“So, do they offer her clanship?”
“Only the orcs need shamans in-house.”
Abel-ur sighed.“It isn’t that.While they are powerful, they are vulnerable.Much like you and Never, a shaman needs a companion to hold a link, to keep the power balanced.”
“Who are you texting?”
He grinned.“Someone who very much wants to link with your sister.”
“She’s going to be a hard sell.”
“He knows.He’s anticipating getting her to see his side of things.She’s pretty much everything he wants in a partner, and he’s trying to demonstrate his good qualities to her.Let’s just hope he doesn’t strip and flex at the taco stand.That will be a deal struck with the XIA that will cost me to keep quiet.”
Cora chuckled.“He wouldn’t.”
“If she says she wants to measure the distance between any part of him, the clothes are coming off.For a speaker, he suddenly lacks dignity.”
“Sudden?”
“As of yesterday.Tam-or got all domestic all of a sudden.I mean, I had about ten hours over him, but he hit it hard.”He kissed her knuckles.“Your sibling makes an impression.”
“Oh, that she does.I am surprise she let him see her, though.She normally obscures around orcs.”
“Why?”
“Because when I went to a seer and looked for the father of my kids, she mentioned a powerful orc in the middle of the city.When Never heard that, she started obscuring herself around orcs.If I needed one to fulfill the vision, she wasn’t going to risk us aiming at the same male.”
“But, when you and I linked up...”
“She was free to be seen.If you had made any moves toward her, she would have left the city rather than mess with my future.”
“That is loyalty.”
“Oh, you have no idea.She helped toilet-train me when I was little.I just refused to go indoors.”
He laughed.“In touch with nature?”
“Yup.Wild magic is my personal strength, but when I look human, I have the same issues as a human, including not being bulletproof.”
“So, if you could, you would walk around with the horns all the time?”He smiled.
“Only when the ceilings are high.”
He grinned.“Fair enough.Are you going to dance any time soon?”
She turned her head, and the shadows formed Hura, who stepped forward.“She is going to get back into practice as soon as the docs let her.We are starting Wednesday classes at the mansion a week after this.Seven o’clock, with bells on.”
Abel-ur asked, “Does Never dance?”
Hura smiled.“Not the same way Bella does.A lot more deep island dancing.Graceful arms, rocking hips, and fast drums.The way she can rotate her hips and squat while stepping is something I aspire to.”
“That image boggles the mind.”
Cora laughed.“I have it.”She pulled up the image on her phone and showed Abel-ur.His eyes widened, and he said, “Can you send that to Tam-or?”
“Nope.He gets to see it when he earns it.Or when she’s involved in an orc dance-off.”
He smiled.“We do have a university launch celebration coming up.We like our graduates to know that the community is behind them.A shaman’s blessing would be greatly appreciated.”
