Raine

I rub my stomach as I watch Tuluk pace around our small camp.

After Calla had left, we'd found a small secluded spot not far from the shortcut and the orcs had gone to work making camp. They'd gotten a fire lit and a stack of wood, a tent set up and had food cooking in less than twenty minutes.

I'd stayed out of their way, nestled against Zork until Mako had come to get me and lead me to the tent where a small sleeping pad was made up. She'd told me to rest, but there's no way that I could.

So I'd watched the orcs.

I'd nearly forgotten that Mako was technically a warrior, but as I watched her move around the camp with ease, her armor shining in the light, I was abruptly reminded of that fact.

And while I should be scared to be in a camp with three orcs, I felt more at home than I ever had with humans. Of course orcs had never given me a reason to dislike them on a personal level.

While I mainly watched Mako, I also watched Brunk and Tuluk.

Both males were vastly different from each other, not just in size or color, but while Brunk had a calmness about him, Tuluk was radiating a nervous energy that seemed to taint the entire camp.

"He does not have a warriors mind," Brunk groans as he sits down heavily next to me. "It is curious, how both are from the same clan but one warrior is obviously better trained than the other."

I look over at the large male, "he isn't a warrior. He's a blade smith."

"A male who is not a warrior?" He asks in surprise. "And a princess who is. Your clan is very strange."

"Do the women in your clan not fight?" I ask him, surprised. I'd assumed that all clans were like the Icebears, but maybe not.

He shakes his head, "only the males. The women train with us until adulthood, but only the males go to war. The women stay home with the kits and protect the village."

"What about Calla? She doesn't seem like the type to stay home with babies while you go off to war," I muse.

He snorts, "she is not. But she is also an elf who has a wild spirit, and I would not make her stay home when her heart yearns to be out in the world."

I rub my stomach as I look back at Mako who seems so happy as she roams the camp, "what about kids? How do you make someone.. settle down who's happy being in the world?"

"My mate and yours are not the same, little one," he tells me gently. "We have three children, and the years we spent in one place were hard on her, and though she'll never admit it, I know she's glad they are grown and living their own lives." He puts a hand on my shoulder, "your mate yearns for this child, I see it in her eyes. I know my mate loves our children, but she is an elf and her heart will always belong to the wilderness." He sighs and drops his hand, "you have nothing to fear with your mate. She is-."

He's cute off by the sound of hooves coming towards us and all three orcs are immediately on high alert, each grabbing their weapons.

Brunk was the first to lower his a moment before Calla races into view, her horse snorting as she pulls him to a stop. Mako and Tuluk lower theirs as well as Calla jumps down and goes to Brunk, giving him a long kiss that makes me feel as if I should look away.

When they finally part she says, "I spent all my money."

Brunk laughs, "I'm sure you made many whores happy."

"Technically only one," she answers as she pulls away and looks at me, "I saw your sister."

"Is she alright?" I ask as I scramble to get up. There's a pain in my side as I move, but I ignore it as I practically run to Calla. "Is she safe? Where is she?"

"She's fine," Calla answers. "She's at the governor's house with Khol.. who knows she's not you."

"What?" I gasp. "How?"

"I don't know," she shrugs. "But he said her name and she didn't correct him. She also called him her husband and drastically implied that she was going to kill him."

"That's my mate," Tuluk says proudly.

I shake my head, "what exactly did she say?"

As Calla tells us about her time with River and everything that she'd learned, I sit heavily on a stump as another pain shoots through me. I rub my stomach as the others argue and try and come up with a plan.

When they all start shouting I'd finally had enough, "stop!" They all pause and turn to look at me, "why don't we just give him what he wants? Me."

"No,"Mako answers immediately. "Never."

"He won't hurt me," I remind her. "And if you deliver me to him personally with an apology about the mixup, then he won't expect anyone to come after us. He'll think that he won. Which gives you all time to actually come up with a plan."

"As fun as that sounds," Calla says slowly. "I may have told River that we were coming for her at dawn. So unless your plan can take place in," she pauses as she looks at the sky, "fifteen ish hours, then we need to come up with something else."

"Then take me to him now," I tell them. "Take me to my sister and we can work together on the inside while you guys work out here to get us out."

"No," Mako growls again. She comes over to me and kneels in front of me, "why do you want to go to him so badly?"

