Chapter 1 #2
I pry my eyes away from Melelea, who looks at me curiously.
I cannot keep looking at her with such blatant longing, or Guruk will realize I covet her, and he’ll Challenge me.
Part of me would relish the chance to kill him and take his bride, but I have too much loyalty to truly do such a thing.
Besides, Melelea looks at Guruk with stars in her eyes, her infatuation apparent.
I would never do anything to cause the happiness that I see in her right now to dim.
Guruk looks at me, waiting for my answer. “That is correct,” I say, not expounding further.
“Come now, Brother Wodred,” the prince says, still ribbing. “What’s stopping you? Take a bride and sire some orclings. It’s our duty. We need strong lines like yours to continue. Or are you not grateful that I have granted you a Bride Chase?”
His eyes narrow on that last remark, and I feel that I am close to offending the prince.
But what can I say? That I had absolutely no intention of taking a bride until I saw the trolless that he has already chosen for himself?
That I am one bad decision away from killing him and taking his bride for myself?
“I am grateful for the honor, of course,” I say carefully, deliberately, choosing words that cannot be construed as lies, though barely.
Though I drink orikiri leaf tea regularly like any orc to mute my scent, I don’t want to risk the prince getting any hint of any attempted prevarication.
“I just find that I have a stronger desire to be back home, with my family. We have been away from Orik for too long.”
Guruk relaxes at these words and takes Melelea’s hand in his, leaning back indolently in his chair.
“I can understand that. Do not worry, Wodred. We will be leaving as soon as the week of feasting is over. If you see a female that you want before then, though, I highly recommend a Bride Chase. There’s nothing like a little primal play to get a female’s blood going. ”
“My lord . . .” chastens Melelea, blushing again at his words, though a secret little smile plays about her lips. She’s embarrassed but happy. It feels like I’ve been stabbed in the gut.
“What?” laughs Guruk. “It is true. Do you not wish Wodred to have a happiness like ours?”
Melelea’s luminous gray eyes land on me, considering.
My breath catches under her gaze, longing filling my heart.
She is all I want, and I can never let her know.
“Perhaps Wodred is merely being wise,” she finally says.
“A bride is a commitment, after all. Best to be sure that you wish to spend your life with someone before chasing them.”
“Things are different with orcs, my dear,” Guruk says dismissively. “As I told you, most brides do not last long past bearing a child for an orc. It is why my father, in his wisdom, has outlawed Claiming. So that orcs do not pine and waste away for the mates that leave them.”
“But it will be different for us, will it not, my lord?” Melelea asks quietly, her tone a little wounded. “I have told you that I will never leave you.”
“Of course,” Guruk says flippantly. “I would never let you leave me now that I have you. You are mine now, Melelea.”
I bristle at his words, his half-hearted, biteless Claim of the trolless.
He would profess ownership of her, but deny her a true mating?
If anyone could defy King Rogan’s ban on Mating Bites and restore the true way of things to Orik, it would be Guruk.
He’s staking a Claim on Melelea, but only on his terms, and without a solid commitment. I find it weak and cowardly.
Melelea seems to notice the tension that is suddenly between us and looks at me again curiously.
Obviously changing the subject, the trolless says, “You know, Wodred, if you would like, I could give you a rune reading to see if we can find you a bride. I have a good collection of runes and know many available trollesses. Between my sight and my knowledge, I’m sure I could find you a good partner. ”
“Rune reading?” I ask, my voice rasping out again. Hearing her say my name has affected me more than I would have expected. Mine, growls my Mating Instinct again. Not mine, I respond internally. Never mine.
“Melelea fancies herself a seer,” Guruk answers for her. “She reads runes and cards and stars. She can also cast some amusing illusion magics. Maybe she’ll perform for us later. It is an entertaining show of power.”
“I am sasari, like my mother before me,” Melelea says, ignoring Guruk’s disrespect once again.
“My father, the king, chose my mother as one of his concubines because of her gift. I am not as strong in my sight as she is, but I can commune with the universe, and it speaks to me. I would be happy to see if I can find your perfect pairing.”
If Melelea truly has the gift of sight, her runes would only reveal that I want her, a truth that I want hidden at all costs.
“Your offer is as kind as it is generous,” I answer solemnly, “but my heart is in Orik, with my family. A bride is not in my future, currently.” Again, I am speaking carefully, making sure that every word is true.
Since Melelea is spoken for, no bride will be in my future.
Perhaps someday I will find someone else who makes my Mating Instinct howl, but not right now.
Melelea looks disappointed. “Are you certain? I would be happy to use my skills for you.”
“I do not require such an honor at this time, my lady,” I reply, barely stopping myself from calling her “princess” again. The title just seems to fit her, but I don’t want to open her up to Guruk’s thoughtless words again.
“Well,” Prince Guruk says, interrupting, “If you will not take a bride as my thanks for saving my life during battle, I suppose this will be goodbye.”
“My Prince?” I ask, confused.
Guruk smiles. “There’s an opening for the General of the Northern Horde, and I am going to recommend you for the position. You’ve more than earned your own command, and I cannot selfishly keep you in my cohort forever just because we are friends.”
“My Prince is too generous,” I respond carefully, not refuting his claim that we are friends, even though I do not feel the same.
I also do not tell him that I do not want to be General of the Northern Horde.
Though my clan lands are in the north, being General means that I would still be required to spend too much time away from home and family.
It is a position and honor that I have never wanted.
So I say, “I would be happy to remain in your cohort. The orcs that serve under you are the finest in the kingdom.”
“Nonsense,” Guruk says, waving away my words with his free hand. “You saved my life, and that must be rewarded. You are a warrior without peer. It would be a waste of your skills to stay in my cohort indefinitely. Especially with the war against Goetia brewing.”
So Salthu was right. There is another war on the horizon.
My family’s lands feel far away, and my heart feels like it’s bleeding in my chest. The most perfect female I have ever seen is bound to another, and I cannot even go home to lick my wounds.
But refusing the appointment would be foolish.
Guruk has a temper that he hides under his friendly smiles.
If he feels slighted, my clan could be the one that pays the price for my stubbornness.
So, with a heavy heart, I make the sign of respect. “Then I accept, and thank you for this honor, My Prince. I will not let you down.”
Guruk is all smiles at my words. “Then it is done. As soon as we return to Orik, I will submit your name to my father, who I’m sure will approve the appointment. Congratulations in advance . . . General.”
Melelea gives me a shy smile as well, though she leans against Guruk’s arm, another dagger in my chest. “Congratulations.”
I give a stiff bow, my fists still on my chest. “Thank you, Prince Guruk, Lady Melelea. I will leave you both to your feasting and see if those on guard need relief.”
“Good old Brother Wodred,” laughs Guruk. “Always on duty, never relaxing. I suppose that’s what will make you a good General.”
I give another bow and stiffly walk down from the head banquet table. I cannot remain in this room for another moment. I catch Salthu’s eye as I exit the room, and he raises his brows in a question that I cannot answer.
Making my way out into the night, I find myself on the battlements of the troll king’s castle under the night sky.
With a great sigh, I lean against the stone wall behind me and look up at the stars that sparkle above me.
In one conversation, my life has been ruined.
The only female that has ever roused my Mating Instinct is in the arms of another, and more war and death loom in the distance.
My only consolation is that if I am leading a war in Goetia, I won’t have to visit the castle at Ilustan and see Melelea with Guruk. See her happy and heavy with children, mated to someone who doesn’t know the treasure that he has. That would kill me, I think.
And one thing is for certain. These feelings that I am having for Melelea? No one can ever know.
Especially her.