Chapter Seven #2
“Nice. Okay. I love having something to pull me into the future. Army of tiny robots it will be.”
Ted smiled. “I am going to find my own normal to grab.”
“Help Sabin and Nora with the new estimate app. That will give you focus.”
“You know about that?”
“I told you. Sitting on your couch... naked.”
Ted laughed and shoved her.
Lucia looked at Yorwell. “Can you show me the shelter you have offered?”
He nodded. “Of course, Lucia. If you allow me to hold you, we can go now.”
“Lucky for you, this is the day I am letting strangers hold me.” She looked over.
“Bye, Nanna Anya, Mom, Dad, miscellaneous siblings. And all the cousins and aunts and uncles.” She did a graceful bow and then stepped into Yorwell’s embrace.
His arms folded around her carefully, and they disappeared.
Ted grinned at the astonished sounds from the family. “Get used to that. Neither she nor I can waste time in vehicles anymore.”
Ormyet said, “Though it is traditional to step away from large clusters of people.”
Ted nodded. “That makes sense. Etiquette for direct transport. Good to know.”
“That is why my kind are here. Magical manners matter.”
Ted stared at him and burst into laughter. “Out of all the orc porn I have read in my life, that is not a sentence that I had ever imagined.”
He grinned. “You realize that your family has not seen my face without the glamour. The statement confused them.”
“They will recover. They are made of sturdy stuff.” Ted smiled.
“So you read orc fiction?”
“Now and then. It has been trendy, so I have dabbled in that specific fiction.”
“Are you willing to try the reality?”
“Not on the first date, buddy.”
He grinned. “Will you introduce me to your grandmother?”
“Of course. Just so you know, my mother is dead, and my father is in a dementia facility. He and my mother were bonded, and when she died, he started losing his mind.”
“That must be devastating.”
“It happened while I was cursed. I couldn’t console him.
Well, I could, but the moment I was out of sight, he forgot I was there at all and freaked out.
It became too cruel to try and remain at his side, so I stayed away while he slowly lost more of himself.
Now, I visit him, and he holds my hand and tells me about his daughter. ”
Ormyet nodded. “You continue to visit?”
“I do.”
“You are very strong.”
She felt heat run through her, and she ducked her head. “That comes and goes.”
Ormyet touched her cheek and smiled. A stern voice cleared its throat, and Nanna said, “Ted? Is there an introduction coming?”
Ted sighed and looked at her grandmother. “Nanna Anya, keeper of the sight, mother to six, and grandmother to twenty. Great-grandmother to a whole bunch more. Nanna, this is Ormyet, mage to the imperial house, owner of some stunning earrings, and a fun smile.”
Ormyet grinned. “Succinct, Ted. Thank you.”
He extended his hand. “Madam Anya, thank you for your part in crafting such a spectacular woman.”
Ted blinked.
Anya smiled. “Well, despite my efforts to improve her wardrobe, in which she has defied me the whole way, she is a lovely woman and honourable daughter and granddaughter.”
Ted looked down at her jeans and sweatshirt. “They are clean, which, if you knew how terrifying Lucia’s healing was, you would know was a freaking miracle.”
Ormyet chuckled. “I saw it, and I would agree. She created a pillar of the heavens.”
Ted blinked. “What?”
“You would say a cell signal to the planet. She’s bound to the signals in the air around us.”
Ted’s phone pinged.
Fucking right I am. Yes, he has a hot tub. We are making stone soup jokes.
Ted laughed. “Yeah, you hit the nail on the head with that one.”
Ormyet looked over her shoulder. “He and I are neighbours.”
Ted blinked. “How did you manage that?”
“We have seers of our own. They suggested our proximity would be beneficial.”
Ted snorted. “Interesting. I don’t object to being that close to Lucia, but I currently have an apartment of my own.”
“Well, when you want to move closer to her, the offer stands.” He grinned.
“When, not if?”
“I have confidence in our seers.”
Anya chuckled. “Have confidence in me. I have seen a close relationship between you. It will grow slow but strike hard when you lock in.”
Ted winced. “Don’t say lock.”
Ormyet covered his grin.
Ted glared at him. “Don’t you smirk at me. That is the one part of any alpha I would gladly crop off.”
Ormyet’s expression cleared. “Why?”
“It just seems like a lot of unnecessary fuss and horribly uncomfortable.”
The cousins around who had alphas in their beds put hands over their mouths and giggled.
Anya looked between them and said, “Well, we will discuss this later, Ted. I can give you some pointers.”
Ted crossed her arms over her chest. “I remain unconvinced.”
Ormyet nodded. “I will have to work at convincing you once we have advanced our association.”
“Yeah, that is going to be a hard sell.”
He grinned. “You have no idea.”
She felt her face heat again and turned back to her Nanna. “So, Nanna, what are we going to do for Lucia?”
Anya paused. “What do you mean?”
“Her family not only moved on without her, but her new sisters-in-law look irritated by her existence.”