by Megg Jensen
Damor felt the connection sever as quickly as it had arrived. He took in another deep breath, held it, then let it out, along with any trepidation he might have.
“Ylantri,” he whispered, reaching out with one shaking hand. Alas, he could not stretch far enough to touch her. “Ylantri.” He said it louder this time.
She stirred under her blanket. “What is it, Damor?”
“I need your help.”
“Now? It’s the middle of the night. Unless you’re dying, can it wait until morning?”
He laughed. Dying. In a way, he was. There was time before the end, though.
“I suppose it can,” he said. He settled back under his cover, pulling it up to his chin.
Chapter 13
Tace slid out of her bedroll, careful not to wake Ademar, Frensia, or Raseri. Her tent had turned into its own little inn, and she didn’t like it one bit. She supposed she genuinely liked Ademar and Raseri. And she tolerated Frensia. But she didn’t want to spend every moment of her life with them.
She’d lived so long in the shadows, barely even seeing her mother at their home in Agitar, that being around so many others grated on her nerves. She understood why Alyna kept claiming she needed to be alone in the forest. Tace doubted it had anything to do with being a faun and everything to do with simply needing space.
She stepped out of the tent and took a deep breath, letting the cool night air fill her lungs. Breathing. It was something she’d taken for granted before dying. But while dying, she’d struggled for air—and then her first breath upon coming back to life was filled with dirt.
She would never again take air for granted.
Raseri burst out of the tent, her wings quietly whooshing as she settled on Tace’s shoulders.
“May I join you, too?” a voice asked from behind.
Suppressing a sigh, Tace turned, finding the newcomer standing in a ray of moonlight. Vitagut was impressively tall, with wide shoulders. He was a fine specimen of orc, with large tusks filed to gleaming points. If he truly managed to take the throne, his image would make for a fine royal portrait.
“You may,” Tace said, only because she was unsure how to politely get rid of him. Politeness had never been one of her strong suits, but given he was a likely candidate for the throne, she felt it wise to hold her sharp tongue.
“I’m sure you came out here to be alone,” he said, stepping up next to her and gazing at the moon. “No one leaves their tent in the middle of the night to be bothered by a stranger. So, I appreciate you humoring me for a few moments.”
Tace bit back a smile. He was quite right, but she had no intention of letting him know. “I had trouble sleeping after today,” she said. “My muscles are sore from digging.” She rubbed her bicep as proof.
“I am used to hard labor. In Inab, I worked in the rock pits.”
Tace raised an eyebrow. “Really? That’s not a job for nobility.”
“Not every orc city is like Agitar,” Vitagut replied. “We have our own way of doing things. But you are right—I’m not nobility. We don’t worry about such things to the east. Those born and raised in Agitar have a very different lifestyle than we do.”
“I wasn’t born in Agitar,” Tace said before she could stop herself. It was rare she admitted it to anyone. “I’m from Kanta, and I know exactly how different the other orc cities are from this one.” She waved her hand toward the ruins where Agitar had once stood proudly, a shining beacon of what orcs could accomplish. Now it was all gone, thanks to the xarlug.
“I would like to hear more about your childhood sometime,” Vitagut said. “But that is not why I joined you now.”
“You want to know if I’m going to support you. If one day of burying bodies changed my mind. You think the others will listen to me, and you’re hoping you’ve done all you need to prove yourself.” Tace crossed her arms over her chest.
“Actually, I was hoping you could convince the other orcs to come back to Inab with me. There is no future in Agitar. As much as it pains me to say it, I can see plainly that it is true. The question is, do the other orcs?”
Tace had had similar thoughts. What was left for them now? A lifetime of rebuilding? Was it even worth it? Some would say yes. Perhaps others might be relieved to leave behind the frightening memories of the past.
“What would become of them in Inab?” Tace asked, wary. “Would they be treated poorly by your orcs? Would they be treated as equals or as slaves?”
