Chapter 19

Chapter

Nineteen

GOVEK

G ovek had not realized bliss such as this existed.

His belly was full, his body washed and clean and now he had his mate cuddled up with him on the couch, nestled in his lap. He rubbed his cheek against her soft hair. The warm scent of the safril tea Miranda had made curled around them, mingling with her sweetness.

He was lost to her. He never wanted this to end.

"What time do you think it is, Govek?"

He grumbled unhappily. "A bit after midday."

"Hm, so like one o'clock in the afternoon? Does that math seem right?"

"You and your math. My mind does not obsess over numbers like yours does."

Her voice was tinged by withheld laughter and he was relieved to hear it after the sorrow she'd overcome. "I'm not obsessed with numbers! "

"I think all Earthfolk must have been." He pulled her in further. "Times, ages, speeds, money, distance, dates... constant numbers."

"Hey." Her irritated tone was drowned out by her laughter. Fuck, he loved the sound of it—warm and rich. He wanted to cup it in his palms and drink it. "We only did math, like, ninety percent of the time."

He snorted in amusement.

She rested heavily against his shoulder, a deep sigh escaping her parted lips. "Govek, the seer told me... told me..."

"You do not need to speak on it if it causes you pain." His guts twisted up at the mention of the seer.

"No, I want to. I just..." She sat up enough that he could see her dark expression and she murmured. "He told me that he can't show me what happened to them." Her voice grew strangled. "To my babies."

He brought a hand around to cover the back of her head and pressed his forehead to hers. "I am sorry, Miranda."

"I can't believe it. I was so sure that's what he was going to tell me." She shook her head against his. "But it wasn't, and I just have to accept that I'll never know."

Fuck, he was a wretch, but her words eased the ache in his chest.

Evythiken did not have answers for her, which meant that she wouldn't seek him out again. She would not be thrown into this chaos—fall apart in his arms, be lost to him so completely that once the sorrow and rage subsided, she slept like the dead for a horrifically long time—again.

He'd clung to her in her sleep, concentrating on every intake of breath. She'd been so still and quiet that without her chest and stomach rhythmically pressing his own he would have thought she'd left him.

She could never leave him.

"The seer told me that Rogeth isn't the one who framed you."

He blinked, mind working around this information.

"It's strange, isn't it? I thought for sure it was him, but looking back, he was pretty adamant that you had done it." She stroked the back of his head, scratched at his hairline as she thought. "The seer said he suspected who it was."

"Did he give any clues?"

"No, I was... I was too caught up in my own stuff. I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to apologize for."

Fuck, he was so glad this chapter was done. Now they could finally move on, together. Miranda's grief could proceed naturally. She would not continue to force her way through it.

A knock sounded at the door.

"You think that's the clan back to convince you to stop the merger?" Miranda crawled out of his lap and his chest tightened at the loss.

He took a deep breath but he couldn't catch the smell of who it was. He went to the door and swung it open. The day was sunny, but the cool air still hit him.

Right before the scent did. Sage.

"Viravia?" he asked. It was undoubtedly her, but she was almost completely bundled up. Only her eyes were visible beneath the thick cloak. A wool scarf covered up her nose and mouth.

"Yes, Govek. Hello. Could I come in?" Viravia leaned slightly so she could look past him into the kitchen .

His response was to step aside to make room for her.

"Hello," Viravia said to Miranda as she entered the room. She pulled down her cloak and tugged the scarf away from her face after he had shut the door tight. "How are you doing?"

"Oof. Tough question." Miranda lifted the mug of tea to her lips.

Viravia blinked rapidly. "I-I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to?—"

"No, no, sit down. It has absolutely nothing to do with you. It's just been... well..." Miranda glanced at Govek, but he couldn't offer her anything other than support. It was her story to tell.

"Could I make you some tea?" Miranda shot the woman a reassuring smile. "I don't have sage but Govek picked some mint."

"Safirl," he corrected.

"Oh, that's very kind but I'm actually here to... well, you got my note, right? It would mean so much if you both would come join us at the hall."

Miranda froze in place where she was mixing up the cup and Govek felt similarly stunned.

"Both of us? I thought your note just said me?" Miranda asked, clearly excited by this prospect even as he had no idea how to feel.

How long had it been since he was invited to the hall?

Had he ever been invited?

"Yes, both of you," Viravia said with a quick nod. "We're holding the return celebration."

A celebration. He was being invited to one of Rove Wood Clan's celebrations ?

"What's that?" Miranda came to stand next to him .

"It's a revelry held once everyone from the communion party has returned. The last few arrived this morning," Viravia explained. "Lots of food, drink, and visiting."

"Children," he said, wanting to be transparent. After her breakdown, he could not be sure if Miranda would want to be around them now. "There will be many children."

Many many . Basically, all of them. His gut twisted. "Are you certain they want me to be there?" He had never been welcomed around the orc sons before.

But Viravia's smile turned soft. "Yes, Govek. They do. I won't lie and say that there aren't a handful who didn't agree with the decision, but Iytier and I have told everyone about the outcome of the judgment. And about the misunderstandings that have taken place in the past. And well... everything."

He felt flush. What did this mean? How should he even act with them? He'd always simply walked away, and no one had ever questioned that.

"And... you are going to become our chief?"

His gut twisted and Miranda tightened her grip on his arm. She looked up at him, brows raised.

Fuck, should he tell Viravia he refused to become chief now?

Would he still be invited to the hall if he did?

"Govek?" Viravia's tone indicated she was put off by their odd, tense reaction to her simple statement and blessedly, Miranda was able to shrug it off first.

"I'm totally up for celebrating in the hall and meeting a whole bunch of orc kids," Miranda said, catching Govek's gaze. "If you are."

"Oh, please, do come." Viravia stepped forward. "Iytier and Savili will be there, as well as Estoc and his mate and children. And many others who all want to visit with you."

Many others who wanted him there?

He didn't believe it.

He supposed he would need to see it to believe.

"All right," he said. "Let's go."