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“Thanks. Not so bad yourself.” Tor pulled back, letting her win on the punch quota with a final swifty to his left pec. His sister was beautiful, strong and tall with the same wide cheekbones and almond-shaped eyes as him, though her skin was a lighter shade of green. Her tattoo was on her neck—female orcs were supposed to keep their faces clear, and only gained a smaller tattoo on their forehead after mate-bonding.
It made him a little sad that Katrina would never have one. Traditions were slow to catch up.
Not that he had any reservations about her being lesbian. Heck no. But that she had chosen Lucia, a vampire, as her life partner—he had to admit, that was hard to swallow.
“How’s Dad?”
“Grouchy. You know what he’s like when he’s sick. Sore head, leg in plaster, you can imagine. He’s driving Mom nuts!”
“Yep, I think I can.” Steeling himself, he followed his sister inside.
The house was laid out in traditional orc fashion. Rooms ran off a big central living area with a large open fire in the middle that drew smoke up through a flue in the center of the room. The floors were flagstones, roughly laid, and large heavy wooden furniture filled the rest of the space.
This was traditionally where orcs cooked as well as hung out together. Everything except sleeping happened here. His nostrils twitched at the smell of Dokka, the unleavened savory bread that was an orc staple.
And the enticing smell of sizzling steaks.
He looked over and there was Lucia, crouched down near the hearth, cooking the steaks on a BBQ grid.
She turned, flipping a strand of glossy dark hair over her shoulder, and got up. There was something different about her, he realized, since the last time she’d come to visit with Katrina. Of course—her teeth. She was unfanged now, he recalled. Her long, sharp canines had been removed, replaced by normal looking teeth.
It made her appear less fierce, more approachable. But she was still a vampire, he reminded himself.
She moved lithely toward him and gave him a kiss on each cheek.
“How’s things, Lucia?”
“Good, really good.”
Katrina went to her partner’s side and, winding a strong arm around her waist, laid her head against the other woman’s. “He’s looking good eh, Lucia, what d’you reckon?”
“Yep. Pretty svelte—if you like orcs.” Lucia smirked.
“Male orcs, you mean.” Katrina mock-pouted and the two women shared a lingering kiss before Katrina returned to her cooking. Tor was surprised to feel a strange little wrench in his chest. They were so happy and relaxed with one another. Lucia had been with his sister for six years. Choosing to unfang was huge for a vampire, and now they were seriously committed to having a family.
Who was he to judge? He couldn’t commit himself to anyone.
He shook himself. “Where’s Dad and Mom?”
“Both sleeping, I think. Mom’s exhausted herself running around all day, and Dad needs to sleep to recover. He’s in a fair bit of pain, even though he won’t admit it, but I think the painkillers are taking effect.”
“I’d better go and check in on them.”
He found his mom in her room just getting up from the bed, her bony frame a little more bent than the last time he’d seen her. How long ago was that? Nearly five years now. Shame on him. When she looked up and saw him, her face lit up in a huge grin, and he noticed one of her front teeth was missing. “My boy is here! Yamani!” she cried, using the orcish word for “thank the gods and goddess”. He went and gently hugged her, and it struck him how frail she felt against him. The strong muscles of her youth faded, her big bones sticking through her dress.
“Oh, Mom.” He held her close and felt her hands stroking his braids. “My handsome boy has finally come home.” She pulled back. “How long are you here for?”
“I’m not sure. A week maybe.” Her face fell. “But Mom, listen, I’m looking to buy somewhere in Motham so I can visit you and Dad more often.”
“You must stay here, with us,” his mother asserted, suddenly sounding like her old bossy self.
Tor shook his head. “No Mom, I need my own space, but I will visit much more often, I promise. Be here for you both and help out more. I’m sorry, I’ve let business take precedence and sending you money just wasn’t good enough.”
“It all helped,” his mother said, kissing both his cheeks.
“Erm, yeah, Mom, not sure what you did with it all. Apart from a lick of paint and some nice plants in the garden, nothing much has changed here.” He looked around the room. There was barely a stick of furniture in it other than her rickety dressing table and cracked mirror. Tor grimaced at the bed. “You’re still sleeping on that hellish straw mattress?”
She looked a bit sheepish. “We put up curtains, bought a new sofa.”
