Page 1

Chapter 1

Eleri

O n the evening of the Monster Mate Hunt, I walked as fast as my bad leg allowed through the dimly lit streets of our village, a sack with my meager purchases banging against my thigh.

Tonight, two unfortunate women would be forced to leave the protection of our fortress walls. They’d run through the forest, hoping to hide, but it would be futile. Enormous, brutish orcs would hunt them, determined to claim them as a bride.

No one knew for sure what happened after they were caught by an orc, but the whispered, horrifying stories were enough to make women get down on bended knees to beg the fates not to be chosen.

Exhaustion threatened to drag me down onto the cobblestone street, but I’d long since learned not to show I was in pain. Weakness was either exploited or scorned here.

My leg wasn’t the only part of me that hurt, though that was a constant ache I did my best to ignore. My eyes burned from focusing on tiny stitches, and my fingertips stung from wielding the sewing needle to the point it shredded my skin.

In the forest beyond the high stone walls, a shayde shrieked. I froze much like I must’ve done when my parents abandoned me in the nearby forest when I was three; after it was clear my leg no longer worked as it should. It had been twenty-two years since that day, and I could no longer remember how I was injured. And since my parents lived in a distant village, I couldn’t ask.

If Zur hadn’t been hunting that night and heard my whimper of fear, the shaydes would’ve consumed me like they had so many of my fellow villagers who’d strayed beyond the stone fortress walls after dark.

“Hurry up there, Eleri,” Birgid called out from the open doorway of one of the wooden houses lining both sides of the street, and I scooted forward. “If you keep going at your current pace, it’ll take you all night to get home.” The cruel laughter of her friends punctuated her words. Until they’d decided it would be fun to mock me, they’d probably been gossiping about the hunt. They should be fretting about which young women would be chosen—maybe even one of them—rather than bothering with me.

From the moment I’d arrived here, three years old to their five, they’d hounded me, begging the mayor to send me back to the forest where the shaydes would finish me off.

“What a useless thing you are,” one of the other women said. “Look. She can barely move.”

Birgid hooted. Her gaze shot down the alley where my friend, Zur, waited in our tiny home. “We should shove her out the front gates tonight to placate the orcs instead of giving them one of our own.”

I am one of their own, I thought fiercely, though I bit down on my tongue to keep from speaking.

An enormous forest that went on for so many cliks surrounded my village, and no one had ever spanned the entire distance. Over a thousand human villagers hid beyond each ring of high fortress walls, relying on fierce, enormous orcs who granted us protection from the shaydes, creatures even more dangerous than themselves.

The orcs didn’t do this out of the goodness of their hearts.

In exchange, they demanded brides .

As I left the evil women behind, their cackles stabbed through the humid air. I scurried past the alley containing my home and continued three blocks to the butcher’s shop, hoping to find a bargain on a small piece of meat. I wanted to make a hearty stew with the vegetables in my bag. Zur would enjoy it, and his warm smile would make everything all right again like it had every day since he adopted me as his own.

Once I’d made a purchase, a measly bit of fatty meat, unfortunately, I returned to the alley and hurried to the rickety home I shared with Zur.

More laughter rang out from Birgid’s friends. I wasn’t sure where Birgid was, but I’d keep a sharp watch in case she crept up behind me.

Pitiful thing , one of them said.

Useless for anything but sewing , another added.

And Toss her out the gate.

It was all I could do to keep my spine straight and my chin held high. I might not walk well, but no one would disagree that I was the best seamstress in town. Even my boss would say so, though she’d yet to pay me with enough coin to buy me and Zur more than a few skimpy meals. He hunted and I worked each day of the week, but it was all we could do to make the rent on the small hut where he’d so kindly raised me.

He was the only person I would ever trust.

The sun slid closer to the horizon, casting long shadows that whispered secrets among the cobblestones. Today had been especially grueling at the seamstress’s shop, where I’d worked tirelessly on delicate embroidery that would be taken for granted by those who donned the garment. I doubted they took even one moment to appreciate whose nimble fingers had crafted each stitch.

At least I had coins to buy our meal. I needed to remember that and not think of how badly my back ached.

As I approached the simple home where Zur and I lived, I picked up my pace to a moderate hobble. He was more than just a guardian; he’d become my father and my solace amidst the scornful gazes and whispers plaguing my every step. His warmth and wisdom provided a sanctuary within those walls, shielding me from the cruel world outside. I couldn’t wait to see his cheerful smile and share the news of our day.

Scraping sounds rang out behind me near the head of the alley. My skin flashed with goosebumps, and I spun, but I didn’t see anyone there. Even better, no rock sailed my way, ready to hit me and leave a bruise.

The light had faded, however, and with carts parked along the side and refuse strewn in between, almost anyone could be hiding.

“Hello?” I called out.

Only silence greeted me—and the feeling of being watched.

