Page 88 of Bound to the Orc Renegade

“The hot one without a beard is Rovann,” Olivia says. “My husband.”

The pancakes are perfectly fluffy, and the maple syrup’s real. I moan and chew for a second, then add a bite of salty bacon. But as good as the food is, there’s something I want even more. I drop my voice to a whisper and dig my fork into the pancake stack. “So it was the same for you? Bam, the Moon Goddess married you to them automatically?”

“Yeah, pretty much,” Olivia says.

“Technically, before we even met, but no regrets.” Ashley smiles, her eyes going a little dreamy. “I can’t picture anyone more perfect for me than Dravarr.”

I look over at Krivoth, knowing exactly how she feels. I can’t imagine loving anyone other than him. “I guess the goddess isn’t such a bad matchmaker after all.”

“She knows her shit,” Olivia says, making us laugh. Then she magicks herself and Ashley coffees and says, “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere but here.”

“And, uh, where is here, exactly?” It’s all a little confusing. Krivoth’s sister and the other human women live in his home village, but we were traveling to the king’s castle when the ogre attacked.

“This is Moon Blade Village, and you’re going to love it!”

I nod and take another bite, continuing to eat as they tell me about village life. The cottage we’re in is inside a huge living tree! It even has a bathroom and running water. Everything’s done with a mixture of hard work and magic. They hunt, farm, and make goods by hand, but the magic of the standing stones gives them the magical version of electric lights, cleaning appliances, and other cool stuff.

It all sounds absolutely amazing, but my eyes keep going back to Krivoth.

No matter how much I want to live here in the village, I know in my heart my real home’s with him. If he wants something different, I’ll find a way to make it work. He’s worth it.

We’reworth it.

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

Krivoth

After all the excitement of waking up, being examined by Gerna, and meeting the other human women, Taylor falls asleep, her body drooping onto the pillows piled behind her.

“Everybody out,” I say. “She needs more rest.”

“Hey,I’mthe one to say that kind of thing,” Gerna says, joking with me for the first time in years.

I like it. I like having my sister back.

The edges of my lips curl. “Then what to you suggest, oh great and knowing herbalist?”

“You heard him. Everybody out.”

Once they all file out, I close the window. My moon bound won’t get any rest if the sprites return.

I slide my bride down the bed and lay her head on a single pillow. When I brush her wild hair from her face, she lets out a small sigh and presses her cheek into my hand. She’s lovely like this, her sweet features relaxed in sleep.

It’s nothing like the unnatural stillness of the deathsleep coma—that felt like a horrible lack, like the spark of her was missing.

I sink into the chair beside her. Now that I’m alone, I finally let myself feel all the relief of having her back. My fingers tangle in my hair as I grip my head, worry, grief, relief, and love swirling around in such a mix, my mind feels as if it will explode.

By the goddess, it’s so good that the antidote worked, that I no longer need worry my selfishness and drive for glory might kill my bride.

But it could have.

Another set of familiar footsteps behind me, but the hand on my shoulder’s a comforting one. “Come. Tell me of your travels.”

I nod and look up at Branikk, then follow him from the bedroom.

Outside, the warm wind of noon carries the fresh pine scent of the surrounding forest, but it mixes with the smell of the heart trees to create something uniquely home. Rounding the wide trunk of another cottage, we enter the village green, the wide circular area bathed in sunlight, gleaming off the rich green moss carpeting the ground.

Mist sits in the sun, surrounded by younglings.

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