Page 7 of Resisting the Wicked Orc (Silvermist Mates #4)

CHAPTER SEVEN

ZRAL

T he roar of falling water slowly filtered through my subconscious, rousing me from sleep. Memories of the night before came flooding back: Rava, dragging me from one trouble to the next; Rava, water sluicing down her glorious curves; Rava, writhing in ecstasy as I plunged deep inside her. A smile tugged at my lips as I stretched, expecting to feel her warmth beside me.

Instead, my hand met cold stone.

My eyes snapped open and my heart lurched with the sudden fear that she’d disappeared again. But no, there she was, seated on the rocky ledge with her legs dangling into the pool below. Pale light seeped through the silvery curtain of water, casting her in a hazy glow as she examined something in her hands. The pendant, I realized. The cause of all this trouble.

I allowed myself a moment to simply drink her in. The graceful curve of her spine, the way her tail curled lazily behind her. There was a softness to her shoulders I hadn’t seen before, a quiet contentment that made my chest tighten.

As if sensing my gaze, she glanced over her shoulder. The vulnerability vanished, replaced by the wary mask I was becoming all too familiar with. But I’d seen beneath it now. I knew the passionate, playful woman who hid behind those walls.

“Morning, Red,” I said, voice still rough with sleep. I moved behind her, drawing her back against my chest. The pendant’s gem pulsed with an inner fire that matched her skin. “Glad to see you didn’t vanish the moment my eyes closed.”

“Your snores made it tempting.” She glanced back at me, a smirk playing on her lips. “But this is my spot. You’re just crashing it.”

“Your spot?” I traced idle patterns on her hip, savoring the way she melted into my touch. “Claiming territory already?”

“It’s been my favorite place since I first arrived. Peaceful. We don’t have waterfalls like this back home.” Her tail flicked, betraying her casual words with its tension. “Rule number one of going undercover: blend in. Any newcomer is going to check the tourist spots.”

I nuzzled her neck, breathing in cinnamon and woodsmoke. “Is that what they teach you in mercenary school?”

She twisted in my arms, the pendant clutched in one hand as she faced me. I fell back against the stone ledge, savoring her weight as she crawled up my body.

“Among other things.” She pressed her lips to mine, a slow, lingering kiss that made my cock stir. When she pulled back, a playful glint lit her amber eyes. “Though bringing someone back to my safe space wasn’t covered in training.”

“Not surprised.” I ran my hands down her sides, delighting in the way she shivered against me. “I’m sure your training also contained lessons on avoiding detection, and, well, here we are...”

Her cheeks darkened, the red of her skin deepening to crimson. “I have a confession to make.” The tip of her tail flicked once, twice, as she sat upright. “Technically, this is my first field mission.”

“Your first...” I sat up straighter, amusement bubbling through me. “You’re telling me you’ve never done this before?”

“I’ve trained my whole life,” she shot back, defensive. “Combat, tactics, intelligence gathering. I can disarm a man twice my size and hit a target at fifty paces.”

“But you’ve never actually been in the field.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “I was supposed to be finishing my final semester of college right now. International relations with a focus on diplomatic security.”

I couldn’t help it—I laughed. Not at her, exactly, but at the situation. At the fierce, determined woman who’d dragged me through hell and back, who’d faced down armed thugs and jumped into danger without hesitation, all while fumbling through her first real mission.

“This has not gone at all how I planned.”

“You had a plan?” Her lips twitched toward a smile.

“Step one: introduce myself to the gorgeous new girl at the vintage booth. Step two: charm her with my witty conversation. Step three: convince her to let me buy her dinner.” I counted off on my fingers. “Instructions unclear, I failed at step two, and have somehow embroiled myself in a life of crime. With a dropout, no less.”

“Not a dropout! Just… delayed.” She winced and ducked her head. “With a few strategic failings to maximize my time away from home.”

“It explains a lot,” I said, wiping tears from my eyes. “The way you keep getting caught. The dramatic escapes. You’ve made some interesting choices.” I caught her hand, bringing it to my lips. “Though I can’t complain about where they’ve led.”

