Page 41 of The Orc Chief’s Baker (Orc Mates Of Faeda #4)

Chapter

Thirty

brOVDIR

T he message was sent to Headman Gerald. A call for a meeting with him the next morn. A confession that secrets had been kept from him and that they would be coming to light.

And he felt nothing but an ease of tension in his chest. Nothing but steadfast relief .

This had been the right thing to do.

“What... are we going to tell Sythcol?” Iytier pulled his woman into his side. His shoulders were tight, and his mouth was held in a firm line.

“You say nothing,” Brovdir said. “I am chief. It is my duty. I will not mention your part.”

Iytier sagged with relief even as he said, “It would be easier with his fury divided between us.”

Brovdir snorted. “You think I cannot stand against his fury?”

Iytier broke a smile.

“Sorry about your back door,” Brovdir said, “I’ll come by later to fix it.”

“No need, I can mend it.” Iytier tightened his hold around Savili, “I’d do the same for my woman.”

Brovdir’s chest swelled, “Go inside. Cherish your woman and babe. Rest easy in the knowledge that these secrets will be done by the morn.”

“Thank you.” Savili’s voice was choked. “So much.”

He nodded, and they quietly returned to their home.

And then he was alone with his woman.

And he was never going to lose her again.

“Brovdir, tell me everything . Right now.”

Ah fuck, he couldn’t put off that order. “Come off the path.” He wanted a more private place to tell her.

“What exactly is this prophecy?” she demanded as he guided her into the woods. “Why are Savili and Iytier so determined? I understand not wanting to lose family, but it’s madness to try to keep everyone captive.”

Brovdir took her hand and shifted her to stand in front of him. Fades, she was small. Her head barely came up to the middle of his chest.

He wrapped his hands around her waist and boosted her up onto the boulder so she could meet his eyes without straining her neck. She murmured thanks and quickly adjusted into a more comfortable position. Her squirming drew him to distraction.

“Brovdir? The prophecy? Please?”

He puffed out a breath and forced his mind to the task. “The Fades are remaking the world.”

“Re . . . make. What does that mean?”

“Don’t know for certain.”

“But you have theories. Out with it. I want to know.” Her expression was steady and her eyes bore into him.

“The world will be destroyed.”

Her face went pale and he quickly gripped her arm to keep her steady. “Destroyed. Destroyed how ?”

“Not sure. The Fade storms may have something to do with it.”

“You mean those wind spiral storms some of the warriors talk about?”

He nodded.

“And . . . and what happens after that?”

He shrugged and shook his head. “Only know that the Fades want us to gather here before the reckoning.”

“So, the Rove Woods are the only place that won’t be destroyed?”

“Think so.” He nodded.

“Think so? You don’t know?” Trinia was going paler by the moment.

He shook his head again and stroked her arm tenderly, wishing he knew how to offer comfort. He’d seen how the orc mates in Rove Wood Clan had taken the news. Many were still riddled with fear over what was to come.

“That’s why you can’t let anyone from Oakwall leave ,” Trinia breathed. She looked off in thought, but brought her hand down to grip his tightly. “Because if they go, they’ll...”

He stared at their clasped hands. Chest warming and fluttering as delight overshadowed his discomfort. He hoped she felt as comforted by this touch as he was by hers.

“Do you have proof?” Trinia asked quietly.

He let out a huff that made his throat burn. “No. Not here. Seer had a vision. Was shown to the clan.”

“But he’s gone now.”

He nodded.

“So, there isn’t any proof you can show the villagers of Oakwall.” Trinia began to stroke his hand in thought. Her fingers were so soft and gentle as they caressed his knuckles. He never wanted this touch to end.

“No proof. Only words.”

Her eyes took on a haunted look, and he turned her hand so he could rub her knuckles the same way she had done for him. She blinked down at their clasped hands; cheeks colored a pretty pink that he knew wasn’t just from the cold.

But she didn’t pull away as her eyes squeezed shut. “This is just too much . I thought losing my mother’s bakery was bad enough, but now the whole world ? Brovdir, I don’t... I don’t know if I can...”

“Just breathe,” he said firmly, pressing a hand to her chest. “Breathe, and know I will be with you. At your side.”

She let out a sound that he thought was meant to be a snort but came out suspiciously like a sob. Her eyes were misty, and her lips were trembling. “You have the whole clan to worry about. Not just me.”

“You are all that matters.”

Her eyes went a little wide and her jaw went slack, and he could feel the imprint thrumming deep in his bones as delight twinkled in her eyes.

And then her brows furrowed into a dark glare, and his back straightened.

“Brovdir, I am not the only thing that matters. The clan matters and so does Oakwall.” She took another deep breath and placed her hand over his where it still rested on her stomach.

“How are they going to react to this? This is just...”

She looked off into the woods, eyes haunted, as if she were imagining what it might look like to have the world swallowed up by a terrible wind and raging water.

He used his knuckle to gently tip her face toward him. “I know not what the future holds, Trinia. But I do know this. I will be by your side through it all.”

Her eyes blinked wide.

“You can rest assure that I will keep you hale for as long as you allow me to be near you. All I ask is for your trust. And I also swear to do whatever is necessary to keep both of our communities whole.”

She never looked away from his eyes, not even once. Not even to blink. He felt that he was being pulled into her, being consumed by the intensity of her gaze.

“All right, Brovdir,” she said slowly, carefully. “I’ll trust you.”

And in an instant his whole world grew brighter.