Page 62 of His Orc Lady

“May I read those as well?” Ozork asks.

Gorvor and I hand him the report, and he scans it quickly, his frown growing with every line.

“But this is completely useless,” he exclaims.

Willow gives him a quick nod. “Yes.”

“You didn’t mention any details at all.” Ozork shuffles the pages once more.

As Willow protests that shedidinclude details—only irrelevant ones—I glance at Owen. He has relaxed a tiny bit, his hands no longer clenched into fists.

From how surprised he was by Willow’s solution—to feed her uncle, the duke, only unimportant information and make it seem like she simply hasn’t noticed anything that would be truly damaging to the clan—I don’t think he knew about her plan. He looks up at me then and finds me watching him. His gaze sharpens, then he gives me a quick shake of his head.

Relief blooms inside me, washing away some of the guilt I felt earlier. Willow did not deceive Ozork, and if she did find issues with our clan’s security, she wasn’t going to expose them to thehumans. I believe her, and I trust Owen, but it’s down to Gorvor to decide what he wants to do with the lot.

He frowns at Willow. “Is the rest of your report going to be similarly entertaining?”

“I expect so.” She clenches her hands in her lap and adds, “I haven’t reported on the number of your chickens yet, or the dishes you served at your dinner party. I’m also looking forward to describing the decorations for the solstice celebration.”

“We’ll have to make them very beautiful, then,” I jump in, eager to steer this conversation into more peaceful waters. “If you’ll write about them to the Duke of Ultrup.”

Gorvor asks to keep Willow’s notes, and she agrees. I move closer to Owen, the need to touch him proving too great. He shifts slightly, and when I stop beside him, he’s the first to reach out and touch my hand. With Ozork’s attention on Willow and Gorvor, we share a short moment of peace. Owen’s relief is palpable—he must have been just as worried about the outcome of this midnight audience with the king as I have.

I give his fingers a quick squeeze, and he squeezes back. When Gorvor stands, I tug my hand away, but only because I want to return to my room with Owen as soon as possible, and I know our friends would have questions for us if they noticed us holding hands.

“Ozork, I believe Willow would enjoy a stroll to that cursed corridor,” he rumbles. “And I will enjoy some sleep—if Arvel hasn’t woken up in the meantime.” He’s nearly at the door when he turns back and fixes his stare on Willow. “I would ask you for a promise. I think you will understand once you see what Ozork will show you, but I need your promise that you will never speak of this to anyone outside our clan.”

Willow agrees immediately. “Of course, my lord. You have my word.”

“The future of our kingdom depends on it,” Gorvor warns.

Then he hands Ozork the big iron key from his belt, the one that unlocks the grate Uram and Neekar were guarding tonight.

I chew on the inside of my cheek, then grab my cousin by the arm before he can leave. “I would like to show Owen the same.”

He stares at me, his dark eyes thoughtful. I have no doubt that he’s thinking about what I told him that morning, which seems so very far away now. So much has happened since then. But now I understand he trusts me, too, as much as I trust him.

The corner of his lips twitches up, softening his grim expression. “Will you vouch for him?”

I glance at Owen, standing by my side. “Aye.”

I sense more than see Gorvor’s approval, because he puts on his regal frown again and stares at us, one after the other. “All right, is that all, or does anyone else have an emergency?” When none of us speaks, he blows out a long breath. “Thank the gods. Goodnight, everyone.”

Grabbing Owen’s wrist, I lead him over the threshold. “We’ll wait for you outside and go together,” I tell Ozork and shut the door behind us.

IfIneed a moment alone with Owen, I can only imagine what Ozork and Willow must be feeling after this terse audience with the king. I wait for my cousin’s footsteps to move away from us, then step on my tiptoes and kiss Owen on the lips, grasping his shirt. He brings his arms around my waist, returning my kiss.

“What just happened?” he asks as we pull apart. “What are you going to show us?”

“You’ll see.” I listen for any sounds of Ozork and Willow. “I’m sorry you had to go through this. And I’m very glad Willow has decided to quit her job as a spy to the Duke of Ultrup.”

Owen snorts softly. “Oh, yes. Otherwise this night would have ended much differently.”

He hugs me, his cheek resting against my temple, and lets out a long exhale that tickles my ear. I shiver in his arms, mybody remembering all the delicious things we did in my room earlier tonight.

“Your ears are so sensitive,” Owen murmurs. He presses a kiss to my earlobe, then bites down ever so gently on the pointed tip. “I love them.”

I gasp at the sensation, then bury my face in his sweet-smelling shirt. “I loveyou.”

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