Page 7 of Bound to the Orc Renegade

My fingers dip down a couple of inches to bury in soft moss, then I drift the rest of the way, settling onto the ground as gently as you please.

“That didnotjust happen.”

But it did.

I moved that monster… with my mind! Then I broke my own fall. It’s like I became a character in one of my favorite fantasy movies or games, one where I’m a mage… or a witch. Hmm, witch. I like the sound of that. It feels right somehow.

An angry snarl jerks me upright. Shit! The gray monster’s back on his feet. I guess a twenty-foot fall isn’t anything to a guy that big.

I leap to standing, and my five-feet-two-inches feel absolutely miniscule when faced with his eight feet. I’m a pebble facing a mountain.

But this pebble’s got powers!

I throw up my hands again—

—and nothing happens.

Oh,shit.

He steps toward me, and I backpedal. I wish I could go back and face the angry gamers again instead—I’d have better odds.

Another step.

Then a new person hurtles from the trees, plowing a shoulder into the gray creature and knocking him away from me. This guy wears clothes, a wine-colored shirt and brown leather pants that cling to his muscular legs.

And ass. Oh, my. They really cling to that ass.

They roll and come back up to standing to start circling each other. The new monster’s face comes into view. His skin isgreen! He’s got tusks! And pointed ears!

God, it’s like someone crossed the Hulk with Legolas. He’s huge and green—far larger than any elf—but he’s also scorching hot, with sharply chiseled features and long black hair.

He growls something at the gray guy and yanks his sword from its scabbard. Oh, it’s a nice one, the steel bright and pure, the edge so sharp it glints in the sun. If we were in a game, I’d expect to pay lots of gold for a weapon like that. My mental wiki entry on him is gonna belush.

The green elf deflects the monster’s mace in a diagonal uppercut that’s pure beauty and power. Without missing a beat, he snaps the tip of the blade back into position and slices the thick gray hide in a slash that runs from left shoulder to right hip. A dark line appears on the gray monster’s torso, then spreads in a rush of black blood.

It bellows and bats its weapon at the green elf, but it’s a distraction. It spins and runs for the trees.

The elf watches it go, snarling after it with a flash of tusks. Then he turns and stalks toward me, holding his sword out to the side with one hand, the blade still dripping blood.

“Hey, now,” I say. “I appreciate the save and all, but that doesn’t mean I’m gonna be your spoils of war or something.”

“Drevistie,” he growls and reaches for me, his brows pinching together in a frown.

“No!” I’ve had enough of being bullied and threatened today. My hand flies up. And this time I must really mean it, because my crystal warms, and the green elf flies backward.

He hits the mossy ground, turning all of his momentum into a graceful roll that brings him back up to his feet. Damn, those are some awesome moves!

I expect another attack or at least more scowls, but he stares wide eyed for several seconds.

Then a devilish grin splits his face until he looks at me like he just won the boss level of the game.

And I’m the grand prize.

CHAPTER FOUR

Krivoth

Dawn flows across the forest, painting color back into the blue leaves of the birch trees and the rich green of the mossy ground.

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