Page 40 of Bound to the Orc Renegade

“Magpies,” I say.

“Still only a mouthful,” Mist says. “And smart for a regular bird.Doublynot worth hunting.”

“Is that how you think of everything?” Taylor asks. “Whether it’s worth hunting?”

“Of course not!” Mist sniffs and flicks her tail. “I’ll have you know I sort everyone into three categories—friend, foe, and prey.”

“I’m glad to be the first,” my bride says.

Storm grumbles, “Speak for yourself.”

Taylor laughs and pats his withers.

I’m glad to hear it. After an awkward first day, she’s finally relaxed around me again, her inhibitions about our activities crumbling in the face of her ongoing enthusiasm for discovering this new world.

It might have helped that the sprites haven’t caught up to us yet.

Her delight sparks mine. I’ve never really traveled before, and even though there are things I miss about my village, I find it peaceful to know I won’t turn a corner and fall under my father’s critical eye.

When we reach a mountain meadow dotted with bluebells, I pull Storm to a stop, even though there are a few more hours of daylight left.

“Let’s camp here.” I dismount and lift Taylor down. “It’s time for you to practice again.” We’d ridden until dark the evening before, making up lost time.

“Yes!” She swings her arms back and forth and bounces on her toes a little.

“I’ll set up the practice range,” I say.

“I take it this means I’m in charge of dinner…again,” Mist says, adding a dramatic sigh.

“Humph,” Storm snorts, tossing his head. “If only you ate reasonable things like grass, you’d be fine.” He dips his head and rips up a soft clump of green to punctuate his words.

“I don’t eat grass, unicorn,” the feline fae calls over her shoulder as she saunters toward the trees. “I eat the things that eat it instead.”

“Ha!” the unicorn grumps and stomps a hoof. “As if you could take on me.”

“Friend or foe or prey.” She disappears from view, leaving the afterimage of her fang-filled smile hanging in the air for long seconds.

“She didn’t mean you’re prey,” Taylor says, turning her back to Storm and shooting me a questioning glance, asking if her words are true.

I nod. “The cat sith tend to hunt regular animals, not their fellow Wild Fae.” Or at least they don’t do so in Alarria. Stories of Faerie from the old realms tend to be fairly bloody.

“Clearly, I’m notprey.” Storm moves his head, his sharp horn slicing through the air, leaving the rest of his thought unspoken—he’s still undecided on friend or foe. It’s going to take more than traveling together to cement their relationship.

I move silently through the forest, gathering toadstools, their wide red caps shining bright even in the shade. Once I set the first one on top of a stake, I step away and call to Taylor, “Ready.”

She stands about ten yards away, and her face screws up in concentration as she throws her hands forward. But her crystal necklace remains dark. She tries a few more times, then drops her hands. “Hell, I still need help feeling my magic.”

“Do you want me to carry you again?” I step forward. Even though I’ve ridden pressed close to my bride for the past two days, having her clinging to my front, her legs wrapped around my waist is its own form of temptation.

“Not this time. I want to try something new, something I really need to work on.” She throws her arms wide. “Let’s face it. If we get attacked, what are we gonna do? Ask the bad guys to wait for five minutes while you carry me around so I can find my magic? Not gonna happen. I need to figure out how to tap into it both faster and more easily, hopefully by myself.” She offers me a wry smile, one corner of her mouth turned up in a way that makes me want to kiss her again. “So having said all of that, wanna help a girl out?”

“Always.”

And I mean it, in every way possible.

I am hers. Forever and always.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

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