Page 55 of The Brute and the Blade

I hum noncommittally, burying my nose in her hair. "Maybe. But the real test is still to come."

And come it does, when I stand before the assembled might of Bloodclaw Clan and solemnly declare my intention to parlay with the humans. To forge bonds between our people like the bond I share with my mate, my mirror.

The roar of outrage nearly shakes the rafters, accusations and insults hurled like javelins. I feel Lily tense beside me, ready to spring to my defense...but I squeeze her hand, holding her back.

"I have heard your concerns," I say into the seething silence, my voice deepening to a growl. "Your doubts and your disapproval. And I understand them, for they were once my own."

I sweep my gaze over the room, holding each bristling warrior's eyes in turn. "But I stand before you a changed ogre," I continue quietly. "One who has seen, firsthand, the cost of clinging to our hatreds. The scars it leaves, on flesh and spirit alike. And I tell you now...I will bear those scars no longer. Nor will I watch more of our people fall, for the sake of a war that has lost all meaning."

A long, ringing beat of silence. Then Sharak steps forward, his grizzled face inscrutable. "You would have us treat with the enemy, Warlord?" he rumbles. "Lay down our arms and sue for peace, after all they have done?"

"I would have us try," I reply steadily. "Try to build a better world, Sharak. One where our children can grow tall and strong, unbent by the weight of inherited enmity."

For a single, breathless moment, the entire hall seems to hold its collective breath. Then Sharak nods once, sharply. "So be it," he says, loud enough for all to hear. "If this is the course you have set...then I will follow, as I have always done. As I always will, until the day I draw my last breath."

One by one, the other ogres echo his assent, some grudging, some thoughtful, all bound by the weight of loyalty, of tradition. I incline my head to them, humbled and gratified all at once.

"What of the Skullcleavers?" a voice pipes up from the back, wary and wondering. "Have they agreed to this...folly?"

I feel Lily stiffen beside me, hear Thane's sharp intake of breath. But I keep my face impassive, my voice even.

"Brokk has been...approached," I say carefully. "Invited to join us on this new path. But his response was...ambiguous at best."

A discontented rumble rolls through the crowd, the specter of old rivalries raising its head.

"Brokk's always been a contrary bastard," someone mutters. "Too proud for his own good."

"Or the good of his clan," another voice chimes in.

I raise a hand, quelling the mutters. "We will continue to reach out to Brokk," I say firmly. "Continue to offer him a seat at the table, a chance to be part of this...new beginning. But we will not let his reluctance, his refusal, derail our efforts. We will press on, with or without the Skullcleavers."

"But what if they attack?" a young warrior bursts out, his eyes wide and worried. "What if they see our peace as weakness, and try to wipe us out while our guard is down?"

It's a fear I've grappled with myself, in the dark hours of the night. A fear that's kept me pacing, kept me planning, spinning out contingencies and worst-case scenarios.

But I know, deep in my bones, that we can't let that fear rule us. Can't let it paralyze us, or push us back into the bloody, broken patterns of the past.

"If they attack," I say slowly, "then we will defend ourselves. Defend our loved ones, our lands, with all the strength and skill at our command. But we will not strike first. Will not let their aggression poison the well of our new beginning."

I pause, letting the words sink in. Letting the weight of my conviction, my determination, fill the hall like a living thing.

"We are ogres," I continue, my voice ringing with pride. "Warriors, born and bred. But we are also builders, Bloodclaw Clan. Makers and growers, nurturing the seeds of a better future in the stubborn soil of our souls. And by the gods, we will see those seeds bloom...even if we have to protect them with our very lives."

A beat of silence. Then, like a distant thunderclap, a cheer begins to build. Spreads from throat to throat, swelling to a roar that rattles the rafters, shakes the stones beneath our feet.

"Bloodclaw!" they cry, fists raised in salute. "Grok! Grok! Grok!"

Beside me, Lily beams, her eyes bright with unshed tears. Thane claps a hand on my shoulder, his grip fierce with pride.

And I...I stand tall and strong, humbled and exalted all at once. Knowing that this is just the beginning, just the first step on a long and winding road.

But it's a road I'm ready to walk. Ready to blaze, with my mate by my side and my clan at my back.

Ready to fight for, with every last beat of my battered, hopeful heart.

That night, as Lily and I tumble into bed, bodies twined and hearts racing, I pour all of that hope, that fierce and trembling joy, into our lovemaking. I worship her with hands and mouth, tongue and teeth, until she's gasping, until she's writhing, my name a broken prayer on her lips.

"Grok," she moans as I slick mighty fingers through her wetness, teasing the little bud at her center. "Gods, Grok...don't stop."

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