“Fuck off,” she growled, but there was no real heat in it. “My brothers never let me participate in operations. I was always the princess to be protected and married off to Javed. This mission was my one chance to prove I’m more than a political bargaining chip.”

The possibility of losing her again didn’t sit well in my chest. One night of misadventure wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough to satisfy this hunger that had been building since the moment I caught her scent.

“Biggest mistake of their lives.” I forced myself to stay casual, stroking a hand down her back. “You’ve got more guts than most seasoned warriors I know. Hell, you tracked down a stolen artifact, infiltrated a criminal operation, and saved my life. Not bad for a first mission.”

But her mission was over now. She had the pendant, proof of Lydia’s crimes. There was nothing keeping her in Silvermist Falls.

Nothing tying her to me.

Except fate. And my determination not to lose her so fucking easily.

“So what happens now?” I asked carefully, gauging her response.

She sighed, pressing her forehead against mine. “First, I need to contact my brothers. Warn them about Javed’s betrayal and Lydia’s involvement.” She ticked points off on her fingers. “Then I need to get the pendant somewhere secure. And finally, I need to figure out how to not get murdered by a psychotic prince before I can do either of those things.”

“Simple,” I teased, though the thought of her in danger made my blood run cold.

“Our phones are waterlogged, and I doubt even a jar of rice will save them now.” She glanced toward the curtain of water, brows shooting together. “My cover’s blown, and Lydia might have someone waiting anywhere I know well enough to teleport to here in Silvermist. Javed was with my brothers as of last night, so home is out of the question, too.”

“Come to Grimstone,” I said, the solution so obvious it tripped out of my mouth without a second thought. “My clan can offer protection while we regroup. Phones work just as well there as anywhere else. Mostly. You might need to move around a bit for the best signal.”

She hesitated, suspicion flickering across her features. “Why would your clan help me?”

“Because I’ll ask them to.” I met her gaze steadily. “The Sombra don’t turn away those in need, especially not mates of clan members.”

“We’re not—” She stopped, exhaling sharply. “This bond doesn’t change anything. I still have to leave.”

“I know.” Knowing didn’t mean accepting. “But you don’t have to leave today. And you don’t have to leave alone.”

Rava stared at me, conflict clear in her amber eyes. I could almost see the battle raging within her—pride versus practicality, independence versus need. The same struggle I’d glimpsed last night, when she’d chosen to crack open her plots and heart.

“Trust me,” I said, offering my hand.

A heartbeat passed. Two. Then her fingers slid into mine, her grip firm despite the tremor I felt in her palm.

“Lead the way, orc.”

We dressed in silence, our clothes still damp from yesterday’s impromptu swim. Rava winced as she pulled her shirt over her injured shoulder, but waved away my concern. The pendant disappeared into her pocket, though I noticed how her hand kept returning to it, as if to reassure herself it was still there.

She stopped me before I waded into the water. Stepping close, she twined the fingers of our hands together and turned her face to mine.

“One more,” she whispered, rising on her toes to press her lips against mine.

Crimson smoke swirled around us as the kiss deepened. When we broke apart, we were standing on the shore, the waterfall a shimmering curtain across the pond. Mist clung to the surface of the water, wisps dancing as the rising sun painted the sky in shades of gold and rose. In another life, another time, I might have called it romantic.

But romance had no place in our reality. Not with hunters on our trail and a destiny pulling Rava away from Silvermist, and away from me.

I watched the trees as we hiked, scanning for movement in the shadows. The forest path to Grimstone wasn’t heavily traveled, especially this early. It would take us most of the morning to reach the clan settlement, even at a brisk pace. Every rustle of leaves, every snap of a twig set my nerves on edge.

“Tell me more about your family,” I said, partly to keep her talking, partly because I genuinely wanted to know. “You mentioned brothers, plural. How many are there?”

Rava’s tail swished thoughtfully. “Kaz is the only one who’s actually blood. But Malak and Zane are just as annoying as he is, so they count.”

“Only three? The way you talked about them, I thought there were...” I trailed off, catching her prideful look.

“What? That we were powerful? Influential?” She lifted her chin, a flash of royal bearing breaking through.

I raised an eyebrow, waiting.

