Chapter 14
CHAPTER 14
J ana watched Jessamin’s elegant movements as she prepared a second cup of tea, each gesture precise and practiced. She looked human enough, with pale skin, long dark hair, and very blue eyes. In some way that was even more disorienting than the orcs - that someone should be so human and yet not be of her world.
She took a deep breath and let the peaceful atmosphere of the room seep into her bones. Sunlight cast patterns on the stone floor and the aroma of the tea filled the air - familiar yet exotic, like so many things in this world. Jessamin poured the steaming liquid into delicate porcelain cups adorned with painted flowers and handed her one before studying her over its rim. Those clear blue eyes seemed to see straight through her.
“What answers do you seek?”
The direct question caught her off guard. She wrapped her hands around her warm cup, drawing comfort from its heat. The past days with Lothar had been both wonderful and confusing, but they hadn’t addressed the fundamental mystery of her arrival. She took a steadying breath, the warmth of the teacup anchoring her.
“I’m not from this world at all. I lived in a place called South Carolina, on a planet called Earth.” The words felt strange coming out of her mouth, but Jessamin’s serene expression didn’t waver. “I don’t know how I got here. To this… world,” she added. “Or why. One moment I was in my workshop during a storm, the next I woke up naked in the forest.”
She paused, remembering the disorientation and fear of that moment.
“I have this feeling that someone asked me something important, but I can’t remember what it was or what I answered. I need to understand why I’m here. If there’s a purpose to all this, or if it was just some strange accident. Lothar told me his people sometimes pray to the Old Gods for help, that another woman came here that way.” She traced the rim of her cup with one finger. “But he said no one prayed for me.”
The admission stung more than she wanted to acknowledge. If no one had asked for her, why was she here? What cruel cosmic joke had stripped her of everything familiar and dropped her naked in a foreign forest?
“My people worship different deities to the people of Norhaven, but I believe that gods work in mysterious ways.” Jessamin hesitated, frowning down at her tea cup. “And lately I’ve been wondering about divine intervention myself. My father has always been… inflexible in his beliefs. Yet he suddenly agreed to this marriage alliance with King Ulric. It was most unexpected.”
“And unwelcome?” she asked quietly.
“It is my duty to obey my father.”
It was not an answer, but she didn’t press it, waiting silently for Jessamin to continue.
“My father leads our people, but he fears High King Lasseran’s growing influence. The role of High King was necessitated by war. Now there is no war, but Lasseran still seeks to extend his power. We need strong allies to maintain our independence.” Jessamin paused, her blue eyes distant. “That’s why my father agreed to the marriage alliance with Ulric, even though there were… stories about the orcs. Terrible rumors that made him doubt. I wondered what gave him the final push to agree.”
“Were the rumors true?” she asked, though she suspected she already knew the answer.
Jessamin immediately shook her head.
“No. The orcs are different from my people, yes, but they are honorable. I believe Ulric is a good male.” The other woman’s voice softened on the king’s name, pink tinging her cheeks. “Still, it’s not easy beginning a marriage this way - bound by duty rather than choice, surrounded by whispers and doubts.”
She knew all too well the horrors of an arranged marriage, but Jessamin didn’t seem afraid of Ulric. Hesitant perhaps, but not scared.
“Are you happy? With Ulric, I mean?”
The question popped out before she could help herself. Jessamin smoothed her skirts, not looking at her.
“I barely know him. He’s still a stranger to me in many ways. We haven’t… our marriage remains unconsummated. We agreed to wait until after the Bride Trials are complete.”
The admission hung in the air between them, and she noticed the slight tremor in Jessamin’s hands as she reached for the teapot again.
“He’s so… controlled. Reserved.” Jessamin’s voice dropped to barely above a whisper. “Sometimes he looks at me as if he is burning up inside, but then the mask comes down and he’s formal and distant again.”
“Perhaps he’s trying not to pressure you.”
“He’s not. He’s never made me feel uncomfortable, he’s just… distant. As if he’s protecting himself as well as me. I find myself drawn to him, to his strength and determination. The way he cares for his people. But…”
“But?” she prompted gently.
“What if he remains this distant after the Trials? After we…” The other woman blushed. “I understand my duty to both our kingdoms. I’ve accepted it. But the thought of a lifetime with someone who holds himself apart…”
She thought about Lothar waiting outside the door. Unlike Ulric’s careful distance from Jessamin, Lothar had been there for her from the moment they met - caring for her injuries, teaching her his language, making her laugh even when she felt lost. The only space between them was what she demanded, driven by her own fears.
Her heart ached for the other woman, recognizing the loneliness in her posture. She’d never felt that way with Lothar - even in her worst moments, he’d been a steady, warm presence.
She cleared her throat.
“Do you think the gods are really involved in all of this? In bringing people together?”
“My father is both priest and king. Since I was small, he taught me that the gods walk amongst us, guiding our paths.” She gave a small half-shrug. “I was raised to see their hand in everything.”
The certainty in Jessamin’s voice made her wonder about her own arrival. She hadn’t prayed for guidance, hadn’t even believed in divine intervention. Yet here she was, drawn to this world, to Lothar. Perhaps there was more to it than chance.
She stared into her teacup, watching the amber liquid swirl as she thought about what Jessamin had said. The thought of gods meddling in her life seemed impossible, but there was a serenity, a peace to this place that seemed… otherworldly.
“You and Lothar are welcome to stay,” Jessamin said, breaking the contemplative silence. “This temple belongs to Freja. If she has a message for you, you’re most likely to receive it here.”
The thought of staying, of having time to understand her place in this world, filled her with relief. But before she could respond, Jessamin continued.
“However, we’ll need to pretend that you and Lothar are already mated. Some of the Brides here are quite… determined to secure a mate, and you saw how the guards reacted. I’d rather avoid any unnecessary complications.”
Heat crept up her cheeks at the thought. The idea of pretending to be Lothar’s mate was unexpectedly appealing. She couldn’t help remembering the way it felt to curl up next to him at night - and the way he kissed her. She thought of how naturally she’d gravitated toward him, how safe she felt in his presence.
“Would that be acceptable?” Jessamin asked, misinterpreting her silence for hesitation.
She nodded, trying to ignore the flutter of anticipation in her stomach.
“Yes, I think that would work.” She hesitated, then gave Jessamin a curious look. “You said all the women here are brides - does that mean they have husbands waiting for them?”
“Lothar did not explain?”
“No.”
Jessamin sighed and stared down at her teacup.
“The orcs are cursed. They agreed to a spell many years ago that allowed them to become more powerful in battle. What no one knew was that the side effect of that curse - they have fewer children each year and those children are rarely female.”
“He did tell me that much,” she said, remembering their discussion about his brothers.
“As part of the marriage contract, I brought one hundred women with me - they are the Brides. The orcs are competing in the Bride Trials for a chance to woo one of them.”
“They’re prizes?” she asked, horrified, and Jessamin quickly shook her head.
“Not like that. They may choose who to marry, or not to marry at all. The contest is simply to provide… access to them.”
The idea still bothered her but when she remembered all those longing eyes at the market, she thought she understood why it had been set up that way.
“Lothar entered the Trials,” Jessamin added quietly. “He could have been one of the winners, but he withdrew to give another male a chance - a male who had already formed a bond with one of the Brides. He is a good male.”
“I know he is,” she said fiercely, fighting back a sudden urge to cry.
It was because of that decision that he’d been in the woods to find her, to save her, and she was suddenly, fiercely glad that he’d made that choice.