6. Mia

"Now, you must rest,"Gantok says and hands me a small tub of salve. "Apply this twice a day to your face and knees, and you will feel better in no time. I will check on you again tomorrow. Send for me if you have any concerns."

"Thank you," I tell the healer as he leaves.

Rest sounds heavenly right about now because my adrenaline high wore off in the middle of my bath, and I completely crashed once my belly was full of the delicious chunky stew and crusty bread that Agavar brought me. I feel like I could sleep for days.

My brain is still processing what happened.

I shudder as the memories replay vividly in my mind. One minute, I was staring death in the face. The next, a blur of motion and the sickening sound of metal slicing through flesh left me drenched in Orgel's blood as his headless body crumpled to the ground. My life was spared but my mind was sent reeling.

When the king's guard carried me away from the horrific scene in the throne room, I was in shock. It wasn't until Renowlf's kind servant helped me scrub away the week's traumatic events in a bathtub big enough for two that I began to relax.

After Agavar fed me and got me settled in a kind of medical suite, the healer arrived. Gantok tended to my wounds with a gentleness I didn't expect from the gruff, elderly orc. He also injected me with something that reversed the effect of Orgel's tea so I could speak again.

Now, Agavar bustles about the small suite, tidying up after my treatment, and helps me into bed. "Can I get you anything else before I go, miss?"

"No, thank you. You've been very kind."

She waves away my thanks with a cheery smile. "Just doing my job. If you need anything, push this button to summon one of the palace servants."

Once she's gone, I lay my head on a fluffy pillow, burrowing into the soft bedding, and close my eyes. After sleeping in a cage for too many nights, being in a real bed is a luxury. And this five-star-hotel quality bed is a lot more comfortable than my hand-me-down queen mattress at home.

Before I get to sleep, though, there's a soft knock on the door. Agavar must have forgotten something. "Come in."

A pretty young female orc dressed in an elaborate, floor-length robe comes into my suite. Sparkly jewels dangle from her earlobes, and a smaller, more feminine version of Renowlf's spiked helmet sits atop her head.

"Did I wake you?" she asks.

"No." I beckon her forward, and prop myself up in the bed. She must be part of the royal family. "You can have a seat if you'd like."

She nods and pulls a chair over to my bed. "I am Rayowlf, although you may call me Ray. Everyone knows I have royal blood. I do not see the point of flaunting that by using my full name."

"I get that. My full name is Mia Maria Lopez, but most people just call me Mia. Are you related to the king?"

"Ren is my brother."

"You look so much younger than the king. I wondered if you were his daughter."

"Ren has been aged by responsibility. He is older than me, although I will be of age in just three full cycles of the seasons."

I assume that means she's equivalent to a human teenager. If she lived on Earth, she'd probably be learning how to drive. "I didn't mean to offend you."

"No offense is taken. Everyone thinks of me as a child, even though I am mature for my age." She studies me with a youthful curiosity that makes me smile. "I have never seen a human before, or a species with hair like yours, although not many off-worlders visit here. All orcs have the same straight black hair," She reaches out and runs one of my long chocolate-colored curls through her fingers. "Soft."

"Where I come from, everyone's hair is different," I tell her. Thanks to my Spanish heritage, mine is brown, thick, and curly.

"I wish orcs had hair like yours," Ray says wistfully. "It is very beautiful." Her sweet and sunny personality is so different from her brother's dark and brooding demeanor.

I grin, amused by her innocent fascination with something as ordinary as my hair. "Thank you."

Ray leans forward and rests her hands on my bed. "Is it true what Orgel the trader said? Are humans universal breeders?"

"I don't really know." I bite my lip, feeling a flush creep up my cheeks at Ray"s innocent but rather personal question. What I do know is that I"m not going to have this conversation with Renowlf"s teenaged sister. I shift on the bed and change the subject. "I didn't see you in the throne room. How do you know what Orgel said?"

She pulls a small, handheld device from the pocket of her robe. "I always watch when Ren holds court. It is an expected part of my royal training."

"What is that?" I ask, pointing to her device.

"This?" She shrugs like it's a silly question. "My communicator, of course."

Communicator?

I feel a spark of hope. If I can get my hands on one of those devices, maybe I can contact someone to rescue me.