Page 50 of The Orc Outcast's Conquest

“I do not think it. I know.” His voice was low, harsh. It lashed with its certainty and left her feeling stung.

His expression was too familiar. She’d seen it many, many times in the faces of the other kids she’d grown up with, but still she asked, “How do you know?”

He shot her a dark look, and it had all the information she needed. She’d been raised in a group home, for god’s sake. Kids didn’t end up in group homes because they had decent families and home lives.

And for every person like Miranda, who wanted to adopt a kid in need because of their own shitty childhood, there was another who didn’t want to have children for the exact same reason.

She was about to say something. She’d been to enough counselors and therapists to know the right words. But just as she opened her mouth, she heard a cry, a striking wail, in the distance.

A horror she never thought she’d be subjected to again.

An air-raid siren.

She froze solid, ears straining, gut twisting. Her forehead broke out in a sweat, and her heart pounded in her chest until the rapid thrum made it difficult to breathe.

They had no bombs here. Surely, they didn’t. So, there wouldn’t be a need for a siren, right?

Right. She was imagining it. Her stupid anxiety was getting the best of her. She was just too keyed up after everything that had happened. It was fine. Everything was okay. It’s okay. It’s?—

“Miranda.”

She jerked, meeting Govek’s emerald green eyes.

“We’re safe here, right?”

His forehead creased, but he assured her. “Yes, I smell no predators near.”

She wanted to press for more information. Ask about the war. About what kind of technology they used to fight. But she was too much of a coward to get the words out.

“Take your bath, Miranda. Before the water goes cold.”

A bath. Right. A bath in a spring in the middle of the woods. Any civilization too primitive to have hotels certainly wouldn’t have nuclear bombs.

She shook off the fear and set on another task. Deciding what clothes to take off. The cloak and shoes were a no-brainer, but all she would have after taking those off was the gym shorts, granny panties, and the sports bra, all of which desperately needed washing.

Miranda took off her shoes, cloak, and shorts. What remained was enough to be considered a bathing suit.

Her eyes trained to where Govek stood with his back to her at the edge of the tree line. “You don’t have to stand there. You can face me.”

He choked. “What?”

She tried to hide her smile. “I’m not naked, and I’d rather be able to chat with you while I’m bathing.”

She could see the line of his shoulders tense at her words, but he turned anyway. The pilfered underwear was nowhere near attractive or revealing. But now, with Govek’s hot gaze darkening because of her silhouette, she was starting to like them. His eyes looked golden in the dappled light, glowing as they speared through her.

He hadn’t seen her without the cloak since he’d been a step away from death. Why hadn’t she remembered that?

Her lips parted, and she focused on his unclenched hands. They twitched toward her, as if he might be thinking about pulling her into his embrace.

Or, if she was lucky, maybe bending her over the nearest boulder.

She bit her tongue, determined to hear what he had to say first.

“Woman, was there something you wanted?”

What the frick?

“Uh, I mean...” Miranda fidgeted, thrown off completely. Hadn’t he been checking her out? Now she felt stupid.

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