Vitagut tilted his head to the side and stared directly into her eyes. “Why must you always assume the worst? What happened to you to make you so defensive?”
Tace’s fingers itched to grab her daggers. She wanted, so much, to put the cool steel against his throat and tell him to never speak to her that way again. But now that she knew the feel of her daggers against her own throat, she couldn’t bear to do that to another.
He reached out with a tentative hand and rested it on her shoulder. His thumb stroked the side of her neck where the scars from her suicide puckered pink. “Who did this to you?”
Tace jerked away from him. “Don’t touch me. Don’t you dare question me about anything. You barely know me. I owe you nothing.”
“I will never take anything from you that you are not willing to give.” Vitagut smiled, but there was a sadness behind it Tace did not understand. “I will leave you to your solitude. But please, consider my plea.”
He turned on his heel and strode off into the night.
But for Raseri, Tace was alone once again.
She trembled as she took in a deep breath. What was it about him that put her so off balance? He was just an orc from Inab, albeit one with great aspirations. And for him to offer to open up his city to the displaced orcs… that was kind. Depending on how they were treated once they arrived, of course. Though the orcs were all one race, they kept to their own cities, rarely moving from one to another. Which was why when Tace and her mother left Kanta, her mother told her to keep her head down and pretend like she’d always lived in Agitar, that they had simply moved from one side of the city to the other. It was safer that way, and left them open to fewer questions.
Tace gazed at the ruins once again, her heart heavy. Rebuilding Agitar would take many, many more orcs than they had. If the disease hadn’t spread so quickly, and if the battle with the dark mage hadn’t taken so many lives, they might have had a chance to at least recover some of the city. But now? There were only a couple hundred orcs left alive, and many of them had suffered trauma beyond imagining. Would they even want to put in days of work from sunrise until sunset for the rest of their lives just to rebuild their city? Or would they rather go elsewhere and do what they could to make a new life?
Tace knew what her choice would be. She would leave. Perhaps the evil that had plagued them would stay buried in Agitar.
Steeling her fists at her sides, she decided to accept Vitagut’s offer in the morning. She would speak to the orcs here, offering them a chance at a new life. Though there would no doubt be some who would prefer to stay, she felt the majority would want to relocate. They would leave a mess behind, but Tace had to believe there was a light ahead in Inab. If not, what was the point of living?
She was just about to return to her tent when someone tackled her from behind. Tace jabbed them with her elbow and twisted her head around, attempting to see who dared attack her, but her hair caught on one of her tusks, blocking her vision. She reached down to her hips for her daggers—and was shocked to find them gone.
A knee drove into her spine, pushing her to the ground. Hands shoved a gag in her mouth, grabbed her wrists, and twisted her arms behind her back.
Raseri screeched, hitting the attackers with her wings, but it wasn’t enough.
“You may have escaped us once, but it won’t happen again,” a voice hissed in Tace’s ear.
Chapter 14
Ademar stretched his arms over his head, careful not to bump Tace. She liked waking up on her own, and he didn’t want to
be the target of her ire so early in the morning. He saw Frensia sitting in the corner, their back straight and eyes closed. That was something he thought he’d never see. Frensia had claimed umgar didn’t sleep, but did say that they occasionally had to rejuvenate their body. Ademar considered himself lucky to see it. Which was why he decided to wake Tace. She needed to see Frensia sleeping. He had to share it with someone.
He rolled over, reaching out, but Tace wasn’t there. And her blankets were cool, as if she’d been up for a very long time.
He pulled his shirt over his head, not bothering to tuck it into his pants, yanked a boot on each foot, then scrambled out of the tent without waking Frensia. The sun stabbed at his eyes, and he threw a hand up to his brow as he adjusted to the bright light of morning.
Tace was nowhere to be seen.
Spying Vitagut near a fire with a cup, he loped over to the orc who styled himself the next king of Agitar.
“Good morning, human,” Vitagut said, pointing his cup at Ademar.
