Page 70 of Bound to the Orc Renegade

“Damned nuisance,” Storm growls as he surges up onto the far bank.

“I think they’re great,” Taylor says.

“Yes, well,youlike sprites,” the unicorn counters. “So there’s no accounting for your taste.”

“What does it say that I like you, then?” She leans forward to press a kiss to his withers.

“That there may be hope for you yet.”

She throws back her head and laughs, the sound so high and sweet my heart pinches.

Mist reappears beside us, running at Storm’s side as if she’s always been there, as dry as can be. “I miss all the fun.”

“Hardly,” Storm says. “But I’m more than happy to have you join me in the river. Perhaps the nymphs will plague you instead.”

“Of course they would,” the feline fae says. “I’m magnificent.”

My bride laughs again, and I hold her close, reveling in her joy as we race ever closer to our goal.

The distinctive purple leaves of mountain rowan come into view through the pine trees ahead, and Storm slows to a walk, his sides rising and falling like a bellows as he catches his breath. He’s run hard for several hours at full gallop, a speed only a self-healing unicorn can maintain.

When he comes to a halt, I slide from his back. Energy fills me. Not even the twinge of pain from my injury can stop me now. This is the grove the dragon indicated on her map. We’re here! The end of my quest is in sight!

Taylor beams at me as I lift her down to the ground. “This is so exciting!”

Even Mist shows none of her studied insouciance, her green eyes gleaming with interest instead of amusement. “What does violet trifolia look like?”

They all turn to look at me.

“I don’t know exactly, but it has a cluster of three purple berries that form a triangle. I’m sure we’ll know it when we see it.”

“And then we pick the berries?” Taylor asks.

“No.” I shake my head. “We need to gather entire plants and bring them back to the king. An orc with plant magic might be able to get them to grow outside of the Skular Woods.”

“Then we’ll have the antidote all the time without needing to travel.” Taylor’s eyes shine with approval. “That’s really smart.”

Pride fills my chest. “Thank you.”

“Yes, not bad, orc,” Mist says.

“Indeed,” Storm adds.

My lips twitch. To get a compliment from a unicorn is no small thing. “I thought of it because of my sister. Gerna’s a master herbalist. It’s what she does whenever she finds a promising new plant.”

I pull a spade and a waterproof leather bag from a saddlebag. “Spread out and call if you find anything. I’ll do the digging.”

“Of course you will,” Storm grumps. “Unicorns donotdig.”

He heads left, Mist right, while my bride and I take the center. She shoots me a questioning look as I fall into step behind her. “I thought we were spreading out?”

“I’m not leaving you alone if there are sluagh in the area.”

“Okay.” As simple as that, she keeps walking, and it strikes me that I’ve grown used to her respect for me and my ideas. Respect might seem a simple thing, yet it’s actually quite precious, and I hold her regard for me close to my heart.

Mountain rowans aren’t the tallest of trees, but their dense foliage blocks much of the sunlight, creating a shadowy, purple tinted world beneath their low boughs. Taylor walks with ease, but I have to duck and bend and bat braches out of my way. It’s almost enough to tempt me to use my magic, which would allow me to move more easily and quietly forward. But mybride’s steps crunch across dried leaves, so there’s no point in me expending the extra energy.

A pair of magpies startle from a branch in front of us, taking to the air in flashes of white and black wings. We pass a group of ferns, tender green fiddleheads curling above their fronds. “Can we pick some on the way back?” Taylor asks. “I really like those you made for me the other night.”

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