Page 6 of Enchanted with the Orc (The Kingverse Orcs #4)

Tasia

S he’s had a premonition.

I swallowed, holding my little girl against my chest while she wiggled in my arms, hurrying toward our apartment. I’d left everyone while they were still enjoying the party and I hoped that by the time they noticed we were gone; we’d be on a bus on our way out of the city.

“I don’t wanna take a nap, Mommy,” she whined and I nodded, rubbing her back with gentle strokes.

“You’re not going for a nap,” I told her, pasting what I hoped looked like an adventurous grin on my face. “We’re going on a trip.”

“A trip?” she asked, a little gasp filling her chest with air. “I love trips!”

The only “trip” she’d ever been on was to move to this new building, so I understood why she would be excited. Unfortunately, that wasn’t what we had in store for us. I was hoping to find a way to make it more palatable for her, but I might fail miserably.

“Tell me more about your dream, sweetheart,” I asked, setting her down on her bed while I grabbed the bags I’d already packed for her. I tucked Enka’s present into one of the pockets of the bags for later.

I wasn’t sure what it was, or why I wanted to keep it when I was leaving most of our things behind, but I tended to follow my instincts now. After failing miserably when I was younger, I’d learned to appreciate my gut feelings when I got them.

“Abu was there, and you were there,” she told me, hopping around on the little shoes with heels that Pen had gotten her.

They were most definitely an attempt to get her to slow down when dashing away from me—since my little girl was a runner—and I appreciated that. “And then there was a scary male.”

“What did the male look like?” I asked her, bracing myself for whoever she thought was scary . She’d never used that word before and I had a feeling I knew who it was.

“He was tall, but not as tall as Abu,” she said, doing a little jig in her shoes. “And he looked really mean.”

“What color was his hair?” I asked, steeling myself for the blow that I knew was going to come.

“Yellow,” she said, tilting her head to the side. “Like Angele’s from the park. ”

Fuck, fuck, FUCK!

It was David. It had to be. She didn’t consciously remember him, I knew she didn’t, so the only way she could have had a dream about him was if it was a premonition. She was still growing into her powers and they were going to fluctuate for a while.

A dream like that meant that the people were going to be in her future. Me? Of course. Enka? Doubtful, but we’d see. David? I sucked in a deep breath, shaking my head.

Premonitions could be avoided. There were ways to circumvent them and I was going to use every single method until we were safe and sound.

“Are you ready for that trip?” I asked her, lowering myself to lift her into my arms. After a few years of carrying her, I now had the upper body strength of a champion lifter, I was certain. That didn’t mean my legs didn’t shake as I straightened up with her.

Maybe if you went to the gym and stopped eating cookies…

I cut my thoughts off, balancing my daughter on my hip as I exited the apartment, leaving it open behind us. I’d left a note on my coffee table for one of the witches in my coven to find. It explained a little of what was happening and I’d asked them not to try to find me.

Knowing those glorious females, it would be a waste of ink. They’d scry for me as soon as they could, but I’d also told them that finding me could put me in even more danger—which was true. If David had found me here, then he could be following them too.

The last thing I wanted was for them to head into a situation where he thought they were hiding me. When I disappeared, I hoped he would leave them alone.

Going down the stairs instead of the elevator, I listened to Gabbi tell me all about her last playdate—which I’d been present for—in detail. Looking around, I made sure that I wasn’t being followed, peering into the shadows of the night around the building before I started walking .

I took a left and then a right, having memorized the map to the bus that I knew would leave in five minutes. Every sound was louder at night, startling me into spinning around to face a non-existent threat three times before I spotted the bus moving along the road.

I swallowed hard, running a palm down my daughter’s back as I hurried to the bus stop. “I love the bus,” she told me, and I pressed a kiss to her soft hair, thanking the Goddess Mother that she’d given me this sweet, beautiful gift from a marriage that had been the most horrific time of my life.

“I love the bus too, sweetheart,” I told her, tapping my bus pass, smiling at the driver and then hurrying to a seat near the back. When I was seated, I glanced through the windows, fear ratcheting through my body since I couldn’t see clearly through them.

I almost missed the man standing at the corner with his hands in his pockets, but my throat closed as I recognized the silhouette. I’d know him anywhere.

Fuck.

I exited the bus, holding Gabbi tight as I hurried to the next bus stop. My head swiveled in all directions as I tried to keep a look-out for David. I couldn’t see anyone around us, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t there.

I knew the way he worked. The fact that he’d let himself be seen wasn’t a coincidence. He’d done it to let me know that he was there. He wanted me to see him .

Psychological warfare was one of his MOs. He used to love to have me walking on glass, tiptoeing around his moods until I was a mess of anxiety.

He was doing the same thing now, I was sure of it. But I wasn’t the same woman I used to be. I may have lost my powers, but I had my daughter with me, and I wasn’t going to let him hurt us.

When I heard the footsteps approaching us I swung around, my daughter clutched close as I eyed the threat. The dark silhouette was so big it was intimidating, but I knew from the fact that it was huge that it wasn’t David.

