Page 15 of Her Orc Protector

"Good," he said. It was a simple word, casually delivered. Yet something in me warmed at the approval.

Uldrek nodded toward a stone bench beneath the pergola. "Take a break."

I glanced immediately at Ellie, who had abandoned her wooden ring and was now studying a sparrow hopping along the edge of her blanket. The bird pecked curiously at the cobblestones, unafraid but cautious in its approach.

I moved toward them, my muscles humming with unaccustomed use.

"She's fine," Uldrek said from behind me. "Been watching the bird for ten minutes now."

I hadn't realized he'd been keeping an eye on her. The thought both reassured and unsettled me. I'd grown used to being Ellie's only vigilant guardian, her only protector. I crouched beside her blanket, brushing a dark curl from her forehead. She looked up at me with a gummy smile, hands batting at the air.

"You're good with her," Uldrek observed. He'd settled on the bench, one arm stretched along its back, legs extended in front of him. "Patient."

I shrugged slightly. "She's easy to be patient with."

"Not all parents think so."

"Have you known many?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Some." His golden eyes were thoughtful. "My sister has three. Wild as young wolves, all of them."

It was the first personal detail he'd offered—a crack in the wall of practiced neutrality he maintained.

"Where is she now? Your sister."

"North of here. Verdant Pass. Has a mate who makes weapons—good ones, too. They have a solid life."

There was a note in his voice I couldn't quite identify. Pride, certainly. Maybe something else.

"And you didn't want that?" I asked carefully. "A solid life?"

Uldrek's mouth twitched. "Never found someone willing to be solid with me." He leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "What about you? Before all this—" he gestured vaguely at the space between us, "—what was your life?"

I hesitated. The deal was honesty, but I wasn't used to talking about myself. Not the real parts.

"I was a scholar's aide," I said finally. "In the Grand Library at Elarion."

Uldrek's eyebrows rose slightly. "Fancy."

"Not really. I organized scrolls, copied texts, fetched reference materials. Basic work." I traced a pattern on the cobblestone with my finger. "But I loved it. Being surrounded by all that knowledge. All those stories."

"Is that where you met him?"

I knew who he meant. I nodded. "Gavriel was researching ancient bloodlines. The noble houses before the war. He needed assistance with the archives."

I didn't add how his attention had felt like sunlight after years in shadow. How his interest in my work, my thoughts, had seemed like recognition of everything I'd hidden behind quiet competence.

"He was charming," I said instead. "Everyone thought so."

Uldrek studied me with those steady golden eyes. "The dangerous ones usually are."

The words hit closer than he could have known. I looked away, toward Ellie, who had rolled onto her stomach and was reaching determinedly for the wooden ring just beyond her grasp. I moved it closer, and her fingers closed around it triumphantly.

"Ready to continue?" Uldrek asked after a moment.

I nodded, grateful for the shift back to practicality.

"This time we'll try something more direct," he said, standing. "What to do if someone grabs you. Because that's what happened yesterday, isn't it? He grabbed your arm."