Page 74 of Bound to the Orc Guardian

And I have him for life.

“Are you crying?” he asks, frowning down at me in concern.

Ay! This man! This amazing, caring man, who notices everything about me.

“It’s the waterfall,” I lie, dipping my head backward. He seems the type to assume tears are always bad. I’ll need to get him used to happy tears, so for now I add a truth, “I’m happy, Sturrm, really happy about last night.”

His lips twitch. “So you’re no longer mad.”

“Oh, no. You’re not getting off that easily.” I tap a finger to his chest, right over his heart. “I’m still mad.”

It’s another lie, and yet it’s also not. He hurt me by hiding the truth from me. Even worse, he hurthimself, a deep wound he’s gouged into his heart over the years.

I want to heal it desperately. But he’s going to have to be the one to do it, even though I plan to help him every step of the way. Thank god we have time now.

A lifetime of it.

Breakfast in the main cavern is more meat—the dragons are even more carnivorous than orcs—and clusters of tiny, dark purple berries I’ve never eaten before. They taste like blueberries, but more intense, with a tart after tang that’s addicting. I pluck another small handful and toss them into my mouth. “What are these?”

“Elderberries,” Sturrm says, handing me a mug of mint tea.

The dragon babies sit in a ring around us, having been admonished by parents to “let our guests eat.” But their little bodies vibrate with tension, big eyes following every movement of our hands, waiting for us to set down the food.

Dash lifts his head from his bundle of grass. “They don’t watch me like that.”

“You don’t have hands,” Bella says. “Hands are good for head scratches.”

My eyes flick to Sturrm’s hands, remembering them playing my body as expertly as they pluck his guitar strings. I offer him a knowing smile. “Hands are the best.”

“My bride had better watch herself,” he leans over to growl in my ear. “If you keep looking at me like that, I can’t promise I won’t do something inappropriate in front of the younglings.”

A jolt of happiness fills my chest with little bubbles of joy until I think I might float. He called me his bride!

I finish my tea, wishing for an espresso, and as soon as I set the cup down, the dragon babies are on me, Reevie using his red wings to give his hop more distance so he reaches me first.

“Sing again! The Moon Goddess lullaby.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I’m not a professional singer or anything.”

“You have a lovely voice, and I would love to hear it,” Sturrm says.

“As would I,” Sheevora booms from nearby. She reaches into her hidden purse and pulls out a massive piece of parchment and a quill large enough for her massive talons.

Carajo! What kind of bird makes feathers that big?

“I want to record the sounds,” she says.

“Do you think you’ll be able to discover what the words mean?” Excitement races through me. It would be amazing to solve this old family mystery.

“We won’t know unless we try,” Sheevora says. “And the pursuit of knowledge is always time well spent.”

The adults all around nod in agreement, several more pulling out writing materials as well.

After I sing the song through twice, the dragons ask for me to go again.

As I open my mouth to voice the first note, Sturrm’s deep baritone joins mine. I’m touched that he’s made the effort to memorize the unknown words. He sings the song with me, our voices combining into a beautiful harmony that brings tears to my eyes.

He frowns even as he keeps singing and brushes a tear from my cheek with the gentlest touch of his thumb.

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