“Ademar,” he said in response. “My name is Ademar.”
“Of course, human. I will endeavor to remember that. It feels so strange on my tongue.” Vitagut laughed, then took a long swig of his drink.
Ademar refused to engage in a war of words with this orc. “Have you seen Tace this morning?”
“Not this morning. I haven’t seen her since late last night when we spoke under the moonlight.” Vitagut reached down for a bowl, then shoved a spoonful of gruel in his mouth.
Late last night? Under the moon? Ademar knew Tace had had trouble falling asleep. He’d tried to stay up with her, but exhaustion overtook him. She must have taken a walk to clear her mind. But then what? She spoke to Vitagut and decided not to return? It wasn’t like her.
“Did you say anything to upset her?” Ademar asked.
“Absolutely not. I spoke my heart to her and she to me. There were no cross words between us.” Vitagut’s eyes narrowed as he put down his bowl. “Are you saying she didn’t return to your tent?”
“Her bedroll is cold this morning. In fact,” Ademar said, thinking back, “it didn’t really look slept in. Did she say anything about where she was going?”
“No. I left first. I believed she needed more time to herself. She seemed very pensive.”
Ever since she’d risen from the dead—even thinking about that made Ademar shudder—Tace had been very much inside her own thoughts. He had hoped that, with time, she would open up again. Anything would be better than this close-lipped orc.
“Did she share anything particularly interesting with you?” Ademar asked. He didn’t want to betray her confidences, nor did he want Vitagut to, but finding her might be more important than keeping what had passed between them a secret.
“No. We spoke of bringing the remaining orcs back to Inab with me instead of staying here. She seemed open to endorsing the idea.” Vitagut tapped his chin. “She was a tad defensive, but I suspect that is simply her nature as a strong orc female.”
Ademar had to concede that point. He’d never met anyone stronger than Tace. “Can you tell me where you spoke? Maybe I can pick up a clue from there. Perhaps track her through the prairie grass.”
Vitagut wiped his hands on his pants. “I will take you there. Come with me, small Ademar.” He clapped Ademar on the shoulder.
Scowling, Ademar followed the orc. Small Ademar. He wasn’t that much smaller than Vitagut. Maybe only a head or two, he admitted to his chagrin.
He tried not to let himself get too annoyed. When he’d first moved to Agitar, he had dealt with similar remarks from nearly every orc he encountered. Even Tace originally had nothing but disdain for him. And yet he’d proven himself to the other orcs through his strength of character. He would do the same with Vitagut.
“Did the two of you plan to meet, or was it a chance encounter?” Ademar asked.
Vitagut smiled. “Are you jealous, human? I see the two of you have a special relationship.”
“Jealous?” Ademar spat. “I’m not jealous. I’m worried about her.”
“Tace can take care of herself, can she not?” Vitagut said. “A strong, capable orc like her doesn’t need a human watching over her every step.”
“She also doesn’t need an orc she just met dishing out opinions of her.”
Ademar fumed. It was moments like this when he wished humans had proven themselves worthy generations ago. He was tired of fighting with every orc just to be treated as an equal.
Vitagut surprised him by laughing. “A good point, human. If she chooses to mate with you, who am I to judge? She is free to do as she pleases, and if you please her, then I will give you the benefit of the doubt.”
Ademar was struck dumb. Maybe Vitagut wasn’t as pompous as he’d originally assumed. Still, he refused to thank Vitagut. He knew the orc would respect him more if he didn’t.
“It was just over here.” Vitagut pointed to a trampled area of prairie grass. “I was doing my final rounds for the night when I spied Tace standing over here by herself, so I took the opportunity to speak with her. I didn’t know if I’d have another chance to get her alone. I was hoping to coax her into my bed, too, but it was clear she had no interest in me, so I did not pursue it any further.”
