“You look healthy enough,” he says and proceeds to grip my hips and pull on them. He then runs his hands over my ass and along my upper thighs before roughly palming my breasts. Finally, he grunts and grins. There’s no mistaking what he has in mind from the bulge pushing at the front of his breeches. I curl my lip at him.
“You are fortunate, human. None of my females have supplied me with young, and yet here you have fallen into my lap, a fertile female already breeding an orc babe. I will destroy Orgath and raise his child as my own, and you will do for me what you have done for him. He will breed my progeny, enough to fill my keep, and for it, you will be my favored from all of the harem.
I groan from the discomfort of the cuffs and narrow my eyes on him, my lips twisting into a cruel smile. “I would sooner sleep with the foulest ogre in the deepest, dankest pit than submit to your loathsome touch.”
Lorf’s pupils constrict and his fingers pinch my jaw painfully seconds before his mouth descends upon mine. The taste of him is as foul as the stench. I bear it just enough to sink my teeth into the flesh of his tongue when he dares to push it into my mouth. He hisses in pain and snaps his head back, giving me the perfect opportunity to spit in his face.
With a snarl, he wipes the spittle away with the back of his hand seconds before he backhands me, knocking my head back into the stone wall behind me. Stars shoot behind my eyelids, my lip stings, and I can taste blood in my mouth. I think I bit the tip of my tongue and am likely sporting a split lip now. The warm trickle of blood down my chin confirms it.
Still, I manage to grin, infuriating him further. He slaps me a few more times to get his point across but eventually stalks away with his henchman trailing behind him like a lapdog.
I sigh and lean my head back, my temples pounding with a headache. I try to ignore how swollen and painful my face, arms, and breasts are where I was struck and savagely pinched repeatedly. I’m grateful, though, that the attack was limited to my upper body.
As of this moment my child is not in any danger, but then again, why would it be when Lorf made himself clear that he wants our baby? I close my eyes, tears gathering at my lashes.
I can’t hide from the fact that I regret not patching things up with Orgath. We have both been too stubborn in this, neither one of us willing to bend for the other. I could have been safe at home with Orgath right now, nagging him to get a wood stove instead of cooling my jets in what amounts to a mini-dungeon. Exhausted, I allow sleep to overcome me and hope that when I wake it will just be a bad dream.
When I wake hours later, still in the cell, I’m disappointed. Well, so much for that little bit of failed self-deception. I’m about to sink into another round of self-loathing when I hear a sharp cough from a nearby cell. Though it pains me to move my neck, I look over to the source of the noise. A beautiful man is crouched, not inside the neighboring cell, but outside of mine. He is colorless like the elves, but not an elf.
I am not sure what exactly the stranger is, but he wears a wide grin, sporting several sharp teeth. His hair flows in a wild moon-colored mane down his back and his velvety purple eyes sparkle at me. From within his mane, a pair of pointy horse-like ears shift at the sides of his head independently, listening for any noises, but that is nothing compared to the pearly five-inch horn sprouting from his brow. His grin widens at my scrutiny and he creeps forward, bringing my attention to the fact that he’s butt-naked, a large thick cock curved up against his belly between his thighs. I blush and promptly jerk my gaze back up to his face.
“Are you trapped here, female?” he whispers. His voice it is almost like a bell, and that immediately sends up every red flag in my brain.
I clear my throat, feeling the painful, dry rasp. “Why do you ask? Were you sent here to help me?”
His eyes dance with humor. “Cautious one, aren’t you? I have not been sent to your aid, but I will be happy to remove you from your bonds and carry you far from here.”
I narrow my eyes. His wording is a bit too precise yet revealing nothing at the same time. It seems more than a little shady. “What are you?” I ask bluntly.
He shrugs his muscular shoulders and pushes back the fall of his white hair to show off a firm pectoral. “I am a bit of magic, you might say. Not elf, nor man, I am not what I seem.”
“Uh-huh. Sorry, but if you’re going to rhyme at me and try to talk around my questions, then it’s best if you just leave.”
