19. Grok
Dawn breaks pale and chill, filtering through the mouth of the cave in thin, sickly streamers. Lily stirs against me, her warm breath puffing soft and steady over my collarbone. I tighten my arms around her, relishing the silk of her skin, the sweet, solid weight of her in my embrace.
For a long moment, I simply hold her, breathing her in, marveling at the miracle of her presence, her pulse. The fact that despite the odds, the obstacles, this fierce, radiant female is here, with me. That she loves me, wants me, as fiercely and fully as I do her.
It feels like a dream, a fantasy too sweet to be real. As if at any second I”ll jerk awake to cold, grim reality, to the aching absence of her...
But this is real, I remind myself, burying my face in her tousled hair. Her scent, her warmth, the little snuffling sounds she makes as she surfaces from sleep...it”s all real, all miraculously, preciously mine.
”Grok?” Her voice is husky, thick with drowsy confusion as she blinks up at me. ”What”s wrong, my love?”
I shake my head, pressing a kiss to her brow. ”Nothing,” I rumble softly. ”Just...marveling. Thanking the gods and ancestors that you”re here, whole and hearty in my arms.”
A shadow flickers in her eyes, her arms tightening around me as if to anchor us together by sheer stubborn will. ”I”m here,” she whispers fiercely. ”I”ll always be here, Grok. Death itself couldn”t keep me from you.”
My heart clenches at the aching certainty in her voice, the devotion shining naked and unashamed in her gaze. How did I come to deserve this woman, this love? What twist of fate, what boon of the ancestors, granted me such a priceless gift?
But even as I lean in to capture her lips, to pour out my own ardent adoration, a shrill, piercing whistle shatters the morning hush. I jerk upright, instinct and experience dousing me in icy dread.
”The warband,” I rasp, already reaching for my armor, my axe. ”That”s Sharak”s signal. They”ve spotted trouble.”
Lily is up and armed in a heartbeat, moving in perfect sync to guard the mouth of the cave as I finish buckling my gear. Not for the first time, I marvel at her swift, deadly grace, the economy and efficiency of motion that speaks to a lifetime of training, of battle.
Gods, I love her, admire her...and fear for her, with a terror that chokes my breath and chills my blood. She is so fierce, so fearless. But she”s also fragile, human. A single blow, a stray arrow...
I shake off the thought with a snarl, refusing to give it form, substance. She is Lily Thornwood, the Red Blade, mightiest warrior of her kind. And more than that, she is mine, my mate, under my protection. I will keep her safe, whatever the cost.
Together, we venture out into the pale, shifting mists. The shrill whistle sounds again, closer, more urgent, and I angle towards it unerringly. Within moments, dark shapes loom out of the fog—hulking, horned, unmistakably ogre.
”My chief!” Sharak strides forward, relief and worry warring on his craggy face. ”Thank the ancestors you”re safe. When you and the Red Blade didn”t rejoin us, I feared...”
”I”m well,” I cut him off brusquely, not wanting to dwell on might-have-beens. ”We both are. Now, what”s the trouble?”
Sharak grimaces, jerking his chin southward. ”Outriders, my lord. Varkos”s dogs, and in force. They”ll be on us in minutes, judging by their pace.”
Lily curses softly, eyes flashing to mine. I read the knowledge there, grim and resigned. This is the reckoning we both knew was coming. Varkos will never let my mate go, never concede defeat, while he still draws breath.
One way or another, this ends today. Here and now, on this gods-forsaken stretch of borderland.
”How many?” I demand, mind already racing, calculating. Strategizing how best to meet this threat, to cut it out at the root once and for all.
”Twenty riders at least,” Sharak reports tersely. ”All heavy horse, all armed and armored to the teeth.”
I feel more than hear Lily”s sharp inhale. Even with my warriors at our side, those are grim odds. Mounted combat has never been the ogre way, not with our bulk and build. We fight best on our own two feet, up close and personal, where strength and savagery win.
But I”ll be damned to the deepest hells before I let Varkos and his butchers within blade”s reach of my mate.
