Page 47 of Her Orc Protector

Ellie dozed in her basket in the corner of the training yard beneath the shade of a gnarled oak. Hobbie sat cross-legged beside her, a tiny, wizened figure in layered shawls, muttering what sounded like curses at a persistent bee that kept investigating the honey biscuit in her lap.

"Vile winged pest," she grumbled. "Buzzing nonsense. Go away, or I'll feed you to a toad."

I smiled at the sound of her voice. Hobbie had become a fixed part of our lives since Ellie's fever, appearing and disappearing according to her own mysterious schedule. She rarely announced her intentions, preferring to simply materialize whenever help was needed—usually with food in one hand and some sharp comment ready on her tongue.

"Why are you smiling?" Uldrek asked, feinting a strike that I managed to sidestep. "I'm trying to teach you how not to die."

"I'm not going to die in a training yard," I countered, blocking his next move.

We continued our dance, and I found myself relaxing into the familiar push and pull of our bodies. There was something freeing about this—the honest exertion, the lack of pretense. When we trained, I wasn't hiding or running. I was simply learning, becoming, doing.

"Oh," I said, ducking under a controlled swing. "I forgot to tell you. Yesterday at the Archives, a councilor came by."

Uldrek raised an eyebrow, dropping his guard slightly. "Official business?"

I took advantage of his momentary distraction and stepped inside his reach, tapping him lightly on the sternum. He grunted in surprise.

"Nice," he said. "Using conversation as a weapon. I've taught you well."

I smiled, stepping back. "It wasn't intentional. But yes, official business. He needed access to some post-war charters. Edwin wasn't there, so I helped him find them."

We reset our stances, circling again.

"And?"

"And nothing," I shrugged, blocking a slow strike. "Just did my job. Found what he needed."

Uldrek snorted. "You're a terrible liar, you know that?"

I rolled my eyes. "Fine. He gave me a token. A recognition token from the Council. And Edwin promoted me to Archive Keeper's Aide."

I tried to sound casual, but something in my voice must have betrayed how much it meant to me. Uldrek stopped moving entirely, his hands dropping to his sides.

"Issy," he said. "That's… that's good. Really good."

I glanced away, suddenly shy beneath his gaze. "It's just a title."

"Don't be modest," he said, his voice low.

I felt heat rise to my face that had nothing to do with exertion. Before I could respond, the sound of approaching voices broke the moment.

"Well, look who's learning new tricks!"

A group of off-duty guards had wandered into the training yard—four of them, still in their uniforms but with the collarsloosened and weapons belted. They sauntered toward us with the loose-limbed confidence of men who owned the space.

Uldrek's posture changed subtly as they approached—not tense exactly, but more contained, alert.

"Helvey," he said, acknowledging the leader with a short nod. "Taking another break?”

The broad-shouldered guard called Helvey laughed, the sound easy and unbothered. "Thok has us running drills since dawn." His gaze flicked to me, curious but not unfriendly. "This the missus, then?"

I felt rather than saw Uldrek's spine stiffen.

"This is Miss Fairbairn," he said.

One of the other guards spoke then, a taller man with a young, clean-shaven face. "Didn't think Wolfsbane was into soft things."

There was an edge to his voice that didn't match his smile. His eyes moved over me in a quick assessment, lingering on the claiming mark visible at the edge of my collar.