The sudden laughter that greets my words is resonant and rings out in the air well after he’s done. “Very clever. Very well, female, I won’t play at words with you. I am a unicorn. I have seen you before, from the distance when you passed my glade, but when I saw the orcs bring you here, I had to investigate.” He looks around at the walls and at the chains without concern. “It seems your mate did poorly in protecting you, so I offer myself in his stead. I can carry you away from here and you can live for thousands of years at my side. We can pass freely through the portals, you and I, now that the fae kings have ordered the bridging. You can see your family if you wish. See anywhere in the world and all the realms you desire.”
I stare at him. I can see how this offer could be so tempting—for another woman. I shake my head and give him a gentle smile. “I appreciate the offer, but I can’t go with you. Orgath is coming for me. I know it. And my heart will always be his.”
The unicorn man frowns, his brow knitting in confusion. “I do not understand. You will risk everything for an orc? How can an orc compare to a unicorn?”
Sympathy tugs at my heart for the forlorn look on his face. He doesn’t understand. For all the years he has walked the earth, he doesn’t understand love.
“Unicorns are, without a doubt, amazing, and you’re probably the most beautiful guy I have ever seen, hands-down, but I’m completely in love with my mate. I love Orgath, and that is more than anything else for me. I can’t run away with you, no matter how beautiful you are.”
His eyes widen with sadness and he withdraws slowly from the bars of my cell. “I don’t know this love. I want to know it,” he says, his voice barely above a whisper. His breath came out as a sigh of chimes. “Very well. I will leave you then. I will do this one thing for you as I depart: I will lure the orcs of this keep into slumber until your mate can gather his force. They will sleep for a full day. Pray that your mate is ready to attack at the dawn,” he murmurs just as his form blurs and shifts before me.
Where once a beautiful man crouched, an ivory unicorn with a massive horn paws the ground. He jerks his head at me, and I know it is in farewell. I hear his voice whisper around me like a dainty glass bell.
“Be well, human.”
The unicorn rears up, his tail flagging as he whirls and runs up the steps with a clatter of hooves. Surprisingly, no shouts raise above from anyone who may see him. I sink against the wall and smile, comforted with knowledge that the unicorn is keeping his oath. Silence descends over the entire keep. I hear not a step above me, or the muttering of guards talking between each other.
As hours pass without seeing another face, I allow myself to rest, confident that all of the keep will be slumbering with me.
***
Orgath
I climb the hill parallel to the one upon which my ancestral keep sits, and the village stretches out before me between the two hills. I feel the wind tug at my braids as my hand grips Uagoral, the weight of the ax a familiar comfort.
At my side, Erra squints into the setting sun, a massive spear balanced carefully at her side, as is Orgul, a long, heavy sword clenched between two hands, the tip pointed for the moment at the ground. Bodi holds a pair of short swords, a wild grin on his face. Battle-mad, my father would have said were he still alive.
I pause in surprise when I see a flash of white fly out from the steps of the keep. A unicorn dances briefly, tossing his head as if to salute our force before he gallops away into the distance, returning to the woods I suspect. Erra inhales deeply.
“A good omen, do you think?�
� Erra whispers.
“I don’t know,” I reply. “It seems as if he acknowledges us, and certainly that must be something good to our purpose, in some way or another.”
I turn my head to watch the orcs coming up from the village, heavily armed. Not as many males as I’d hoped are joining us. That is disappointing. It means that many of the clan males are rallying under Lorf for what he promises to give them: access to human females.
Yet the response from the orc females is satisfying. They arrive in their armor with axes, spears, and blades of all kinds. Many carry large nets. Even the clothier Gidra has net and spear in her capable hands. She spies me and grins widely, baring her tusks in a savage grimace. She comes up to my side and nods at the few males.
“Don’t be disheartened. You will not have to fight against a great number of the males of your clan. Most are refusing to choose sides and are waiting to see the result. My own husband agrees with them and I have told him that if I come back from this battle, I will set him from the house for three months until he makes reparation to me for his dishonor to our family. I have spoken among the females and this is a familiar case.”