”Then we don”t let them close,” I rumble grimly. ”We choose our ground, set our trap, and hit them hard and fast before they can bring their numbers to bear.”
I sweep my gaze over my warriors, seeing the resolve, the readiness, in every scarred, tusked face. These are my shield-brothers, my clan, bound to me by ties of blood and battle. They will fight and die at my word, my whim...but I”ll rot in the pit before I spend their lives carelessly.
Lily”s small, callused hand slips into mine and I clutch it like an anchor, a talisman against the icy dread knotting in my guts. When I glance down at her, her eyes are hard and bright as chips of emerald, her jaw set in that stubborn line I know so well.
”I”m with you,” she says, quiet but fierce. A vow, an affirmation. ”To whatever end, my heart. My place is at your side, now and always.”
Emotion clogs my throat, stings my eyes. Stooping, I press my brow to hers, breathing in the scent of her, the truth of her. ”My brave Lily,” I rasp. ”My fierce, clever mate. Together, then. To whatever end.”
She smiles at me, tremulous but true. Then, squaring her shoulders, she turns to face my warriors, every inch the leader, the legend. ”Let”s hunt some dogs, boys.”
They roar their approval, a blood-hungry bellow that shakes the mist and sets the birds bursting from the trees in chittering panic. I feel an answering surge of vicious eagerness, the old familiar fury rising to choke out fear.
I am Grok Bloodclaw, and this is what I was made for. The crunch of bone, the spray of blood. The savage song of steel and slaughter.
And with Lily at my side...I am invincible. Unbreakable.
Axe in hand, mate at my side, I plunge into the mists, towards the thunder of approaching hoofbeats. Towards fate, towards fury.
The forest thins as we near the borders of Emberhal, the trees giving way to rolling hills and rocky outcroppings. My chest heaves with exertion, lungs burning, muscles screaming protest at the relentless pace. But I don”t slow, can”t slow, driven by the bone-deep knowledge that our pursuers are closing in, that every second is precious.
Ahead, the ground falls away sharply, a jagged gash in the earth. I skid to a halt at the edge, Lily and my warriors gathering around me as we stare down into a narrow, winding ravine, its steep walls rising like the jaws of some great stone beast.
”There,” I grunt, pointing to where the ravine narrows to a bottleneck, then widens into a broad, boulder-strewn basin. ”That”s where we make our stand.”
Lily frowns, her keen gaze assessing. ”It”s good ground,” she allows. ”Defensible, with limited approaches. But Grok...we”ll be trapped in there ourselves if things go badly. There”s no way out except back the way we came.”
I meet her eyes, reading the fear, the doubt she”s too proud to voice. Reaching out, I cup her cheek in one massive palm, thumb rasping over the delicate arch of bone. ”It won”t come to that,” I rumble with a conviction I wish I felt. ”We”ll end this here, today. One way or another.”
Sharak clears his throat pointedly, eyeing the horizon where dust clouds betray our enemy”s approach. ”Not to rush this tender moment,” he says dryly, ”but if we”re going to do this, it needs to be now. They”ll be on us in minutes.”
I step back from Lily reluctantly, already missing her warmth, her scent. The absence of her grates like an ache in my bones, a splinter beneath my skin. Ancestors, was it only this morning that I held her in my arms, lost myself in her sweetness? It feels like a lifetime ago, a stolen dream shattered by the cruel light of day.
Forcibly, I wrench my thoughts back to the present, to the grim necessity before us. ”Sharak”s right,” I say briskly. ”We need to move, get into position. Sharak, take your best climbers, set up on the cliffs to either side of the bottleneck. Wait for my signal, then come down on them like an avalanche. The rest of you, with me. We”ll lure them in, let them think they have us on the run. Then, when I give the word...we hit them with everything we”ve got.”
A rumble of assent, a clatter of weapons as my warriors ready themselves. I turn to Lily, drinking in the fierce, defiant set of her jaw, the fire in her eyes. ”Stay close to me,” I urge quietly. ”We”ll take the brunt of the charge, keep them focused on us while the others get into position.”
