Page 22 of His Orc Lady

I consider denying it, but there’s no use. What other reason do I have for behaving like a madwoman and tiptoeing through the corridors?

“Aye,” I grumble. “He is.”

“That’s wonderful! I’m so happy for you, Mara.”Poppy draws me into another hug. But when I don’t respond as enthusiastically, she pulls back slightly. “You don’t seem thrilled. What’s wrong?”

I hesitate, not knowing how to explain this. “I’m not certain he’s the right match for me after all.”

“But…” Poppy glances at Steagor, then back at me. “When I first met Steagor, you told me you were excited to meet your mate. You said, ‘I know that if I found my mate, I’d hold on to him and never let go.’ That was when Steagor was still trying to marry me off to some human.”

Her mate lets out a low groan. “I was a fool, Poppy. And I thought we’d agreed never to mention that again.”

“We did, but this is aboutMara,” she murmurs, reaching back to pat his cheek.

He uses the opportunity to press a kiss to her palm, and she lets out a soft sigh, then melts into his embrace. But when she turns back to me, her expression is all the more concerned.

“What changed?” she asks. “Did the captain do something?”

“No,” I say immediately, not wanting them to think poor Owen has done anything wrong. “But he’shuman.”

Steagor glowers at me, and I realize only then how that must have sounded.

Poppy looks taken aback. “I didn’t know you felt that way about us.”

My chest constricts at the thought that I’d insulted a friend. “No, I’m sorry, that’s not what I meant. I don’t really care that he’s not an orc. It’s just—he’sleaving.”

Poppy’s eyebrows climb up. “Leaving? Whatever for?”

“He’s a soldier,” I say, my voice more defeated than I’d like. “He has a duty to the Duke of Ultrup. He’ll have to return to the human lands sooner or later, he said so himself.”

My short friend glances back at her mate, confusion plain on her face. Suddenly, the small pantry space seems even tighter than before, because I know what’s coming.

“But…couldn’t you go with him?” she asks. “If you want to be with him…”

That’s the question I’ve been asking myself ever since I first scented him all those weeks ago. And every time, I come to the same conclusion.

“No, I couldn’t,” I choke out.

Poppy shuffles a little, as if confused, then her expression brightens. “Oh, you don’t want to leave the clan? Because you’re the steward? But surely Gorvor could find someone else to take over some of your tasks. We couldallhelp, and you and the captain could divide your time between the Hill and the city if you…”

I shake my head at her, and she stops, her frustration clear. She wants to push me for answers yet is kind enough to hold back her questions.

But Steagor is staring at me, his dark eyes wide. “You never go out.”

My heart thuds painfully, and I lean away from him instinctively, my back hitting the shelves stacked with freshly washed linens.

“What?” Poppy turns her head to stare up at her mate.

He’s still studying me, though. “In all my years of guarding that front door or organizing the young ones on duty, your name never popped up on the lists.”

Poppy smacks the back of her hand against his chest. “What lists? What are you talking about?”

But I know. Steagor is right, and I hate it, I hate that he has figured out what’s been going on. I would escape, but they’re standing right in front of the door, and I’d have to squeeze past them, which would prompt even more questions.

“Every visitor to the Hill is signed in at the door,” he explains, his voice low. “And everyone who leaves is required to tell the guards on duty. That way, we know who’s out there in case anything happens and we need to send a search party.” He glances up at me, then adds, “Wasn’t it your friend, Carrow, who left one day, just after we’d arrived at the Hill, and broke his leg stepping into a badger’s hole?”

I nod despite the lump in my throat. “He was missing for two days before we figured out he wasn’t just hiding somewhere in the Hill. When they found him, he’d been half delirious with fright and had to spend weeks recuperating in Taris’ infirmary.”

His accident had cemented my view of the outdoors—and played to one of my deepest fears. What if I left one day, got lost or injured, and no one would miss me? What if they never came to fetch me, because as Poppy said, Gorvor could easily find someone else to do my work?

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