"Not him," I tell her softly. "My sister. I've been without her for years and when we found each other again, we promised that we'd never be apart again. I need my sister, Mako. Without her.. it's like part of me is missing. Like there's a hole in my heart. My mother always said that we were two halves of the same coin, that we were bound together in a way that not even she understood. And I can't explain it exactly, but there's something inside me telling me that I need to go to River."

I watch Mako, watch her get ready to argue with me, but then Calla says softly, "you should let her."

"What?" We all say as we look at her.

"You should let her," she says again. "What she's describing.. the elves call it a Soul Bond. It's rare and usually only happens with elves, specifically twins, but it has been known to happen among humans. If she says that she needs to be with River right now, then we should let her."

"Mako," I say gently. "Please." Her eyes find mine and I cup her face, "please. I need you to trust me."

"I do," she whispers. "But.. I am scared."

"So am I," I admit. "But I promise you that everything will be alright."

"You cannot promise that," she tells me.

"I can, because I feel it."

And I did feel it. I don't know how I knew, but something deep down was saying that as long as I went to River right now, then everything would be alright.

"Fine," she agrees reluctantly. "But if he harms a hair on your head, I will cut his off."

"I'd expect nothing less," I tell her with a small grin.

It's only minutes before we are both seated on Zork and riding towards Oakrun. Tuluk and the others stayed behind, not wanting to risk looking like a war party, although Tuluk had to be restrained to keep him from following us.

We rode in silence, Mako's arms around me in a protective embrace and I sink into the feeling. If we weren't about to go and see Khol, I could almost imagine that we were just out on a nice walk.

But as we enter Oakrun and the smell of it hits me, it churns my stomach and I have to hold back a gag. A pain in my stomach almost makes me puke and I bury my face in Mako's arm until we get to the governors house.

The front gate is open, and there's not a guard in sight.

Zork walks cautiously up to the house, his body tense under us, but nobody stops us.

The door swings open as Mako knocks on it, the inside suspiciously quiet and dark.

"I do not like this," Mako whispers as we step inside. "There is blood in the air."

"Rivers?" I ask.

"No." She breathes deeply and says in surprise, "Khol's. It comes from in there."

I follow her down the hall to the kitchen, where a bloody handprint is on the handle. Mako pushes the door open and we both gasp, making River look up from Khol who is tied to a chair and bleeding from his head.

We look between the pair and River says, "you're early."

I ignore her words and rush to her side, wrapping her in a hug, "you're ok?"

"I'm fine," she whispers as she hugs me back. "Khol not so much."

Something in her voice makes me pull away and look at Khol who was bleeding from more than his head. "River," I say slowly. "Did you.. cut his dick off?"

"And I fed it to him," she says with a pleased tone. "I figured he should know what it's like to get that thing shoved in his mouth repeatedly. God knows he did it to us enough times."

"Is he dead?" Mako asks.

"Not yet," River answers. "That was next but then you guys showed up. Did you want the honor?" She asks me.

I shake my head, "no I'm alright."

"Your loss," she shrugs. She turns to the stove where a pot has been boiling and she hefts it, grunting slightly from the weight and carries it over to Khol. "I really wanted him to be awake for this part but oh well."

She pours a thick substance over his head, shaking the pot to get it all out as I watch his skin blister and slide off with the substance. "What is that?" I ask her cautiously.

"Melted sugar," she says proudly.

"Your sister is.." Mako says slowly.

"Yeah," I agree. "Hey River?" I ask suddenly. "Where are the guards?"

"Umm," she says slowly. "I may have poisoned them."

"Oh," I manage to say as we watch Khol melt for a minute, before the sight of it makes me sick. "We should go home."

"Yes!" River agrees happily. "Is Tuluk with you?"

"He's back at camp," I tell her. "We had an entire plan but uh.. we don't really need to do it now."

I turn away from Khol just as the last of his face melts off and another pain hits me and this time, my pants are drenched with water.

"Mako," I gasp as I grab her arm.

"What's wrong?" She asks worriedly.

Before I can answer, River cries out and we look over to see her holding her stomach, her pants also wet, "oh shit," she groans.

"What is happening?" Mako half yells in a panic.

"The babies!" River and I both yell. "The babies are coming."