She nods tightly, knuckles whitening on the hilts of her blade. ”By your side is where I belong,” she murmurs, a ghost of a smile touching her lips. ”You and me against the world, big guy.”
My heart swells, a sudden, dizzying rush of love and pride and raw, aching terror. Ancestors, I can”t lose her. Not now, not like this. Not when I”ve only just found her, claimed her, learned the miracle of her touch, her taste, her trust.
Impulsively, I lean down, capturing her lips in a hard, swift kiss. A vow, a promise. A searing brand to carry into the fray.
”Always,” I rasp against her mouth. ”In this world and the next. My heart, my home.”
Then I force myself to pull away, to step back. To be the warlord, the warrior, and not the mate, the male, with everything to lose. I survey the steep walls of the ravine, the narrow defile that will funnel our foes straight into the jaws of our trap. Beside me, Lily is a coiled spring of tension, her eyes hard and bright as chips of flint.
I lead the way into the ravine, my warriors fading into the shadows of the cliffs to either side. The bait has been laid, the trap is set. All that remains is to lure our prey into its jaws.
We don”t have to wait long. The thunder of hoofbeats rises behind us, the baying of hounds and the clank and jingle of armor. I resist the urge to look back, trusting Lily to guard our rear as we plunge deeper into the ravine”s twisting throat.
”They”re coming!” Her shout rings out, taut with urgency. ”Fifty yards and closing fast!”
I feel a surge of vicious satisfaction. Let them come, the arrogant pricks. Let them chase us into the killing ground of our choosing, where ogre strength and brutality will crush their cavalier formations, their fancy martial arts.
The walls narrow, towering cliffs pressing close on either side as we round the final bend. There, just ahead—the place where the ravine widens into a broad, boulder-strewn basin. The place where my warriors crouch in ambush, ready to fall upon our pursuers like a mountain upon mice.
I slow my pace, allowing Lily to draw even with me as we reach the widest point. We turn as one to face our oncoming foes, weapons leaping into ready hands. For a breathless instant, all is still, silent save for the rasp of our breathing, the pound of our hearts.
Then Varkos and his knights thunder around the bend, lathered horses skidding on the loose shale, eyes rolling in their sweat-streaked heads. I see the instant Varkos realizes his error, his eyes flying wide as he takes in the rock walls rearing up on all sides, the distinct lack of fleeing ogres.
”It”s a tra–” he starts to shout, but too late. My warriors are surging over the lips of the cliffs like a rocky tide, dropping into the milling ranks of panicked horses and confused knights with bellows of savage bloodlust.
Sharak lands beside me with a bone-shaking thud, lips peeled back from his tusks in a snarl of fierce, feral joy. ”Now this is more like it!” he roars, wading into the fray with mighty swings of his massive axe.
I spring to join him, Lily a lethal dance of whirling death at my side. For a glorious, gory eterntiy, all is blood and butchery, the crunch of bones and the shrieks of the dying. We are unstoppable, invincible, scything through the Emberhal ranks like a fell wind.
Until we”re not.
”Grok!” Sharak”s bellow of warning cuts through the clamor a heartbeat too late. I whirl just in time to see a blood-maddened horse, riderless and wild-eyed, come careening through a gap in our line. It crashes into us like a juggernaut, sending ogres flying like ninepins.
And Lily...gods, Lily. One moment she”s at my back, a whirlwind of flashing steel. The next she”s gone, borne away in a tide of horseflesh and flailing hooves with a cry that pierces me to my core.
”Lily!” Her name tears from my throat, ragged with fear and fury. I lunge after her, shouldering my way through the melee with single-minded savagery. Have to reach her. Have to...
A blow like a battering ram slams into my shield, staggering me. I turn with a snarl to face my attacker...and find myself staring into Varkos”s pale, poisonous gaze.
”Going somewhere, beast?” His lips peel back from white teeth. ”We have a dance to finish, you and I.”
I bare my tusks in feral challenge, fury sluicing through my veins, chasing out thought, restraint. ”Then by all means,” I rumble, sliding into a battle crouch, ”lead the way, butcher.”