I nod my thanks to her, feeling a little better.
My eyes turn back to the keep as a young male rushes up from its direction, his breath coming out in pants from the exertion of his quick journey. “News from the keep, chieftain,” he says, giving me all formalities my clan feels due. “A strange mist has descended upon the keep when the unicorn fled. I investigated and saw nothing but slumbering orcs everywhere. Our clan and those from outlying clans, fallen over where they stood, caught in a deep sleep.”
I clasp him on the shoulder and my heart quickens. My mate may just yet be spared if all the keep sleeps. I look to Erra with a vicious grin. “The keep slumbers—summon the warriors to us. We attack at first light before the rise of dawn. May we subdue more than what we must reap.”
She bares her tusks in response and grabs her horn, blowing the rallying call over the hill, summoning our warriors. A shout goes up from the valley in response. I face once more my ancestral home, and the wind suddenly, shifts bringing the scent of flowers and life. A shift in the wind, a good sign of things to come.
Stay safe, Sammi. I am coming.
Chapter 16
Orgath
I sit at the fire, waiting for the first light of the sky. Few of our numbers slept, and those who did slept the restless sleep of one before they wake to meet battle. Erra sits on a rock to one side with her mate, and Bodi sits on the ground sharpening one of his swords. My warriors are gathered around us, seated on the ground or whatever outcropping of stone or log that they can fashion into some manner of rough seat.
“How long do you imagine that the unicorn-sleep will last?” Bodi grumbles from his place.
“Not much longer, I’d imagine,” I reply, rubbing at my beard. Most enchantments last just for a short period.”
“A day, I would wager,” the voice of a newcomer says as he drops down beside Bodi. “Most similar enchantments done by trolls in my kingdom, and even by elves, usually don’t last much longer past sunrise of the next day.” The troll grins over at me, aimlessly tossing a knife in one hand. A longbow lays stretched over his knees. Unlike the first time I saw him, he is dressed in simple leathers and his lavender hair is pulled up high into a warrior’s knot at the top of his head. He doesn’t even twitch at the blade that Bodi holds at his throat. My cousin is not one who cares to be surprised.
“Who are you, and what are you doing here?” Bodi growls.
The troll pushes the blade away with a finger and his grin widens. “I am Cavek, the envoy and third son in line of the Troll King. Pleased to make your blade-happy acquaintance.”
I sigh. Perfect. The troll is not only an envoy but one of the royal sons of the king. I can already imagine the monumental debt that the trolls will consider accrued for the assistance of his son to our efforts.
“This isn’t your fight,” I tell him, diplomatically attempting to avoid owing the troll king any favors.
Cavek shrugs, his lips twisting into a dark grin. “I was bored and have nothing planned for today. I figure throwing in with your fight will be more entertaining than hanging around the village,” he comments as if he is doing nothing more strenuous than going for a pleasant stroll. “Don’t worry, chieftain. Consider this completely on me.”
I grunt in acknowledgment.
“If the spell ends around sunrise as our troll ally says, we should strike at the very first light before dawn,” Erra cuts in. She restlessly taps the end of her spear against her boot as she thinks. I nod in agreement. That would be the best time.
“What of those orcs who have allied themselves with Lorf?” Orgul asks quietly.
Erra frowns at her mate as if he is making no sense, but I understand his reasoning behind the question. This too is something I’ve been thinking of all night. Erra snorts. “From what I understand, most of those who have allied themselves with Lorf are out-dwellers, not from our clan. Very few of our people are with him. Even still, those few we can’t allow to live,” she says firmly, meeting the eye of all those gathered. “They have shown that their allegiance is not with the clan and are a potential threat, not only to us but also for those humans that they share Lorf’s greed for acquiring.”
A murmur of agreement runs through the clan warriors.
“And our honor?” growls another.
