Page 28 of The Orc Outcast's Conquest

“Sentinels of the Surface? I thought you said you were an orc.”

“My species is orc. My duty is to be a sentinel. We protect Faeda and it protects us in return.”

Faeda. A different planet. She started combing nervously through her matted hair.

“Where is your village?” Govek finally asked.

She hesitated, considering her responses. “Uh... in Washington state?”

His forehead furrowed deep, casting dark shadows over his eyes.

“In America?”

Still nothing.

Her breath hitched, but she managed past the lump in her throat. “On... planet Earth?”

He really was an alien.

Which meant she was now too.

Her heartbeat picked up speed, did double time, hard enough she could feel it in her fingertips.

He turned back to the fish, his expression grim. Apparently, he needed space to process, just like she did.

The comforting crackle of the fire continued to soothe her, and the lingering smoke drowned out the final remaining traces of her post-apocalyptic hell. She wished the smoke could cleanse her memories just as easily.

Miranda’s eyes pricked harshly as the face of Mr. Barker swam into her vision. He was by far the nicest boss she’d ever had.

She’d only worked at Blackridge Bank for two months, but in that time, she could tell Mr. Barker truly cared about all the tellers. He always went out of his way to stock the break room with snacks, approve vacations without question, and joke around to lighten the mood. His laugh lines and frizzy white hair flashed through her mind’s eye.

He’d been the last human she’d ever seen.

Miranda would never get an explanation from him. He never told her why he’d shoved her into the vault alone. She should hate him for what his hasty action had put her through. Or thank him for saving her life in such a ruthless way. Instead, the agony of grief gripped around her heart so fiercely it was physical pain.

Liquid heat dripped down her cheeks as her thoughts turned to her other job. Riverside Daycare Center, where she spent her evenings and mornings.

She thought of all her babies, whose lives had been cut tragically short.

She hadn’t been there to save them.

“Eat.”

The growling demand was harsh and broke the bubble of her sorrow so easily it almost made her gasp. Something about this male’s voice threw her out of her thoughts and brought her back to reality.

This reality. Not the one she’d suffered on Earth.

She blinked down at the roasted fish—crispy skin and delicious steam assaulted her senses. She took the branch he’d used to skewer it for cooking with trembling fingers and ventured a bite, uncaring of bones or scales.

It melted in her mouth like butter. Fresh and exquisite. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t had fish before, but this was different. Clean. Pure. It had never touched a single drop of polluted water in its brief life.

She ate half of it before she realized the orc was watching her in muted horror. She gulped down the bite she had in her mouth and felt her cheeks heat. She had eaten the bones in her haste.

“How long has it been since you ate?”

“I had the bread you...” She stopped when she saw his harsh scowl. Fiddling with the crispy front fin of the fish, she noticed she hadn’t gotten to its head yet. Thank god. If he was so shocked at her eating the bony tail, she couldn’t imagine how he might have responded to her sucking down its skull like a vacuum.

“A couple days,” she admitted.

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