Page 53

TESSA

I wait until the last of the footsteps fade into the distance. Then I wait some more, clutching the trunk of the tall maple tree with numb fingers. The orcs’ hearing is so much better than mine, they might hear me scrambling after them, even through the sounds of the forest.

They’ve taken Arlon. I didn’t see what happened by the stream. When the fighting died down, it was all I could do to keep from rushing forward. What if they’d killed him? I don’t know how many warriors attacked him, but he was outnumbered for sure.

I slunk through the bushes, trying to get close enough to hear what was going on. Then I heard Arlon’s unmistakable voice, taunting them, and nearly fainted with relief.

I climbed the tree then, for a better vantage point. If the leader sent out one of his men to get me, they’d search the bushes first, I’m sure. So I climbed as high as I could, hoping the canopy was still thick enough to obscure their view of me.

But no one came after me. Perhaps they couldn’t scent me, downwind from them as I was, or they didn’t care. Or maybe they had orders to return and didn’t want to waste time hunting me if they knew exposure to the elements would kill me soon enough.

Arlon’s hands were bound when they finally marched him up the road, but he was alive, walking on his own.

It took me a moment to understand that might not be a good thing.

They’re keeping him alive to extract information out of him, no doubt.

Wherever they’re taking him, he’ll be in even greater danger.

My chances of survival would be highest if I left.

If I abandoned my search for Lindie and accepted that she isn’t the victim in this situation but a leader.

I could return to Ultrup, throw myself at Damen’s feet, and beg forgiveness for breaking into his mansion.

Perhaps he’d allow me to work off my debt, accept me into his crew.

Or I could leave the duchy entirely and make a life for myself on the other end of the continent, where no one has even heard of the Ravens.

But that would mean abandoning Arlon, too.

I think of the letter I tucked into his pocket. I didn’t have the courage to tell him how I feel in person, so I wrote it all down on that piece of paper he might never get to read.

I slither from the tree and crouch beside the trunk for a few long minutes, listening for any sign that the orcs might be returning for me. But there’s nothing. Even the birds have started chirping again, unbothered by my presence. Slowly, I creep toward the road, pausing every now and then.

I’m crawling through an alder bush when a glint of steel draws my eye. I reach down and close my fingers around the smooth handle, lifting the tool to inspect it.

It’s Arlon’s hatchet. I recognize it because I used it to cut fir branches that first night we spent together, sheltering from the storm.

He tried to defend himself but was overpowered and disarmed.

Fury boils inside me, hot and dangerous. I don’t have a plan, and I don’t see how I could formulate one. This terrain is foreign, and I have no way of observing my marks like I’d usually do in the city. I can’t learn the orcs’ habits or weaknesses. They’d hear me if I came too close.

Again, the instinct that’s kept me alive all these years rears its head, urging me to run, to leave right now while I can still save myself.

I could reach the village and Mistress Maeve’s inn in only a few days on foot. I’d be hungry and exhausted by the time I got there, but I’d live. I’d take care of myself as I always have and survive.

With a sigh, I grip the hatchet tighter and face the mountains. I think of Arlon and his fierce determination to help me.

That first step is the hardest of all, but I take it anyway.

Just hold on. I’m coming.

To be continued…

Thank you so much for reading The Orc’s Thief: Book One ! Tessa and Arlon’s story will continue in the next book in the series, coming soon.

If you haven’t read the first orc series I wrote, you can download the free prequel, Her Orc Mate , or jump straight in with Her Orc King . This series is now complete!