“Fine. You’re right.” She deflated with a harsh sigh. “Even counting the old and young and the ones with no interest in chasing criminals, there are few cells and fighters these days.” Her voice dropped. “Even fewer Kaz trusts enough to let into his inner circle.”

“What happened?” I asked, offering a hand to help her over a fallen log.

“Politics.” She spat the word like a curse. “The Kadhan branch split from the Fitsum line generations ago when my great-great-great grandfather led a rebellion against a king who tried to sacrifice a brother to demons for more power.” Her fingers traced the pendant in her pocket. “We lost, much blood was spilled on both sides, and my great-grandfather brokered peace with my future.”

“And now?” I asked, scanning the tree line. Something felt off, a stillness in the forest that made the hair on my neck rise.

“The current Fitsum king is old,” Rava explained, her tail lashing behind her, “and Javed has eliminated or cowed his siblings to secure his position as heir.”

The birds stopped singing. Unease spread through my body like ice melting to water.

Rava noticed, too. Her eyes narrowed, and she shot a quick look to me.

“The head of the Kadhan clan is still a titled prince, but we became enforcers rather than rulers. We have our honor,” she continued, loudly, faking our unawareness. There was nothing fake in the kick she gave a stone off the path. “Unlike the Fitsum line, we keep our word. Even when they keep us like pets of the throne.”

“Rabid dogs, I’d say,” a cold voice cut through the morning air. “Pets don’t bite when their master calls.”

I whipped around, pushing Rava behind me as a figure stepped from the trees to our right. Her tail went rigid, the tip twitching with tension.

Prince Javed Fitsum was everything I expected and nothing I prepared for. Tall and imposing, with skin the color of fresh blood and eyes like molten gold. His horns curved elegantly from his temples, adorned with gold rings that caught the morning light. More gold glinted at his wrists and throat, marking him as royalty even without the arrogant tilt of his chin.

“My wayward bride,” Javed’s voice dripped with condescension as his gaze slid over Rava. “Your friend Lydia was quite helpful in tracking you down. She even told me, after some proper convincing, that you carry my wedding gift. How thoughtful, pet.”

Rava’s sharp intake of breath told me all I needed to know about Lydia’s fate.

“You didn’t have to kill her,” she said, voice tight with anger.

“I didn’t have to spare her, either.” Javed’s smile was all teeth. “Just as I don’t have to spare your creature. Give me the pendant. I won’t ask again.”

Rava tensed beside me, but there was no fear in her stance, only rage. Her hand slipped into her pocket, withdrawing the pendant. The hellfire opal pulsed with inner light as she dangled it between us.

“This? Is that what you’re after, Javed?” She cocked her head, a dangerous smile playing on her lips. “It doesn’t belong to you.”

“Doesn’t it?” Javed stepped forward, his hunters spreading out to flank us. “Everything that belongs to the Kadhan clan belongs to me. Including you.”

“I belong to no one,” she snarled.

“We’ll see about that.” He raised a hand and snapped his fingers. The sound, small as it was, cracked the air like a gong.

Red smoke billowed around us as more figures materialized. Guards, judging by their matching black uniforms and the emblem on their chests. I counted six, not including Javed. Bad odds.

“Kaz?” Rava’s voice cracked behind me. “Malak? Zane? What is this?”

I felt her step forward, but my arm shot out, keeping her back. Something was wrong. The guards stood like statues, their movements unnaturally synchronized as they shifted into fighting stances. Even their breathing matched, chests rising and falling in perfect unison. Like puppets on perfectly aligned strings.

“Sister.” The word came from the tallest hunter, his voice hollow and mechanical.

“What have you done to them?” Rava’s tail lashed violently, the barb cutting through the morning air.

Javed’s laugh was cruel and sharp. He lifted his hand, displaying an ornate ring that pulsed with the same reddish light as Rava’s pendant. “Simply reminded them of their proper place.”

“No.” Rava’s denial was a snarl of fury and fear. She clutched the pendant, and I felt heat building around us as she called her fire. “Release them.”

“Your pathetic attempts at defiance end here.” Javed’s smirk grew wider. He turned to the hollow-eyed guards. “Take them. Let’s show my bride what happens to those who defy me.”