Ademar swallowed his anger. He knew he had no claims over Tace, and if she wanted to be with someone else, it was her choice… but for Vitagut to so easily admit to wanting to seduce her—and right after acknowledging he was aware of Ademar’s relationship with her—was irritating to no end.
He pretended Vitagut hadn’t just admitted to trying to undermine him. “And you’re sure you didn’t say anything that might have sent her off in another direction? Anything that would have made her search for answers elsewhere?”
“No. As I said, we discussed going to Inab. She explained her childhood to me and how she wasn’t from Agitar either. She is not attached to this city as others might be. It was a stroke of luck for me. It would have been harder to persuade a lifelong resident of Agitar to leave.”
Ademar looked around the grass, trying to ascertain Tace’s entry and exit points. He could clearly see two paths from the encampment to this spot—Tace’s and Vitagut’s. Both were well trodden, with the grass broken and bent. But…
“I can’t see where she left,” he said. “Can you?”
“No,” said Vitagut. “And it is unlikely she would take the exact path back to the tent unless she was trying to cover her tracks. There is no reason for that.”
Ademar crouched down, running his hands over the grass. One section bent easily, too easily, under his palm. He lowered his eye to the level of the grass—and noticed a faint depression heading toward the south. “Vitagut. Do you see this?”
Vitagut came to his side and bent down. “Yes… It appears someone left that way and tried to cover their tracks.”
“And it’s much wider than the path Tace used to get here. As if there were more bodies moving through the grass.”
“Is it possible she ventured out with others?” Vitagut asked.
“No. I am sure she wouldn’t leave without saying anything.” Ademar felt sick to his stomach as he realized the small dragon hadn’t been in the tent, either. He’d just dug Tace out of her grave a few days ago, and she was already back in trouble again. “I’m going to get my things together, then I’m going after her.”
Vitagut squared his shoulders. “I will go with you. I bear some responsibility for leaving her here alone last night.”
“As you stated before, Tace is perfectly capable of taking care of herself. She didn’t need you to be her guardian.”
“But she needs you to find her?” Vitagut asked. “What if she does not want to be found?”
Ademar considered this. Vitagut might be right… but then again, he might not be. “You have reasons to stay here. Gather the orcs and take them to Inab. Frensia will come with me.”
Vitagut shrugged. “If I can persuade the others without Tace’s blessing.”
&
nbsp; “I’ll talk to Alyna before I leave. She will speak to the orcs.”
Ademar started back to the encampment, leaving Vitagut behind. He no longer needed anything from the orc.
He needed only to find Tace.
Chapter 15
Alyna stared toward the south. Her forest home awaited her there, far away from the strife in Agitar. She’d come only to warn them of an approaching evil, not even knowing what it was. She had never intended to stay.
And why had she stayed? For Vron. Not just because it was the right choice, but because she couldn’t deny the pull she felt to the orc.
But Vron was gone now. There was nothing for her here. The orcs no longer needed her, and she certainly didn’t need them. Although she had befriended a handful of them, she was better off alone in her clearing, hidden deep within the forest. She and Syra could come and go as they pleased again, no longer worrying about the fates of others.
“Alyna!” Ademar called to her from behind.
Alyna grudgingly turned from the promise of home in the south to the only human she’d ever called a friend.
“What is it?” She plastered a smile on her face, finding it more difficult to pretend serenity with each passing moment.
“Tace is missing.” Deep breaths punctuated his words, as if he’d been running. “I’m going after her as soon as I pack. Can you talk to the remaining orcs? Convince them to follow Vitagut to Inab. He believes there’s nothing left for them here, and I have to agree.”
“Me?” Alyna rested a hand on her chest. “I don’t know if the orcs would listen to a faun. And why would Tace leave anyway? Like it or not, she has responsibilities here.”
“I’m not so sure she left willingly, which is why I’m going after her.”
“You think she was taken? By whom?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know anything. Which is why I have to go. And why you have to lead the orcs. Dalgron is gone. So is Vron. And now Tace. There is no one left to lead them… but you.”
