Chapter 17 Rosalind
Rosalind
Back in the arena when I first saw him, I was entranced. He was all power and grace, mesmerising in how he moved and dominated the space.
I was frozen, but not by fear.
It was like my life flashed before my eyes, images of standing by their sides, of passion, of love, filling my heart so completely. It was like I finally felt at peace, that I was complete when he reached out and rubbed his calloused thumb across my cheek.
Shoving at his arm, he moves it from his face, resting it above his head.
“Airmatus is not here. I'm Rosie, and Steve is here too. How are you feeling? Do you need water?” His eyes crack open, and I see them moving as he takes in the room. I lean over, cupping his cheeks, careful not to touch his one tusk, the other a broken and jagged stump. I wonder if it hurts him? We may be bonded, but we’re not at the tusk touching stage of this relationship.
Yet. Bellator may not even like me like that.
I still don't fully understand what the rules are.
Bellator could find someone else to be bonded to.
The thought makes my stomach turn. His arm wraps around my back, and I'm nudged forward, my balance lost as I crash into his face.
I scramble, yelping, “Sorry, sorry, sorry,” trying to push off him, but his arm holds me in place.
A deep sigh of contentment comes from underneath me.
“It is a glorious day to wake up in our next life, brother. I would have crossed over sooner if each day started with teats pressed to my face.”
His voice is muffled as he talks into my flesh.
He sounds happy, and I can't blame him. In my haste to run over, I forgot to put the straps of my dress up and am currently giving him the worst motorboat in the history of the earth.
What is with these bloody orcs and teats, damn it.
Breasts. I mean breasts. His arm falls away as I try to push off him, quickly covering myself.
“Are you well, brother?” Steve asks. He seems quieter with Bellator in the room, his presence not as big but no less valued. Standing, I move beside him, holding onto one of his fingers as Bellator props himself up on his elbows.
“I am well, brother. Better now that you found our bonded. You are breathtaking, red one.”
I’ve been called a lot of names as a redhead. Ginger, ranga, carrot top, but I can't say I've ever been called red one, my nose scrunching as I decide if I like it or not.
“This is Rosie, brother. Or princess.”
I smile up at him, grateful he read my thoughts so easily.
“Red one sounds like a… boil.” I laugh, making a mental note to stroke Steve's tusk later in thanks.
“Forgive me, bonded. I will not call you a hideous boil.” He moves from the bed, taking a knee in front of me so we are more equal in height. He still towers over me, but I appreciate the gesture.
“Do you know what a boil is? You know what, don't worry. This is going swimmingly, isn’t it? Teats and boils. What better way to meet your bonded,” I say, rolling my eyes to myself.
Three sharp knocks to the door has Bellator picking me up and darting to the far side of the room, shielding me from whoever is knocking.
“I can walk, you know,” I sniff.
“I will never gamble with you, Rosie. Steve and I have been blessed to find our bonded which means you have become the single most important thing in my life.” Dropping me to the floor, never once does he take his eyes from the door while Steve opens it, waving another red and gold envelope as he gives a handful of coins to whoever delivered it.
“Not again,” I gasp, darting out from under Bellator's arm. “What does it say?”
“We’ve been invited to see the Emperor.” He looks up to Bellator, “It's addressed to only Rosie and I.”
“No, I will come.” Bellator tries to swipe the invitation from Steve's hand but misses, stumbling slightly as Steve steps back, out of his reach. “I am fine!” He glares.
“Rosie and I will go. You will stay here.”
“I am the one who gives the orders here, brother,” he seethes.
“Steve is right,” I say, stepping into his side.
“You're not one hundred percent and I don't want to worry about you getting hurt when we’ve already gone to the trouble of finding you.” I cross my arms and stare at him.
I won't back down on this. We’ve waited days to get him back, and the last thing I need is a testosterone fulled meeting where we end up in a worse place than we are now.
“Bonded, I understand you are new to this—”
“No. Whatever you think you’re about to say, don’t.
My whole life has been controlled by men telling me what I can and can't do, and I'm not going to start my new life with it happening here. We don't know each other yet, Bellator, but I know we’re bonded, and for whatever reason, the universe decided I need more than one soulmate. I feel it when we touch that there is truth to everything Steve has told me, but you will treat me as your equal; anything less than that will not be enough.”
“Rosie, I would never…” He drops to his knees, palms open, looking at me with desperate eyes. “Forgive me. You are right that I still feel poorly.” Bringing his hands in front of him, his knuckles paling as he fidgets. “It is my job to keep you safe.”
“Steve will keep me safe. He protected me this afternoon.” I turn to look at him, smiling in thanks.
“She is everything, brother, but she is not your army to command,” Steve says calmly. “We will return shortly. I will have food and nourishment sent. Rest, and when we return, we will figure out what this looks like.”
His voice barely above a whisper, “I am sorry.”
Leaving Steve's side, I stand in front of Bellator.
“Go back to bed. The faster you heal, the safer we all are.
Watching you fall today, I don't want to see that again.” Reaching up on my tiptoes, I kiss his cheek quickly, a sharp inhale of breath coming from him as I walk past Steve and open the door.
I feel like Steve, and I have some sort of foundation, but Bellator is still unknown.
The little time we have spent together is not enough.
We have a connection, the pull of the bond making me comfortable around him, but I want to know more.
My dress is the same one I wore earlier, dirt covering the hem, I couldn't care less. I’m on a mission to figure out what the fuck is going on here, because the sooner that happens, the sooner I can sort out what it means to be bonded to two orcs.