“Get inside,” I hissed. “Ignore whatever it might be.”

With a shake of my head, I pushed open our front door and stepped inside.

“I talked the butcher into lowering his price for a good piece of meat,” I called out happily as I closed the door behind me. “I’ll make soup, and the vegetables I bought on my way home will round out our wonderful dinner.” There was nothing I enjoyed more than cooking Zur a satisfying meal. At eighty, he deserved good food, lots of rest, and plenty of time to chat with his friends. Instead, he spent too much time hunting in the forest to provide for a woman who maybe should’ve been left behind to die.

I hurried through the darkened interior toward the tiny kitchen to prepare our meal but stumbled over something big and solid lying across the floor. Falling to my knees beyond it, I gasped as pain shot through my limbs.

The sack containing our meal had split open from the impact, exposing the meat. Blood leaked around it—

I blinked slowly, trying to process what I was seeing.

The circle was too large to have come from our meat.

Gulping, I scrambled away from the horrifying pool, falling onto my side when my right leg couldn’t support my weight.

I swallowed hard while my pulse pounded in my ears. It was all I could do to turn toward the large object I’d tripped over.

Only dim light filtered through the waxed paper window, but it was enough to see.

My gasp echoed in the quiet room.

Zur lay lifeless on the floor, his wide, shock-filled eyes glazing over already. Blood seeped from where someone had sliced through his throat enough to expose his windpipe. A wicked knife lay on the floor beside him, glinting in the flickering light of the whisp lantern he must’ve lit to provide a beacon to guide me home.

The whisp needed someone to blow on it or it would soon go out—such an inane thought to have when my world was falling apart.

My guttural cry of dismay rang out.

“Zur. Please, no.” Tears stabbed the back of my eyes, and I cried out again, my voice hoarse and guttural.

Through the murky window, a flash of movement caught my eye. Whoever it was slithered into the gathering darkness on the side of the alley.

A cackle I’d recognize anywhere echoed in the stillness.

Birgid.

She’d hated me since we were schoolgirls and for such silly reasons.

The teacher called on me instead of her.

I found a coin on the cobblestone street where she’d just passed.

A cute boy winked my way when she wanted him. She’s won him, married him, bedded him even, but that wasn’t enough. She wanted me stomped to the ground. Completely defeated. Thrown out of the village.

I could see where this would soon lead. Panic surged up my throat along with rank bile. I grabbed the cold metal knife and rose to my feet, rushing to the window. I strained to catch a glimpse of her returning, but the alley was clear.

I sobbed as I hurried back to Zur.

“Zur, please wake up.” I dropped to my knees beside him, unable to breathe. But he was too long gone to hear me. My wretched cries filled the room as I mourned his loss.

This man had loved me when no one else did. How would I go on without him?

The door opened behind me, and someone rushed inside. “What’s going on? Zur? Has that woman—”

One of Birgid’s friends groaned and started vomiting, splattering it everywhere. Other villagers crowded into our tidy home, gathering around me and Zur much like the blood that continued to seep into the floorboards I’d washed myself last night.

Birgid slunk in last, her face wreathed with innocence.

“She killed him,” she bellowed, and the accusation was echoed by the others.

Murderer.

Fiend.

She must be punished for what she’s done to that poor, poor soul who only showed her kindness.

Fear constricted my throat, denying me the wind to utter even one word in my defense. I doubted they’d listen even if I could find the will to speak. They’d convicted me already, and soon, they’d make sure I paid the final price.

While Birgid released a subtle smile, the others stomped toward me, each face twisted with anger, their hands lifted to form claws. The walls I’d trusted to protect me were crumbling, exposing the darkness lurking inside those Zur and I had called our friends and neighbors.

I rose to my shaky feet and the knife slipped from my grip, clattering on the wooden floorboards.

Spinning, I hobbled out the door and moved as quickly as I could down the street.

The open front gate loomed not far ahead. Two women stood just inside, their families clinging to them, pleading for someone to intervene.

They’d been chosen for the Monster Mate Hunt.

While villagers screamed for my capture behind me, I somehow found the strength to outdistance them.

I rushed toward the young women, grabbing a bag from one of them as I passed. With my lungs on fire, I rushed to the open fortress door.

“I’ll take the place of one of you,” I called out as I slipped through the opening and hurried across the big open field between the fortress walls and the looming forest.

The voices grew in volume behind me but for the first time, they couldn’t do a thing to cause me harm. They might wish to capture and punish me, but no one would dare leave the village now that the sun had set.

“Run, murderess,” Birgid called out from the top of the wall. “Run fast and far, and never come back or we’ll make you pay.”

I sent her a glare, but it felt weak and useless—like me.

With my pulse thundering in my ears, I slipped among the trees.

If the shaydes didn’t get me, I’d soon be claimed as an orc’s bride.