Chapter 19
Chapter nineteen
Vidorak
It was a mistake to bring her here. He was rarely at ease in the mountains, but having his recently discovered mate nearby tested his control.
When his uncle had turned his attention toward her, Vidorak had felt his vision turn red.
If Urim had made any comments indicating he might hurt her, there was no doubt Vidorak would’ve attacked him.
Thankfully, his uncle was more interested in questioning him regarding his early return to the mountain.
Urim easily accepted Vidorak’s explanation because afterward he shared his new endeavor.
He was planning not only a large raid but also a takeover.
Of none other than the witch’s stronghold in Taybe.
Turmoil swirled within him when he entered the family quarters.
It would be difficult to find sleep knowing he’d need to tell Calypso what his uncle planned to do.
Witnessing her rage firsthand worried him about what her reaction would be.
He shuddered at the idea of her fighting his uncle, formidable as she may be.
The second he entered the antechamber, he felt her eyes on him. Even in the dark, he spotted her speckled golden eyes studying him from the opening of her room.
Even though they’d just spent days together traveling to the mountain, he didn’t realize how much calmer he felt with just the two of them. They’d been apart for simply one evening meal, but it wasn’t until this moment that he felt like he could truly breathe.
He advanced toward her, unable to stop himself, and offered his hand. She put her soft hand in his, and the mate bond hummed with contentment.
He pulled her into the antechamber to talk, but she tugged her hand away. When he looked back, her eyes were blazing with an undercurrent of anger and suspicion.
“I’m sorry for the treatment in the dining hall.” Acting as if she didn’t matter felt wrong, but he couldn’t risk Urim’s curiosity growing.
“I don’t care about that.” Her words were clipped, and he saw her eyes flitter to the wall of weapons.
The idea of her being frightened of him made him sick. He couldn’t blame her for her suspicion. It was necessary to treat her coldly to avoid drawing attention.
“Take what you want. Though if you want to incapacitate me, burning my eyes would be more efficient than stabbing.”
After a moment of hesitation, she reached for one of his daggers and took it. Her fingers ran over the sharp, forged metal. “I think I am having a hard time being enclosed underground.”
The urge to walk over and embrace her was tough to tamp down. “It is difficult spending most of the day out of natural light.”
Her fingers danced over the dagger once more before she returned it to its original spot. “It’s not just that. It brings back memories.”
“From your time in the Sanograd dungeon?”
She nodded. “It was hard to tell time there too. Everything was just so dark.” Suddenly, she crumbled and covered her face with her hands. “Goddess, I feel so foolish complaining about it when I was only there for a few days.”
This time he didn't hold back in comforting her. He gathered her small body in his arms and, luckily, she didn’t push him away. “You were just a child.”
“It wasn’t a secret the Purist sect of the nobility loathed my mother. But I was too busy enjoying the freedom of being the daughter of a royal advisor. Right until they detained us.”
“These things cannot be predicted. No good comes from torturing yourself.” He knew that well. Even though he was just an orcling, he often wondered if his father’s end could’ve been avoided.
“She freed me, you know.”
He knew that; she’d told him days earlier, but he let her speak through her tumultuous thoughts.
“My mother used the last of her strength to melt the lock on my chains before distracting the guards. She promised she’d meet me at the sanctuary in Solar City, but by the time I got there, they had already killed her.”
There weren’t any words he could say to soften the traumatic past she’d lived through, so he stroked her hair until she stopped trembling. “I cannot take you to the surface. But I can bring you to a place that I find peaceful.”
The tension in her face relaxed, and he felt a glimmer of longing. She stepped away from his embrace, then took his hand. “Show me.”
He led her to a part of the mountain unknown to others. The path there was undeveloped and difficult to traverse. There were no torches hanging, and he moved solely by memory.
“You can use your fire if the darkness bothers you,” he told her, recalling how strongly she'd responded to the dark earlier.
When the tunnels remained unlit, he felt the warmth of her trust spread in his chest. Even if she didn’t admit it, his witch was starting to let her guard down around him. He wanted nothing more than to make sure she never regretted that decision.
