I"m going to share with Evrin. But Riva knows that.

"Sylas has already been to the Chosen One," she whispers.

"No!" I gasp. "With who?"

"Aeryn."

"The baker"s mate?!" I can"t believe what I"m hearing.

"Yup. It turns out Sylas and her have been friends since they were kits. They assumed they were mates, but when they went to the Chosen One, the fruit, well, it had the opposite intended effect."

"We will be either ignited with passion or fueled with animosity," I repeat the word Evrin recited to me before our ceremony. A chill runs down my spine at the thought.

"Exactly. Ever since then, he has sequestered himself away up north." Her voice has a tinge of sadness.

"Why haven"t I heard this story before?" I ask.

"The clan likes to keep it under wraps. The only reason Kal knew was because he helped break them up when they went for each other"s throats."

"Shit," I groan. That must have been awful.

Suddenly, a commotion breaks out in the square. Green bodies start gathering around, shouting questions.

"What the—?" Riva asks, but I grab her arm and pull her to the door. "I"ll grab Gwenna, and you grab Elwen. Let's go check out what"s going on. I"m too nosey to just sit and watch. Besides, our mates are down there."

"Good idea," she agrees, and we each grab a kit.

While we usher ourselves down the stairs and towards the crowd, Evrin pops out from the sea of people. He catches a glimpse of me and then Riva.

"Kal!" she shouts and nods his head over to the male"s respective mate.

"You two should get back to the cabin, little dragonfly." He rushes over to me. Kal isn"t far behind and takes Gwenna from my arms.

"What, why? What"s going on?" I ask, confused.

"Kal?" Rivas"s voice is laced with concern. Her mate bends down and kisses her on the forehead for reassurance.

"The elders just got a message from Sylas," Kal says.

"That"s a hunter in the north," Evrin tries to fill me in.

"Riva explained who he is already," I assure him.

"What did the message say?" Riva asks.

Kal and Evrin glance at each other worriedly before Evrin finally responds, "A Zalk soldier stole a human from one of the towns up north and dragged her into the swamp."

Both Riva and I gasp.

"According to Sylas, he was attempting to kill her before he intervened," he continues.

"Intervened how?" I ask.

"Sylas shot and killed him," Kal states matter-of-factly.

"Surely that"s self-defense. The orc was attempting to murder an innocent," Riva rationalizes.

"Yes, but the Zalk might not see it like that," Evrin grumbles. "Grul will find any excuse to put his warrior orc clan to use." I haven"t seen my mate like this. He and Kal both look incredibly worried.

"So what now"? I ask hesitantly.

"Pray to the gods that we didn"t just enter a war with the Zalk," Kal sighs.

So that"s what I do, I pray. Pray for my unborn baby, for our clan, and for that poor female who was taken.