Page 31 of Agor the Merciless (Orc Mates #10)
Durnak the Morose waited in the corridor outside the captain’s chamber, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.
His ribs had healed, only faint bruises remaining, and he walked better than the day before.
He saw Zoe exit through the curtain. She did a double-take, and he bowed his head in greeting, then she laughed and bid him good morning, and went about her day. He knew she was headed to the garage.
Once she was gone, the raider cleared his throat at the entrance.
“Enter,” Agor called from inside.
Durnak pushed the curtain aside and stepped into the chamber.
The space was wider than most cave rooms, with a large bed against one wall and personal items scattered about – Agor’s weapons in one corner, and his bride’s things everywhere else.
The air smelled of candle smoke and something sweet that belonged to Zoe.
The captain sat at a wooden table, maps spread across its surface. He glanced up at Durnak.
“Why are you here? You should be resting.”
“The horde is talking about what happened behind your back. They whisper about your broken word to Grak the Bitter.”
Agor the Merciless sighed. He cast his eyes toward the ceiling, wondering why he had to deal with this.
The raider and the mage themselves had told the other orcs, and this is why he now had this situation in his hands.
He’d explicitly asked them to keep their mouths shut.
But when it came to a captain’s word, given and broken, it was more than asking them to tell a little white lie.
He should’ve known it wouldn’t work. There were unwritten rules in place that went over a captain’s orders.
“Tell me what they’re saying.”
“They know you promised Grak his life for the cure, then killed him. An orc’s word binds him to his actions, and a captain’s word is law among us, so many wonder if they can trust what you say.”
Agor pushed back from the table and stood up. The chair scraped against stone. He knew the horde would question him after he killed Grak despite his promise. The orcs respected strength but followed honor, and without honor, strength meant nothing.
“And you, Durnak? What do you think?” Agor walked to the water bucket Zoe had used earlier to wash her face.
Durnak touched his side where the wounds still healed. “I think Grak would have attacked again, but I don’t speak for the others.”
Agor splashed his face. Water dripped as he thought about what to do.
He needed to lead. His raider was right: an orc’s word tied him to his actions, a captain’s word became law.
He had broken his promise to Grak the Bitter, no matter how much of a cancer that old man was, and though he had to do it, his people now questioned him.
He needed to talk to them before things got worse.
“Tell everyone I want them in the main cavern in an hour.” Agor dried his hands on a cloth.
Durnak nodded and left.
Agor sighed and looked around the chamber to distract himself. This was Zoe’s place as much as it was his, and she’d changed it a lot since she’d moved in. Her books stood on a shelf he’d built for her, her clothes were next to his… All these things reminded him of why he’d killed Grak.
He put on his leather vest and walked through the tunnels, out of the cave, and toward the garage.
He found Zoe working on the motorcycle that had become Tarn’s obsession since he’d found it.
Grease covered her hands and marked her forehead where she’d pushed her hair back.
She hummed while she worked, but when she heard him, she turned to him smiling.
Her smile faded when she saw the look on his face.
“Something’s wrong,” she said.
“The horde questions me. They talk behind my back and say they don’t trust me anymore.”
After he’d told her about Urka the Bone-Mender, he’d poured his heart out about Grak the Bitter, too, so Zoe knew how he’d tricked the old mage and even knelt before him, only to chop off his head when he had the cure.
Zoe wiped her hands on a rag.
“You did what you needed to do.”
“I promised him life, then took it.” Agor picked up a wrench from her tools, looked at it, then put it down. Weapons, he knew. This was not his scene. “I must talk to the horde in an hour, explain why I broke my word.”
“Will you tell them everything?”
“I’ll tell them Grak would’ve kept coming after us. The cure saved you, but he would’ve found another way to hurt you, to challenge me, or drain our lands. He was a disease, infecting everything he touched. My mistake was letting him live in the first place.”
“He poisoned me to get to you.” Zoe said. “He didn’t care who got hurt.”
“Will you stand with me when I talk to them? I want them to see us together.”
“Of course I will.” She gave him an encouraging smile.
Agor breathed easier. The horde might question him, but when they saw his human mate, healthy and strong, and standing firm by his side, they would understand that breaking his word had been necessary this time. It didn’t define him even if he’d had to do it.
“We have time,” he said. “Why don’t you show me around the garage and explain what you’re working on?”
This took Zoe aback. Agor hadn’t showed interest in her work until now, which had disappointed her, if she were to be honest. But now he was here, eager, and she wasn’t going to squander this opportunity to reveal to him who she truly was and what made her happy.
For the next hour, she gave him a thorough tour, told him about engines, showed him the orc car she’d just finished repairing, and explained why the motorcycle wasn’t as easy.
By the end of it, they were both quite covered in grease.
As they walked to the cave hand in hand, their hearts felt lighter.
Talking about something else had definitely helped.
Orcs filled the main cavern as word spread that the captain was about to address them.
They gathered in groups, their voices echoing off the stone walls.
The crowd parted as their captain entered with his mate beside him, then closed around them again.
Agor and Zoe were in the middle of the circle, and the orcs went quiet without needing to be asked.
There was tension in the air, but no animosity.
Zoe figured they just wanted reassurance.
“I gave my word to a viper, and I broke it,” said Agor, getting straight to the point.
An orc captain’s word should be his bond.
We all know this. It is our way. But my first bond is to my horde, to all of you who follow me, to your safety and your future.
Never forget that. If someone harms what’s mine, then I will use any means necessary to bring them down. ”
He squeezed Zoe’s hand, then continued.
“Grak the Bitter bargained with my mate’s life. He poisoned her and demanded my submission for the cure. I promised him mercy to save her, and yes, I killed him after he gave me what I needed.”
The crowd murmured, but Agor spoke louder.
“I do not regret what I did. My bond is to my mate, as well. I will break any promise to a viper to protect my family. Grak turned against us. He poisoned Zoe not because she threatened him, but because she was mine. He’d have tried again, found new ways to hurt us all.
I ended the threat when I had the chance. That is who I am.”
Agor had said his bit. The orcs watched, some nodded, others stared.
Zoe stepped forward, moving in front of the captain to look at each and every orc, hoping that if she established eye contact, they would take her seriously.
After all, she was just a human, and orcs had no reason to listen to a human.
“Your captain made a hard choice. He chose to save me, his mate, over keeping his word to someone who wanted us both dead. Grak tried to kill me to control Agor. He planned to rule through fear and pain. Your captain showed Grak the mercy he deserved – none. It’s in his name, isn’t it?
Agor the Merciless fights for what belongs to him.
He protects what is his. He will not let anyone threaten his family or his horde, no matter what it costs him.
He defends what matters. I have never felt safer than at his side, and neither should you. ”
The orcs whispered to each other. Their voices started low, then grew louder until they filled the cavern with a roar that shook the walls.
They beat their fists against their chests.
Others stamped their feet together, creating a rhythm that matched the beating of their fists.
The noise grew as more joined in. Many orcs who had looked uncertain now nodded and grunted.
Agor felt the sound of their approval through his boots, carried by the vibrating ground.
He looked at their faces. The questions were gone, and he saw respect in their eyes once more.
It was now that he realized that breaking his word hadn’t weakened him.
It had made his connection with his horde stronger.
He had proven that nothing came before their safety, not even his honor as an orc. His family and the horde came first.
The name they chanted – Agor the Merciless – reminded him of who he was. He wasn’t merciless because he was cruel, but because he would protect what was his. This was him. A captain who would defend his people without stopping. A leader who would do what was needed. They saw it now.