Page 52

Chapter

Thirty-One

ARLON

A fist slams into my gut, as big as a mace and no less painful.

I bite back a groan, my ribs screaming in pain, and swing around to block the hit from the second attacker.

His fist flies past my head. The momentum of the swing carries the orc soldier forward, and I kick him in the back of the knee, sending him sprawling.

I snatch my hatchet from my weapons belt, but a well-aimed kick knocks it into the underbrush, out of reach.

Someone grabs my shoulder to spin me around, and I turn with the motion, arms already up for another strike.

Just in time—the broad-shouldered bastard who gut-punched me lunges forward to headbutt me, but stops short, instincts sharp as mine.

I curse, grab his tunic, and slam him down over my knee, using his own weight to drive the blow.

Where is Tessa?

The second I caught movement in the forest at the edge of my vision, I knew we were in trouble. We’d been careless. So fucking stupid.

A fist cracks into my jaw—another soldier, a third, blindsides me. My vision dances with dark spots, but I shake it off. If I go down now, she’ll be unprotected. Alone with these soldiers.

Some part of my brain is screaming. I’m missing something—but what?

I duck under the third man’s guard and slam a fist into his face, answering pain with pain. He reels back, blood streaming from his nose. The one I kneed has recovered and charges again, fists flying with brutal speed.

His fists.

These orcs should be armed to the teeth, yet they’re not using their weapons. I should be dead already, given their numbers.

The second man kicks me in the thigh, and my leg goes out from under me, the pain threatening to overwhelm me. I stagger, then right myself, grab a dagger from my boot, and put my arms up again, my training taking over.

I didn’t sweat in the training rings every day for years just to be bested by these common assholes. My mate is somewhere out there, all alone, and I won’t let them take her. Not while I’m still alive.

The soldier with the bloody nose advances on me, his dark eyes burning with fury.

“That’s enough,” the first man booms. “Yield.”

I look up and find a fourth man standing a ways off, aiming an arrow at me. His longbow is almost as tall as he is, the bowstring pulled taut, yet his arms aren’t shaking, not even a little. He’s used to handling the weapon, and no doubt deadly with it.

I lower my elbows a few inches, shielding my heart rather than my head. If I were the shooter, I’d aim for my torso, the bigger target. If he’s any good, he could probably shoot me in the eye at a distance this short, which makes my move rather pointless.

“Drop the knife.” The leader of the band of orcs points the tip of his sword at my throat. He’s panting slightly, and I smirk at the sight, until he adds, “I don’t want to kill you, but I will if you keep fighting.”

Cursing inwardly, I throw my knife to the ground between us and kneel in the dirt.

Another warrior wrenches my arms back, his grip firm.

Running my tongue over my teeth, I check for any loose ones and find none.

Not that it will matter if they decide to kill me anyway.

I spit out the blood pooling in my mouth, aiming for the leader’s boots, but he anticipates my move and steps out of the way, his reflexes quick.

“Where’s the girl?” he demands.

I glower up at him. “What girl?”

He motions to the man standing behind me. Moments later, my hands are tied with a rope, the knots painfully tight. The archer doesn’t lower his bow. Smart. They’re being careful, which tells me they’re well-trained and experienced enough to know I’m still a danger.

“The girl you’re traveling with,” the leader rumbles with exaggerated patience.

“I’m traveling alone,” I retort. “Just passing through.”

The men—there are at least four of them, perhaps five, though I can’t see behind me—turn to look at Tessa’s horse as one. If Clover weren’t wearing a saddle, I could pass her off as another pack horse, but these soldiers would have to be stupid to believe my lie.

“Is that so?” The leader scratches the stubble on his skin, the rasping sound too loud in the stillness of the forest. “Well, she’ll turn up sooner or later. Or she’ll die out here, all alone and defenseless. You could save her, you know. Just tell us where she is, and we’ll treat her right.”

My vision tunnels at the insinuation. I grit my teeth and force my expression to remain impassive.

I cannot give away the fact that she’s my mate.

The information would be too valuable to these warriors.

They’d know immediately that I would do anything to protect her.

If any of them are lucky enough to be mated, they’ll realize how much she means to me.

I keep my eyes fixed on the leader, never once looking downstream where Tessa went to relieve herself.

I don’t know exactly what she’s doing or how far she is, but I pray she stays away.

If she stumbles out of the bushes unaware, she won’t have a chance to run.

