"There are different ways to be strong."
"Is she strong in her arms, or in her butt?"
I choked, not at what the child said, but at the look on Khal's face.
He cleared his throat. "She is stronginside."
"In herguts??"
"...I killed apthralgar," I spoke up on an impulse. I wanted to make this less awkward for him. Right away I knew I'd said the wrong thing.
The children were laughing. "Apthralgar!"one hooted. The girl-child puffed out her cheeks. "Now I'm apthralgar!"
"Apthralhirgar," Khal corrected quietly.
"I killed apthralhirgar."
They stopped laughing. "How?"
"She hit it with fire, from her hands."
"She's got fire?"
“She's got magic!"
"I told you," he said. "She's strong." Khal didn't look at me as he said it. A knot twisted in my gut.
A voice in Orcish called over the others, and the children abandoned us, shrieking down towards the bank. A figure with a walking stick stood in the rushes, before he was bowled over by the whooping throng, and laughter echoed upwards, rich tones. My heart sped. Even at this distance, I knew he was human.
Khal had stiffened beside me, stopped in his tracks. His face was a torrent of emotion. “I didn’t know he would be here.”
“Who?”
“My father. He’s usually in the fire circles or with the weavers. He must…” He looked away.
I touched his arm, on impulse, and he flinched. There was more fabric under his shirt. Why was Khal still wearing a shirt? “Khal—" What to say? "—we don’t have to go this way. We could go back. Or…or if you wanted, I could go back…”
He shook his head. “I haven’t been cooking. We both need to eat.” There were shadows under his eyes. “He’s not…dangerous. I had just meant to keep you apart a little longer.”
I wanted so badly to ask why.
“He is…very set on the idea of you staying. With me.” He didn’t meet my eyes.
This was not a problem I had even vaguely considered. “Oh,” I whispered.
“This isn’t fair to put on you. If he gets to be too much I will demand that he stop?—"
“No. No, it’s fine.” Having people imagine that I was a better person than the reality was not the worst thing I could endure. “I’ll…I’ll be okay.” I was still holding his sleeve.
His eyes lingered on my face, those lips still pressed tight in concern. But he jerked a nod, started guiding me, again, down towards the water. My steps really weren’t as steady as they should be.
There was a house there, ferns and moss grown over the roof. In contrast to the houses we’d passed before, the door and window frames here were painted, bright patterns of wildflowers and leaves.
An older orc woman rushed over, and Khal didn’t shrink back, and I tried not to flinch. She took his face in her hands, a fluid stream of Orcish tumbling from her lips. He answered, gently. She shook her head, and looked at me.
“Rowena, this is my grandmother. She’s only worried that I haven’t slept.”
I looked at this woman, her soft cheeks and sad eyes. Her mouth was a thin line, like any attempt she made at a smile was swallowed up by worry. “Nice to meet you,” I whispered.