They arrived, and he temporarily let go of her hand to push a large boulder aside. Once shifted, they walked in, and he moved the boulder back, shutting them off from the rest of the mountain.
“It’s beautiful.”
The cavern was warm from the hot springs, and the plants that grew around the thermal waters emitted a greenish-blue light.
He walked up behind her but left a small amount of space between them so they weren’t touching. “I used to come here with my father when I was an orcling. I don’t think he even told my mother about it.”
“Your mother mentioned they were mates.”
He nodded. “They were. There hasn’t been another mate pair in years.”
“Why?”
There were many opinions regarding this. The occasional periods of low food, the lack of sunlight. But those things had persisted for years when mate bonds were common. What many in the clan didn’t dare say too loudly was that it was likely a result of Urim’s war.
“It’s unknown. There is a lot of discontent within the clan. Not enough babes are born, and the war takes our young male warriors.”
“I thought the females fought as well.”
“They used to.” Some were as formidable as the other males in the horde. “My uncle forbade it several years back once the numbers fell.”
“Sounds like things aren’t going too well with Urim as chieftain.”
He grunted in agreement. “Unless he is challenged, his command remains.”
“Tell me what will happen when Urim finds out.”
He knew she referred to what would happen when Jarl Kinar returned and told of her assisted escape.
“Nothing that I can’t handle.”
She gave him an unhappy look but didn’t push him further. Instead, she stepped to the edge of the hot springs and kneeled to dip her hand in the water.
“It’s warm,” she commented happily. “Perfect for a swim.”
She glanced over her shoulder at him for a moment before reaching up and undoing the ties of her dress. The untied dress pooled at her feet, leaving her only in undergarments, which she slipped off next.
His breath caught in his lungs as his eyes roamed over her naked back. She was so beautiful that it didn’t seem real. He wanted to touch her and assure himself that she was truly there. The thought of her soft skin under his hands caused him to instantly become hard.
She was his mate. She was naked and wanted him. He took a step toward her before he even realized what he was doing. The mate bond was demanding he go to her and show her that she was his.
He dug his claws into his palms to clear the need that gripped him and stopped in his tracks. As much as his hands ached to touch her, he fought to regain control.
Without turning back, she walked over to the hot springs and slowly stepped in. Between the glow, her bare tattooed form, and her curly crimson hair, she looked every bit a mystical being come to life.
The water was up to her shoulders, and she swam a few feet away before turning around and looking back at him with an amused tilt to her lips. “Did you bring me all this way just to stare?”
He put his weapons on the ground, realizing he hadn’t even taken the time to store them before leaving for here. “I don’t trust myself to enter.”
The depths of his desire for her scared him.
He longed to caress her body, to bury his face in her cunt, to rut her like an animal and watch as release washed over her.
Being so close to her with these thoughts running through his mind was dangerous.
He would never force himself on her, but his desire for her engulfed his mind, and the beastly part of him threatened to take over.
Suddenly, he felt that coming here might not have been the best idea. He would let her swim, then take her back and put distance between them until his head cleared.
Her golden eyes focused on him with a heated look. “Use your question of truth to ask me what I’ve decided.”
He hadn’t asked a question yet this day, but he hadn’t been able to decide between the several he had.
Part of him wanted those answers to come naturally and not as payment for a deal.
A secret part of him felt he wanted too much.
An orc like him knew only a life of war, loss, and deceit.
The dream of being together without the troubles that surrounded them both seemed a fantasy that even a mate bond could never overcome.
He paused for a minute before asking his question, as if he was pondering it, despite knowing he'd inevitably do what she asked. “What have you decided?”
“I’ve decided to let you taste my pussy. If you want.” She said it so simply as if they were discussing the weather, but the words went straight to his cock.
It was on the tip of his tongue to ask what made her decide that, but he wasn’t stupid enough to question whatever blessing this was.
He took off his boots and entered the water with his trousers still on. She had said he could taste her, not put his cock in her, so while his hard length was not subtle, it would stay away.