Page 24 of The Orc's Wife

I gulped, my tight throat bobbing. She had a point there. The Imperator would have to stop hunting Urgan if his own daughter was mated to the general.

My fists clenched at my sides, and I lowered my head, staring now at Urzulah’s leather-clad bosom. Should I do it? Right now, all I was to Urgan was a burden. A weak human whom he had to protect and order around. A distraction.

And Urzulah, while hateful to him, could provide him with what he wanted: power and influence. Wasn’t that why he wanted to overthrow the Imperator? Because he wanted power over orcs and humans?

Would Urgan take this chance if I left?

Suddenly, my mouth split in a wide smile. There was much about Urgan I didn’t know, true. In many aspects, we were still strangers. But that one thing I was certain of: if I left, he wouldn’t become Urzulah’s mate. He would hunt me down and bring me back to his lair. Because I was his. And he was mine.

I suppressed the smile as best I could, but something must have shown on my face, because Urzulah growled when I raised my head to look her in the eye.

“I thank you, generous Urzulah,” I said. “But I must politely refuse your very generous offer.”

I was overusing the word ‘generous’. As if that would cool her temper. A low growl was reverberating in Urzulah’s throat, growing louder and louder. Suddenly, her hand was around my throat, squeezing enough to be uncomfortable. But she was letting me breathe. For now.

“I will kill you now, you filthy human. This is your last chance.”

This time, I let my smile show, even though the pressure against my throat was becoming painful.

“And what will Urgan do if you kill me?” I croaked.

Urzulah sneered at me, squeezing a bit harder. I was gasping for breath now, and Mina was whimpering louder and louder. From the corner of my eye, I saw her, staring wide eyed at us. I motioned for her weakly to run to the door. She stood up on quivering legs and stumbled away, which Urzulah didn’t even notice.

“I’ll say you insulted me and I was within my rights to challenge you, dirty mouse. No one would even think you stood a chance in a duel with me.”

“But… I didn’t… insult you,” I wheezed.

Urzulah barked a short, cruel laugh, squeezing a bit harder.

I would die, I realized. She would strangle me, and I would die, and Urgan would find my dead body crumpled on the floor. This was what I got for defying orcs. This was what I got for disobeying… anyone, really.

I dug my nails into Urzulah’s fingers, but she laughed again. I tried to kick her, so she stepped back, still holding my throat in her hand, her long arm extended to its full length. My kicks didn’t reach her.

“Who cares you didn’t insult me? If I say you did, everyone will believe me. An uncultured human like you can’t be expected to have any manners.”

I couldn’t breathe. She was choking me, and my vision was becoming blurred at the edges. But I wasn’t ready to die. I wanted to get to know Urgan, to know him intimately. I wanted to give him children. I wanted to grow old and wrinkled at his side, to fight with him, to make up, to mate. I wanted to eat his bread every day.

“Someone woke up in a temper today,” came a cheerful voice from my open door. A female human voice fluently speaking the orc language.

Urzulah snarled and let me go, and I fell down to my knees, coughing and hungrily gulping air. Tears were stinging my eyes, and I was coughing and shaking until a pair of strong human arms wrapped around me. When my coughing calmed down, someone else put a cup of water in my hand. I drank, choking, my breath still coming in huge gasps, the panic and fear still having its hold on me.

Mina was telling someone in quiet tones what had happened. The person holding me was now patting my head, and muttering: “There, there. She’s gone.”

Finally, my pulse slowed down, and I could breathe more easily. I looked up. There was a hulking figure of an orc female standing in front of me, and I flinched hard.

“It’s not Urzulah,” said the human voice, impatiently now. “Come on, girl. Get a grip. I know you must have a hard spine somewhere in there if my grandson took you for his mate.”

I froze.Oriana.So Urgan’s grandmother had come just in time to save me.

I took a deep breath, squaring my shoulders, and she let go of me. We both stood up, she with fluid grace, and I leaning heavily on the bed. And then, when we were both up, we just stared at one another, each quietly taking the measure of the other woman.

Oriana had long, silver hair braided down her back. She was wearing a linen shirt, a leather vest, and a leather skirt. There was only one weapon at her belt – a short, curved sword. Her sleeves were hacked off, her strong arms bare. Her calves were carved with hard lines of muscle, and on her feet were heavy boots resembling those orc warriors wore. Boots made for kicking down doors and enemies.

And her face looked like she wanted to kick someone hard. Eyes, silver and hard as flint, were staring at me, coldly assessing. Her thin lips were pursed, making her sharp jaw look even sharper. While wrinkles lined her face, there was no sagging of skin I had seen in older women. Her body was hard and tight, her skin swarthy, her posture strong and hale.

She looked the way I wanted to look when I grew old.

“Yes, I can see why he brought you here,” she said, and I looked at her, surprised. I was expecting a harsh judgement, or that she would taunt me after the way I had broken down, but she only gave me a sharp nod. And then she smiled, presenting a mouth full of fangs.

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