“How does it tarnish our honor when they have none to begin with? I say there is nothing dishonorable in attacking the enemy when they are vulnerable and spare as many of our own when they would create even more devastation if they are allowed to continue on,” she counters angrily, slamming the end of her spear into the ground with emphasis.
“As much as it pains me to lose any member of our clan, Erra speaks the truth. We cannot risk traitors to linger among us who may harm us or try to imprison human females. If anyone has issue with this and cannot raise their hand against one who may be their kin, retreat now with my blessing. I will not think less of you for it.”
I feel a surge of pride when not one orc even shifts in reluctance. This time, my clan is standing with me. Though their faces are drawn, their expressions bear clear understanding of the solemn duty they face and what must be done. Only the troll grins, his eyes sparkling with a sense of eager anticipation.
A short time later, just before dawn, my small force of armed warriors moves toward my ancestral home. Bodi and Erra take up each flank beside me. I don’t give much attention to the orcs in the village, watching silently from in front of their homes. I do take note, however, of those males who, with an obvious change of heart, stride out in armor to join us in our passing.
The small fortress lies silent before us as we approach. At the gate, I can see the guards slumped in slumber. I gesture to the warriors at my left, and they slip forward to slit the throats of the guards lest they waken and alert the rest of the keep.
The grounds of the courtyard are littered with bodies that have fallen under the influence of unicorn-sleep wherever they stood. We make quick work of them. Their deaths weigh on me, and I wish I could be lenient and spare the lives of those lying helpless at our feet. However, I will not risk sparing even one.
The spell does not begin to break until after we pry open the heavy doors. It is as we are entering that voices begin shouting in groggy alarm to each other. They are too late, and even now they are realizing it.
Erra, already heavily painted with blood, leaps forward, her braids flowing behind her as she thrusts her spear with the full weight of her body into a thick-bodied orc who rushes at that moment around the corner. Her war-scream echoes through the entryway. Orgul is at her side, covering her back, his sword cutting into another male who attempts to strike her while her attention is diverted.
Running to the fore, I bury my ax into any who dares to place themselves before me. Bodi is at my side, gore running down his chest. He sports a few minor cuts, but most of
the blood he wears is not his own. He doesn’t seem to notice it as he drives into one male after the other, his grin savage. He is an unstoppable force, and we have been a fighting-pair for as long as I can remember. I know he will protect my back with his last breath of battle-frenzy. I trust him with Sammi’s life, and to help me to liberate her more than any other.
A savage roar rends the air and the troll leaps forward to strike a blow with his bow, catching an unseen enemy unaware. His victim stumbles with shock, but Cavek makes use of his stun to slip a dagger up into the soft tissue beneath the orc’s jaw. The orc gurgles and falls, forgotten already at Cavek’s feet as the troll lets loose several arrows.
“Lorf!” I bellow, catching sight of the long robes worn by our so-called chieftain as he disappears around a corner. I bare my tusks and growl to myself.
Of course he runs!
Lorf never chooses the honorable path. He destroyed my kin with an act of deception, presenting himself as a guest at my family’s harvest festival. And now he has taken my wife. His dishonor will be his end.
Bodi slams into a large male protecting Lorf’s retreat and shouts out, “Orgath, go! He heads to the lower-level cells.”
I dive into a narrow hall that leads down to the cells. My breath breaks from my body in a sharp snarl when I am almost beheaded by a guard. He stares at me with panicked wide eyes when his blade clangs uselessly against stone, my hand locking around his wrist. The cries of the dying fill the air, and I allow the terror of his demise to sink in with a fierce growl. When realization dawns, I draw up my other hand and strike with such strength that his head severs from his neck and rolls down the stairs proceeding my descent.
“Lorf! Face me!” I roar in the darkness below.
***
Sammi
I hear Orgath’s bellow from the stairs above and my heart leaps in my chest. My mate is here! My inner party is greatly subdued when Lorf rushes into the room, another toady of a smaller, unfamiliar species at his side. The smaller male’s head whipping from side to side with terror.
The Orc Wife Page 13
