Page 74 of The Orc Outcast's Mate

“Hey,” Miranda touched his jaw, working at the tension with her tender fingers. Her brow was furrowed. “It’s okay.”

Govek looked into her earnest face as his promise to speak his truths stabbed into the back of his mind. Right where her imprint was raging. Steeling himself, he guided her to one of the darkened corners at the very back of the hall, nestled between the grooves of the tree.

Her brows rose, and the words tumbled from his lips. “I only went once in my youth, and during that time, I flew into a rage and destroyed the encampment.”

Miranda’s eyes widened, and she asked a question he did not expect. “You said that the children started going from their birth. So how did you, as a baby, fly into a rage so crazy you destroyed things?”

Govek swallowed. “I was not allowed to attend until I was seven summers. And by then, I was so blasted behind in my learning I had no hope of catching up.”

“Why weren’t you allowed to attend before then?”

He forced himself to shrug. “The father must attend with their child for the first few years, but my father was unable to because of pressing matters within the clan.”

“Why didn’t he have someone else go with you then?”

“That is not done.”

“What about Tavggol? Who went with him?”

“Tavggol was five summers my senior and a prodigy. By the time I was born, he did not need my father’s guidance as he had already mastered the basics and was taking private lessons from Gogvi, the elder instructor.”

She hummed to herself, thinking. “You must have been a pretty big kid to destroy the whole camp.”

“I was large for my age, but the camp was built under a rock ledge, and we took our lessons atop it. When I failed to perform as expected, I grew angry, and my magic spiraled out of control. I destroyed the support, crushing the camp beneath.”

Miranda shocked him again by huffing out a laugh. “Oh my god, are you serious? You must have been a wicked smart seven-year-old to come up with that.”

“It... was not my intent at the time. The support was simply the closest pile of rock to vent my fury on.” He looked away, toward the tapestry on the wall, toward the orcs in the center who kept their race whole with their magic. “If any had been in the camp at the time, they would have been crushed to death.”

Her humor died, and the truth of his transgression became clear. He held his breath, preparing for her harsh reaction, for her rejection. His claws began to slice through his palms.

“So... you were expelled from your schooling because you accidentally destroyed the camp?”

Govek blinked.

“Honestly, if a seven-year-old could use magic to crumble the rocks and take out the whole camp so easily, it should have never been put under there in the first place. That was a bad decision on the adult’s part. Who decided that was a good spot?” Miranda’s expression darkened, and he gulped. “Was it your dad?”

Confusion forced him to tip his head. “I... do not know. I do not believe he contributed to the decision.” Though Govek supposed, as chief, he may have. “Those rocks could not have been moved by any orcs in Rove Wood or by Karthoc’s warriors. It is only with the combination of my strength and magic that I was able to budge them. That is why I am not... safe. It was that event that brought to light how my magic functions and how dangerous it is. It was that event that was the catalyst that led to my being assigned a home on the outskirts.”

“I see,” Miranda said casually, as if his admission meant nothing to her. And perhaps it didn’t. She was not even of this world. She did not understand.

Her arms crossed as she narrowed her eyes at his father, who was still squabbling with Karthoc on top of the platform. The two had never gotten along and Govek suspected that was the reason Karthoc rarely came to Rove Wood Clan.

“One of the little girls at the daycare, Karla, was a bit of a spitfire.”

Govek turned to face Miranda once more.

“She could get into the worst shit, but she was also super smart and a natural-born leader.” Miranda’s eyes grew misty, but before Govek could think of how to aid, she recovered, wiping the tears away. “Once she used leverage with the wall and knocked over one of the big bookcases we had into the sleeping nook. Destroyed the shelf, the tables, some of the bedding, and a lot of the books.”

Where was Miranda going with this?

“She got in pretty big trouble. She could have hurt someone if they’d been sleeping.” Miranda cast him a half smile, then gave her bowl of soup a quick stir. “Had to sing the ‘sorry song’ in front of the whole class and clean up the mess with only one aid for help. Her mom had to pay for all the damages. But all of us adults understood Karla hadn’t meant to hurt anyone or realized how much damage pushing the bookshelf would do.”

Miranda scooped up a large piece of fish from the bowl and pressed it to Govek’s lips. The aroma flooded his nose with the scent of thyme and cooked trout. His stomach grumbled, and he helplessly obeyed her silent order, taking the salty bite and chewing it slowly.

“Karla’s mom had just had a new baby. Becoming a big sister was quite an adjustment for her.” Miranda scooped up another bite and gifted it to him.

“Govek, sometimes, kids react badly to change, but that doesn’t mean they’re bad kids. And it doesn’t mean they’re going to grow up to be bad adults.”

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