Read [Queen of Orcs 03] - Royal Destiny for Free Online

for a proper bath was in a hall where horses lived. Usually, its water bore a skin of ice. When Zna-yat returned to the urkzimmuthi living quarters, he shed his armor and his garments and headed for the basin.
    His route took him through the palace, and as always, the washavokis he encountered acted strangely. The woe mans, especially, did peculiar things. They squeaked and covered their eyes as if the sight of his body hurt them. Zna-yat knew they behaved the same way when other sons went to the basin. He had sent Garga-tok to discover why, but Garga-tok came back with a silly reason. Sons without garments were called “nekked,” and washavokis thought nekked was bad. That made little sense. Zna-yat wondered if the washavokis bathed with their garments on. If so, that explained why they did it so infrequently.
    The icy water left Zna-yat refreshed. When he returned to Muth la’s Embrace, he dressed in his tunic and cape, then sat close to the hearth. It was constructed of large stones laid upon the wooden floor, and the fire it contained was small. Used neither for heating nor cooking, its flame was mostly to remind the orcs of their homes. Nevertheless, smoke made the air hazy and had stained the ceiling.
    “This room should have smoke hole,” said a voice.
    Zna-yat looked up and saw Magtha-jan. “Hai,” said Zna-yat. “And round walls to mark Muth la’s Embrace, and urkzimmuthi mothers to bestow Muth la’s gifts.”
    “Muth Mauk said this would come to pass.”
    “Hai,” replied Zna-yat. “But it’ll take time. I appreciate your patience. I know you long for home, and I’m pleased you agreed to stay.”
    “It was hard choice,” said Magtha-jan, “but I believe in wisdom of Muth Mauk’s treaty.”
    “I hope washavokis do also.”
    “You think they don’t?”
    “Their queen fears us,” said Zna-yat. “Her son does, too.”
    “I’ve smelled this also. Why should they fear us? We protect them.”
    “I’m not one to ask. I understand washavokis little. All I know is that most are strange and cruel.”
    “I think Muth la made Dargu-yat queen because she understands them,” said Magtha-jan. “She’s urkzimmuthi, yet washavokis don’t fear her.”
    “You speak wisdom,” said Zna-yat. Having received no announcement of Dargu’s death, he kept his fears of it to himself. He was worried what would happen when the news arrived. The orc guards might choose to leave unless the new queen decreed they should stay. Zna-yat had no idea if she would.
    The arrival of woe mans bearing food interrupted Zna-yat and Magtha-jan’s conversation. Zna-yat was surprised to note that the woe man leading the procession had a branded forehead, which meant the woe man had served in the regiments. This was a change. Since sons had arrived at the washavoki great mother’s hall, only unmarked woe mans had served. The branded woe man spoke the proper words. “Saf nak ur Muthz la.” Food is Muth la’s gift. This was also a change.
    The orcs responded in unison. “Shashav, Muth la.” Thank you, Muth la.
    Afterward, the woe mans served. Unlike in the regiment, they brought the food on platters. As a woe man placed Zna-yat’s meal before him, she attempted to say “Muth la urak tha saf la”— Muth la gives you this food —but her speech was barely intelligible. Nevertheless, Zna-yat was encouraged by the attempt at appropriate behavior.
    The food was only a slight improvement over that served in the regiment. As in the army, it was mainly porridge, though there were some boiled roots. The meal also included meat, a rare item. Unfortunately, it was nearly spoiled, a fact Zna-yat’s keen nose detected despite the dish’s heavy spicing. He left the meat untouched.
    The woe mans returned after the meal was over to retrieve the platters and depart for the night. Afterward, a lone washavoki dressed in blue and scarlet entered the hall. That was unusual. It halted outside Muth la’s Embrace and did an unexpected thing: