Chapter 1
Thavros
"Fremaaaaa!"
I rushed past the guards, paying them no attention. I was on a mission to find my sister.
"Frema!" I called again, my heart pounding with real hope for the first time in years.
The hallways blurred past me as I ignored the glances of the orcs I passed on my way to the great hall.
The hall was busy this morning. With most of our clan being here for breakfast, it was hard to spot her in the crowd.
The hall hasn’t always been this crowded.
But as our magic faded, the orcs who had ventured out into the world, whether to till the land or make a life for themselves in other places in the realm, had all returned.
An orc without magic is vulnerable on its own.
Here, at least we have safety in numbers.
Still, Frema should be easy to find in this group, being one of the most skilled warriors in the clan. She is about a head taller than most of the orc women, though not quite as large as most of the warrior men.
Finally, I spied her sitting at a table with her troop.
"Sister, I need to speak with you,” I said, trying to still my features so I wouldn't give away the importance of the issue.
"Can it wait? Listen, Ulgar heard –"
"No, it cannot wait. It is urgent."
She cocked her head.
"Please, it is most urgent."
She nodded before finally rising and following me.
Once we were out of the great hall, she asked, "What is it?"
But this wasn’t something I wanted to discuss here out in the open. Not when there were ears everywhere.
"Come with me," I said as I made my way quickly into the maze of passageways winding deeper into the mountain, making my way back to my study and war room.
As we made the final corridor before the study, she asked quietly, "Thavros, what is it? Is it Khuldruk?"
I shook my head, waiting for the guards to open the door.
"What is it?" she asked, her eyes tight with panic.
I stepped aside, revealing the crystal that sat embedded in the center of the round table. It was still hard for me to believe. After a decade of being nothing but a rock, it glowed.
A little puff of air left her mouth as she looked at the crystal. "How is that possible?"
Both of us stared at the crystal's glow in silent awe.
"I don't know,” I finally said. “I was in here until the wee hours of the morning before I finally returned to my chambers for a couple of hours' sleep. But when I returned, this is what I found."
Frema took her seat at the round table, gazing at the crystal. "I don't understand."
"I don't understand entirely either. I'm guessing it has something to do with Khuldruk. Perhaps he's found his mate."
"Have you heard from him?"
I shook my head.
"Should we go get him?"
I sat down at the table, admiring the glow of the crystal. "Let's give him some time."
"What do we do?"
I shrugged. What else could I do? This was what we'd been hoping for years. We'd been searching for a way to bring the magic back to our clan fruitlessly. When I woke up and found this, I thought I was dreaming. But it seems to glow even brighter now than when I left to find Frema.
"I think we should just keep it between us for now. We wait to see if Khuldruk found his mate, and then we will talk to him to find out what to do."
She nodded, but I could tell there was something else going on in that head of hers.
"What are you thinking?"
Her brow scrunched as she kept her eyes on the crystal's glow. "I agree with you. This stays between us for now. But I was planning on leading a training today. It might be a good time to test their strength."
"Agreed," I say. "That sounds like a good plan. I’ll stay here and do some more research, and maybe I’ll check in with the healers to see if they need more supplies and see if they have noticed anything."
"Remember subtlety, brother," Frema said.
A deep chuckle rumbled from deep inside my chest. "I'm not the one who has trouble with subtlety, dear sister."
She scowled before pushing her chair back and standing. "I'll find you after dinner and report what I’ve found."
"I’ll await your news."
She stood from the table and clasped my shoulder. "This is good news! Why do you seem so unsure?”
"No," I said as I gave my head a little shake. "It is good. I just wish to know the source of its return before I celebrate."
"Well, I’m pleased nonetheless. I’ll find you later."
As Frema left, I stayed at the table looking at the crystal.
She was right, it was a good thing. I just wasn't quite ready to celebrate yet.
There were so many unknowns. I don't do well with unknowns.
I like to have all the information. I find comfort in understanding the world around me, and over the past couple of years, nothing in our mountain has made sense.
When I got word of the witch in the westerly woods, I knew it was a fool's wish that she might be able to help us. But here I was, gazing at our crystal that had been slowly fading since the death of my parents. I needed to make notes before I forgot anything.
I stood from the big round table of our war room and turned to make my way up the curved stone stairs leading to the upper level that housed my study and library. It was where I spent most of my time these days. I sat at my desk and pulled out my journal to make detailed notes of the day.
Taking a deep breath, I tried to organize my thoughts.
Then my eyes were drawn to the statue that stood like a beautiful marble guard of our war room.
It had sat in the corner overlooking the round table below for as long as I could remember.
Yet something made me decide to move it closer to my desk a few days ago.
I’m not sure why, but I liked having it near.
This statue is quite possibly my favorite thing in this room, maybe even in the world, as strange as that seems. There was just something about her that always drew me in.
This mysterious woman was etched so beautifully into the marble.
Whoever she was, the artist must have loved her.
That was the only answer for how they were able to imbue her with such beauty.
I loved the soft, round, supple curves of her body draped in flowing fabric.
As I gazed upon her, I often wondered what was wrong. Why was her expression so haunted?
After I got out my journal, I made a note of everything that had changed since last night. Even if it was only that Khuldruk has been gone for a week, and that the crystal now glows. That was more than I'd known before.
Although there was one thing that had been different last night, it wasn't something I needed to make note of in this journal. No, I did not need to make a note of the fact that last night this statue came to me in a dream.
What was wrong with me? Was the thought of my brother finding his mate making me think of finding my own? It must be.
Even so, my mate is definitely not a statue. Even if the statue is quite possibly the most beautiful woman I've ever laid my eyes on. Just the thought of the things I did to her in my dream last night has my cock twitching to life.
Perhaps I should leave my notes and try to spend some time with an actual orc. But even as I thought about that, I couldn't seem to keep my gaze from the beautiful marble woman in front of me.