“A robe? Kimono. I was in the east.”
Orvis stared. “Was he red?”
“No, that I know for certain. He was pretty but looked sharp. His hair was tidy.”
Orvis blinked. “Oh. I think I have met that guy with horns.”
“Small world.” She felt the doors opening on the floor above. “Nessa, the Wells are coming down. Did you want me to take them for the tour or start the meditation?”
Nessa looked at Orvis before turning to Bethany. “I think I need to chat with Tolly for a few minutes, but I will meet them in the serenity room if you end the tour there and get us some tea.”
“Cool.” She put on her polite guide persona and went to greet the trolls at the door. “Mr. and Mrs. Wells, please come with me. The entire facility is at your disposal, and I will walk you through it.”
Ikor Wells smiled. “Thank you, Bethany. Has Nessa arrived?”
“She has, and she is having a meeting while we complete our tour. You will meet her in the serenity room, where you receive treatment. She will remain here until your treatment is complete, and her spouses and child will visit her here.”
Mrs. Wells chuckled. “That answered a lot. Thank you.”
Bethany smiled and walked them to the spa area, letting them know that massages had to be arranged in advance as the masseuse wasn’t a full-time employee. If they didn’t mind a spectral massage, it was available around the clock. The staff at the desk would just have to activate it on request.
Ikor nodded. “Thank you. This whole process has me tense with anticipation.”
“As long as you two can engage in your efforts to seed a child, this has a high probability of working.”
Mrs. Wells said, “High probability?”
“Yes, well, if he is outside using his erection as a lightning rod and gets struck by lightning, the procedure will obviously have a more limited chance of success.”
Mrs. Wells laughed. “So, you have seen him on weekends.”
The couple laughed together, and Bethany smiled as she showed them the warm pools that would relax without overheating.
“And finally, this is the serenity room and is named such because everyone in here needs to shut up and relax. Nessa willhelp your bodies match their timing, and then we have to wait for them to catch up.”
She heard footsteps. “And here she is. I will leave you to the squishier details.”
Nessa arrived and said, “Thanks, Bethany. Orvis is waiting at the desk.”
Bethany smiled and said, “Just relax and think of England or a stone wall. Whatever does it for you.”
The laughter that followed her down the hall as she headed for the desk made her smile. She could see their little slate-haired baby in her mind. It would be a little boy with a small hammer birthmark on his shoulder. His nose snubbed up a little at the tip. He would be adorable.
She walked back into the main office, and Orvis was there having tea. “Hey, Atolica. Did you need something?”
“Yes. You said you paid someone to erase your name. What did you pay him with?”
Bethany turned pink. “It was a fairly direct transaction. Sex and magic.”
“So, it wasn’t your first time?”
“Trading?”
Orvis touched her hand. “No. Sex.”
“Oh. It was. It was fine. I wasn’t in any danger, and then he was done and angry for some reason, so I made sure the spell worked, and I left. A human walking through an ogre neighbourhood gets a lot of attention. I moved fast.”
“So, he was an ogre.”
