Page 16 of Tryggred By the Orc

Tryggrhad only scented of…Eben.

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Tryggrhad only scented ofEben.

Thecertainty shouted again and again throughEben’sawareness as he finally dragged himself back to bed, and sank into a long, deep night’s sleep.Asleep he’d unquestionably needed, and when he awoke, he felt far fresher, his thoughts far clearer than before.

Tryggrhad been worried about him.Tryggrhad wanted to make sure he was well.Tryggrhad only scented of him.Ofhim.

Butmaybe —Eben’sdistant rational brain pointed out, as he washed and dressed — maybe it still meant nothing.Oreven if it had, maybe he’d runTryggroff entirely last night, with his exhaustion and his foolishness and his babbling.Withhow he’d implied he would soon return to thedýflissa.

Andyes, that temptation still shimmered there, dark and low inEben’sbelly — but the truth ofTryggr’sscent was stronger.Thetruth ofTryggr’scare, and his words.ThewayTryggrhad spoken ofAlma, and ofDrafli.

Thewoman seems sweet.Loyal.Ahard worker, eager to please in bed.Alljust asSkailike best.Soif she can keep it up, showBossshe’s worth his time,Iken he’ll come around.…

Keepit up.Showhim.He’llcome around.

Itmeant something.Ithad to mean something.AndEbenhad to know.Hehad to try.Hehad to.

Soinstead of going straight to the sickroom,Ebenfirst went for the scullery.Drawingin deep breaths as he strode through the corridors, through theGriskwing, into the large, fragrant kitchen.Wherehe fought to ignore the odd glances from the silver-hairedAsh-Kaiand the frowningSkaiworking over the fire, and held his eyes on the open door of the small adjoining scullery up ahead.

Where— yes, yes — that wasTryggr’sscent.Tryggr’sscent, and another unfamiliar orc’s, too.AndwhenEbenhalted in the scullery door, he foundTryggrkneeling over a washbasin, elbows-deep in soapy water, and blinking at him.

AndEbenwas blinking atTryggr, too.Athis wet-spattered bare chest, his strong, soapy forearms.Thesheen of sweat across his forehead and high cheekbones, the long black strands of hair falling out of his topknot.Allmaking him look more… vulnerable, somehow, more approachable, and perhaps even more appealing than before.

Butmost compelling of all was his scent.Hangingthick and heavy in the air, and still only tasting of…Eben.

“Whatis it,Ka-esh?”Tryggrfinally said, into the dangling silence. “LookingforAlma?She’sgone out for a spell,Iken.”

Ebentwitched and shook his head, and drew in a shaky breath. “I—” he began, tried again. “Ionly wished to ask if — if you might have any need for — help.”

Tryggr’sbrows shot up, and then he glanced sideways, toward where — oh.Right.Therewas another orc, an olderSkai, crawling out from where he’d apparently been under the counter.AndasEbenblinked toward him, and then toward the counter — which held a towering pile of laundry — it occurred to him that the scullery still looked far cleaner than it had the lasttime he’d seen it, when he’d fixed that foul drain, and it had been overrun with ash and filth and vermin.

“Thanks,Ka-esh, butDuff’salready helping with the laundry,”Tryggrsaid, with a jerk of his head toward the olderSkai, who was fully ignoringEben, in favour of intently licking what scented like fresh blood from his fingers. “An’ don’t you already have work in the sickroom to do?”

Eben’sstomach plummeted, his gaze dropping, and he gulped down a deep breath.Abreath that filled his nostrils with more ofTryggr’sscent, so unnaturally strong in this small stuffy room.Ascent that still tasted of…Eben.

Itwas enough to raiseEben’seyes again, though his tooth bit hard at his wavering lip, and his clammy hands wiped at his trousers. “Ach,Ido,” he said, his voice hitching. “AndIshould never forego my work there, or our patients who need my help.ButEfterarwished me to cut back my time there, andIonly thought — if there was aught else aKa-esh might help you with, such as —”

Hiseyes darted sideways, to where he could see the stone marking the nearest closed air-vent, and he edged toward it, and pulled it out with a shaky hand.Revealingthe familiar cranking mechanism behind it, and after a few moments of squeaky turning, a rush of sweet fresh air poured through the vent and into the too-hot room.

“Wait, there’s another vent?”Tryggr’ssharp voice demanded, though it sounded distinctly relieved, too. “Thoughtthere was only one, under the counter.Howthe hell’d you know that one was there?”

Ebenshrugged, and gave a shaky wave of his hand. “Theyare marked the same in every room,” he replied, slightly steadier than before. “Thereis another there” — he nodded toward the wall behind theDufforc, and then up at the ceiling — “and there,Iken.Ourfathers would not have built a scullery with only onevent, ach?Thisrisks leaking tainted air into the kitchen, and spreading disease throughout all the mountain.”

Tryggrwas still staring at him, his arms immobile in the soapy water, while thisDuffpromptly turned around, and began poking at the ventEbenhad pointed out behind him.Buthis hands were clearly arthritic, his frustration already jolting through the air, soEbenfurtively went to join him, attempting a careful smile toward his wrinkled, reddening face.

“Ach, you near have it,” he said softly. “Onlytwist, thus — ach, this is good.Onceor twice more,Iken.”

Duffobliged, turning the crank twice more — and he crowed aloud at the sudden blast of cool air in his face.ButEbenwinced, wrinkling his nose, because the scent behind also reeked of vermin — not only dung, but live mice too.

“Ach, it is infested,” he toldDuff. “Itought to be cleaned out, but —”

Hecast an uneasy glance over his shoulder towardTryggr, who hadn’t wanted his help — butTryggrwas just watching, with a lookEbencouldn’t at all read in his eyes.WhilebesideEben,Duffwas eagerly nodding, and waving him toward it. “Clean,” he said flatly. “Getverminout.”

Ebencouldn’t argue with that — it was a genuine health hazard to have vermin living in a scullery — and he showedDuffhow to release the vent’s grate, and draw it out of the wall.AndbeforeEbenhad even had a chance to look inside,Duffshot out a knobbly hand, grasped a live squirming mouse from inside the vent, and bit into its throat.

Ebenblinked, but obligingly waited asDuffrapidly drained the mouse — cracking open its neck for good measure — before bending his silver head to peer longingly into the vent. “Othermice run off,” he said mournfully. “Mayhapcome back, if we put vent in again?”

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