He meets my charge with a clash and screech of steel on steel, his sword sparking as it grates against my shield. For all his silks and perfumes, Varkos is strong, fast. Each blow resounds through my body like a hammer on an anvil, making my bones shudder, my teeth ache.
But I am Grok Bloodclaw, and I am power incarnate, the wrath of the wild made flesh. I shake off hits that would fell a lesser fighter, giving as good as I get and more. Blood and spittle fly as I drive him back, back, roaring my rage.
From the corner of my eye, I catch a flash of red hair, pale skin. Lily, fighting her way towards me, her blade a dance of death. Her face is set, eyes blazing, a Valkyrie made mortal. My heart swells with fierce pride even as dread sits leaden in my gut. She shouldn”t be here. Should be far away, safe from...
Varkos”s blade licks out, a serpent”s strike, and fresh pain blossoms hot and bright in my thigh. I stumble, off-balance for a critical instant. And the bastard seizes his chance, spinning past me towards my unguarded flank. Towards...
”NO!” The bellow bursts from my throat, raw with horror.
He”s not aiming for me. He”s going for Lily, his sword flashing down like a thunderbolt from a clear sky. She”s turning, too slowly, exhaustion and injury slowing her guard. She”ll never deflect the blow in time. It will take her full in the chest, punch through steel and sinew and the frantic drum of her heart. End her, destroy her, rip her away from me after all we”ve...
I don”t think. I move, a single primal impulse. My body between hers and the killing strike, a living shield. I feel the blade bite deep, cleaving muscle, shattering rib. Fire and lightning shred through every nerve, whiting out the world. I”m falling, drowning, the taste of blood heavy on my tongue.
”Grok!” Lily”s scream pierces the haze, high and horrible.
Varkos” blade wrenches free of my flesh and I crumple like a rag doll, limbs refusing my commands. Distantly, I feel her catch me, cradle me, her tears scalding where they drip onto my face.
”Grok, no, stay with me, you can”t...you can”t leave me...”
I force my eyes open, drinking in the sight of her. Even streaked with blood and muck, she”s the most beautiful thing I”ve ever seen. The only thing I want to take with me into the dark.
”Love...you.” The words are a ghost, little more than a blood-flecked exhalation. But I have to say them, give her the truth of me. ”Always...forever...”
Something in her face shatters. But then she”s moving, so fast she blurs, Varkos”s triumphant snarl choked to a gurgle. The clang of a blade falling from his hand. Varkos”s howl, high and horrified. Lily standing over his writhing form, blade dripping crimson.
The tide turns like a finger snap, the remaining knights throwing down their arms, fleeing before my warriors” renewed charge. The battle is won, but all I can see is Lily, falling to her knees at my side.
”Hold on,” she commands, voice cracking as she fumbles with bandages, packs the wound with desperate haste. ”Grok, stay with me. Don”t you dare leave me.”
I”m trying, clinging to the fading world with numb, shaking fingers. But the grey is crashing in, relentless and hungry. She hauls me up, wedges her shoulder beneath mine. Every step is agony, each ragged breath bubbling wet and thick in my throat.
But we”re moving, staggering towards the tree line as the world smears in a sickening blur. Her voice fades in and out, choked but fierce.
”Almost there. Almost safe. Just hold on, my heart. My love. Stay with me...”
The green shadow of the forest closes over us, cool and quiet. My legs buckle, taking us to the moss-soft ground. Her arms curl around me, pulling me into her, my head lolling on her shoulder.
”Lily,” I rasp, the world narrowing to the pale moon of her face, the gleam of her eyes. ”My mate. My miracle. I...I”m sorry...”
”Shut up,” she chokes. ”Just shut up, you great idiot. You”re going to be fine, do you hear me?”
I try to smile, to obey. But the cold is rising, smothering, dragging me down. I force leaden lips to shape the words, one last time.
”Love you. Always have...always will. In this life...and whatever comes after.”
The grey takes me then, and the last thing I feel is her lips on mine, desperate and lingering, and the salt of her tears on my tongue.
Then...nothing. Nothing but the dark, and the aching absence of her.
My Lily. My heart.