Sagging with relief, I turned back to check the streets for the oncoming bus, and I didn’t think anything of it as the person stood next to me.

“Where’re you headed?” a familiar voice asked, and I startled so hard I felt Gabbi stir in my arms. And she was a deep sleeper, so I had to be shaking in my boots.

“Enka?” I gasped, staring up at the deep, dark, glittering eyes of the male who was smiling down at me.

“Hey,” he said, lifting a hand in a wave that was so silly, it made the anxiety that I was drowning in ease up enough for me to breathe. In the next moment, though, dread filled me.

If Enka was here, then someone had sent him. Which meant that someone knew I was gone and probably wanted me to come back. I couldn’t do that, but I didn’t know how to explain why.

“I—I was just heading out to get Gabbi a present,” I lied, keeping my voice steady from all the years I’d had practice in keeping the truth from David. The stutter was new. I was usually cool and calm under pressure unless it affected my daughter, but not now.

Looking up into this male’s eyes, I realized I didn’t want to lie to him. I wanted to tell him the truth. To lay everything bare before him and that was dangerous. I didn’t even know him.

“Hmm,” he said, nodding, looking around. “But the thing is, you’re not really heading into the city, are you?”

Swallowing hard, I turned to peek at the street again, trying to gauge when the next bus would get here. It should be a couple minutes out, which meant that I would be saved from having to face this interrogation if I could keep my wits about me.

“It’s a special cake that she likes,” I told him, not looking at him and fighting the idiot inside of myself who wanted him to hold me in his strong arms. “I’ll bring some back for everyone, so you can head home.”

Let your mate protect you.

But I shoved that thought aside. I was probably wrong, anyway. My instincts about mates were always wrong. I’d thought the same thing about David, but that had been the biggest mistake of my life. Just because this instinct was so much stronger didn’t mean that it was right this time either.

“Hmm,” he repeated, and I watched as his gaze took in the bags on my back and shoulder.

I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping he wouldn’t say anything, but I should have known I wouldn’t be so lucky.

“Why don’t I drive you there, then?” he suggested, and I shook my head.

“I’m fine. I like the bus. And it soothes Gabbi,” I fibbed.

You’re getting worse and worse with every word out of your mouth. Shut. Up.

“It’s kind of late to be travelling on your own though,” he said, and while it was a logical statement, I was sure that someone—probably Rudgar and Zara—had sent him.

And if they did, then he didn’t want to take me anywhere except back to the building.

I couldn’t do that. I would not put anyone else at risk.

“We’re fine,” I said in a dismissive tone. “You can leave.”

He heaved a sigh, nodding, and I had to stop myself from sagging with relief again just as the bus pulled up in front of me. I hurried inside as soon as the doors opened, the prospect of freedom filling me with energy.

That energy switched to panic as Enka followed behind me, eyeing the bus with open curiosity. He watched as I tapped my card against the reader, moving to sit behind the driver—since this bus was fuller than the previous one.

The bus driver—a bored looking Ijiraq blinked at him, his huge antlers brushing the top of the bus as he waited for Enka to pay. His eerie yellow eyes moved from him to the card reader and then he huffed out a heavy, impatient breath.

“I don’t have one of those cards,” Enka explained.

“Cash payment is four dollars,” he said in a weary voice. “And I don’t have any change.”

Enka nodded, grabbing his wallet and I watched as he pulled out a twenty-dollar bill, handing it over. The Ijiraq looked from him to the money clutched in his skeletal hand and shrugged, tucking it into the front pocket of his shirt.

“Enjoy the ride,” he said, and Enka clambered in, taking a seat opposite me. Even as fear that we were being followed rushed through me, I couldn’t help but be amused by this big orc squished into a seat on the bus.

It was clear that he was trying to make himself look smaller. He glanced around, taking in all of the different beings on the bus who—after watching his interaction with the driver—had gone back to minding their own business.

When he turned back to me, I stiffened, hoping he wasn’t going to ask me anything. It only took him a few seconds.

“Where’s this bakery located?” he asked and I rolled my eyes, leaning forward to speak to him. He did the same, mirroring my position, but being so much bigger than I was, and taking up so much more space, it was almost funny. Almost .

“You know I’m not going to a bakery,” I told him, my eyes narrowed on his and he nodded, his hands pressed together in front of him.

“Yes,” he told me, the simple word not saying anything more.

“Who sent you after me?” I asked, furious that my plan was being thwarted.

“No one,” he answered with a shrug, sending an apologetic look toward a pretty little Kitsune he’d jostled since she was standing next to him. She tittered, giving him a shy, inviting smile and I felt my chest burn with jealousy.

He didn’t seem to notice though, as he simply turned back to me, effectively dismissing her. Her flirtatious smile turned sour, tails swishing as she moved away in an elegant, miffed huff. I bit my lip, hiding a smile and telling myself that it couldn’t be relief that I was feeling.

That would be stupid, Tasia. And remember when we decided not to do stupid things?