These men are fast and capable, and surrounded our little resting spot while I was too busy kissing Tessa to notice.

A mistake I might pay for with my life. What’s worse, Tessa’s life might be forfeit, too, if she doesn’t escape. I need to distract them. The longer we remain here, the higher the chance she’ll be seen.

“Well, you’ve got me all tied up,” I drawl, eyeing the leader. “Want to tell me what this is all about?”

He regards me coolly. “You’re the one who crossed our border without an invitation.”

I raise my eyebrows, my surprise genuine.

“The Stonefrost Clan still claims these lands? I thought they were abandoned, given the state of…” I glance at the road behind us and the blackberry bushes extending their thorny branches over it.

“Well. Let’s just say I wasn’t expecting to meet a patrol so far from the Fortress. ”

The leader sheathes his sword and steps closer to flick aside the edge of my cloak, revealing the yellow and green embroidery, my clan’s colors. He drops the fabric with a snort. “Bellhaven. I should have known.”

Before I can ask what he means by that, he turns his back on me and motions to the others.

“Take the horses and clean out everything you see. We leave nothing behind. The girl will come to us if she’s hungry enough.

” He points at the man who bled all over his tunic.

“Go wash that off. We don’t want the wolves any more interested than necessary. ”

I frown, following the crew’s movements closely. They pack up the remains of our lunch, close the clasps on our saddlebags, and untie the horses’ reins. When Pip tries to take a bite out of a soldier’s head, I snicker, and the man glowers at me before leading him away.

“What wolves?” I ask finally, unable to hold back the question.

The warrior behind me tugs on my bound arms to get me to stand.

“Ah, that caught your attention, did it?” He lets out a rude chuckle.

“We have a bit of a wolf problem. Turns out, the beasts breed fast if left alone. They’ve had a few years of peace since the old king died, and some of the packs that roam these woods have grown too large for a single unit of us to handle. ”

I stare at him in growing horror. Tessa is out there, all alone. I barely keep myself from glancing in the direction I last saw her.

Then another thought pierces through my fear. “King Trak is dead? Wait, is Charan…?”

I look from one orc to the other, waiting for the answer. I didn’t like King Gorvor’s younger brother when I met him at our Hill, but they made up their differences in the end. If it’s been years since King Trak died, and no one bothered to tell King Gorvor about it… I smell bad news.

“That’s King Charan to you,” the leader barks, frowning at me. “When you meet him, you’ll address him as such.”

I’d miss my guard’s reaction if he wasn’t holding my arm, but his grip tightens for a brief moment. I glance back at him and catch the faintest glimpse of disgust in his expression before he schools his features into a neutral mask.

Interesting .

He shoves me forward, indicating that I should start walking up the road.

I consider running in the other direction instead, but my arms are bound, and they’ve got the numbers against me, not to mention the horses.

If I plunged straight into the undergrowth, I’d likely end up tumbling over the rocks, unbalanced as I am.

I test the rope with a quick tug, but it’s well-made and tied securely, which is unsurprising.

These are orc warriors, not some human foot soldiers who might have made the mistake of tying me up too loosely.

No, I’ll have to bide my time and wait for a better opportunity.

The man behind me has already made one crucial mistake—he didn’t pat me down.

My belt may be empty of weapons, but as our ferocious training mistress taught us when we were just lads stumbling around her ring, a warrior should always carry more than one dagger.

The thin stiletto tucked into a sheath sewn into my leather pants offers some comfort, as does the pocketknife hidden in the inner lining of my jacket.

As long as I don’t draw attention to them, I might be able to use them later.

As the warriors move into position around me and we depart from the stream, I allow myself one last look back.

Tessa is nowhere to be seen. If she’s smart, she’ll run.

Away from this place, away from the violence of the Stonefrost Clan and whatever deal her friend and the Ravens have struck with them to pass through these lands unharmed.

I hope she’ll recognize this as a chance to do what she wanted from the start—to be rid of me.

I would never have left her voluntarily, but now I’m walking away without a fight because that might be the only chance for her to escape unnoticed.

She’s lived on the streets for years, working alone, so she must know what path will ensure her survival. Her instincts will kick in, and she’ll walk right off this mountain, back to that last village, and buy a horse with the gold she nicked from me.

I don’t have to feign dejection as I trudge along, following Pip’s large rump up the mountain road. My chest squeezes painfully, even though I know escape is the right choice for her.

I’ve only just found my mate, and now I’ve gone and lost her again.