Page 4 of Bound to the Orc Warlord

The wall of bodies around us jostles and yells, bets flying through the air.

Krivoth’s fist snaps into my jaw with a flare of pain even as I pummel his ribs with a crushing blow.

Breath bellows in and out of my lungs as we circle, each looking for the advantage. A tan face flashes across my sight, an anomaly in a sea of green. Olivia, my brother’s moon bound bride. After centuries without, the Moon Goddess finally brought us a new magic user to bless and strengthen our clan.

Yet such a sky gift makes our enemies, the ogres, more willing to attack.

All the more reason to cement Krivoth as an ally. He’s good, a strong fighter with lots of experience brawling.

I’m better. Even though I could have ended things by now, there’s no reason to ruin his pride. I need to restore the goodwill between us, to trust him to guard my back.

But my true nature won’t let me take it too far. I’m clan warlord. Iwillwin.

Krivoth lands a good hit to my stomach, the air whooshing out of me in a flare of agony. It is enough.

My uppercut catches him under the chin, snapping his head back with a clack of tusks on teeth. The bulk of him lifts onto his toes, where he hangs in the air for a prolonged second before toppling to the floor with a meaty thump.

I stand over him, gulping in air greedily as my heart gradually slows.

He shakes off his daze and stares up at me, his expression so unreadable I’m not sure my plan worked.

I offer a hand, and after a slight pause, he claps his palm to mine, letting me pull him to his feet.

“Good one!” He grins as everyone surrounds us, pounding our backs with congratulations for a good fight.

“It certainly was.” I tip him a nod, filled with relief. “Let me buy you a drink.”

We settle onto a bench and toast each other with new tankards of ale. I’m happy to have this unease finally settled, but I don’t feel the peace I expected. A restlessness still itches between my shoulder blades, a feeling of something yet to be done.

The Moon Goddess invades my dream, a shining silver orb, growing ever brighter until she rivals any sun. I blink awake, and the light follows me into the real world. It bleeds under the crack of the door, seeps down the chimney, and curls around the edges of closed shutters to twine together into a ball of radiance in the center of the room, turning the honey hue of the wooden walls pale yellow. It hangs in place for a moment, pulsing with magic, and tiny bolts of blue lightning arc from the surface. The hair onthe back of my neck raises and my tusks ache in the presence of such power.

The sphere races toward the bed to splash across my eyes with silver brightness.

A summons.

A new sky gift will arrive in Alarria, and the goddess has chosen me to receive it.

Until a week ago, there hadn’t been a summons for centuries. And indeed, our goddess has been quiet of late, offering no sky gifts of any kind. Then the Moon Goddess gifted my brother a moon bound bride, a human blessed with magic.

Now she summons me.

I toss off my furs, my feet thumping against the solid wooden floor. The night returns to its normal darkness, so I pick up two glow stones and tap them together. The spell activates, bathing the wooden interior of my bedroom in golden light.

I shove my legs into pants and give an impatient yank when the soft brown leather catches on the muscles of my green thighs. Another tug, and I get them high enough to lace closed. I race through the circular main room of my cottage and throw open the door.

Wind shivers the cool air of night over my chest and blows dark hair across my face. With a growl, I gather the long strands and knot them into a warrior’s braid. Heart-shaped leaves bob overhead in a thick enough canopy to hide the sky.

Around me, the village sleeps, even the pub closed for the night, the last of the revelers home in their beds.

Curving around the wide trunk of another heart tree, I stride into the village green, my bare toes digging into the thick carpet of moss. Overhead, distant stars spangle a purple-black sky, free of any other light.

I should have known it wouldn’t be this easy. We have only one moon in Alarria, and our goddess shines only when andwhere she wills it. She’ll deliver my sky gift in the place of her choosing.

An echo of her summons thrums through me with the tingle of magic. My body spins, pointing in the direction I must travel, a compass needle pulled to a new true north.

I have no idea how long my trip will last, but it matters little. The Moon Goddess summons me, so I will go.

And at the end of my journey, I will claim my moon bound bride.

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