Page 13 of Orc's Forbidden Claim

The Al’fa slaps his tail on the ground rapidly then shakes his head.

“We need all hands,” he says. “The… Urr’ki,” he hesitates before using our proper name, “know their people. I need them to help us find where else they might have tunneled past our defenses.”

I growl and just over from me, the Zmaj I punched does too.

“I will stay and help,” Dilacs says, jerking my attention to him.

“Brother!” I exclaim in our language.

“I know,” he says. “But this is the only way. He is right, we need to know where else they have managed to tunnel into. Do you think these unobservant lizards will ever find all the tunnels? They can barely find their tails with both hands.”

I frown, shaking my head, because he’s right. Queen Rani watches the two of us and then nods when she sees both understanding and agreement.

“Does that satisfy your needs, Al’fa?” Queen Rani asks.

“I am going too,” Sek’su says loudly. “They took my treasure. I will destroy every one of them.”

“Sek’su,” the Al’fa says, speaking softly, which somehow makes him seem dangerous for the first time. “You will do as you are ordered.”

Sek’su growls. His wings rustle and his tail slaps the floor in rapid-fire. He’s breathing heavily and shaking his head while balling his hands into fists. I watch, waiting for him to explode.

“My treasure,” he says.

Treasure. The Zmaj equivalent of dragoste, though it doesn’t encompass nearly as much as dragoste. How can you own your love? Treasure, as if you might put her on a shelf and lock her away. Another ridiculous lizard concept.

“Al’fa,” milky eye says. “It is his treasure. He should be part of the team.”

The Al’fa narrows his eyes, takes a deep breath, and holds it. I think, for a moment, he is going to say ‘no’ just to spite Sek’su. I watch, curious, how can they follow a leader who would act this way? But no, the Al’fa lets the breath out in a sharp exhale and nods.

“Yes,” he says. “You will go. The two of you. That is all I can spare.”

“What?” Sek’su and I exclaim as one.

We look at each other, shaking our heads as one before turning to protest to our leaders. Queen Rani smiles and nods, placing her hand on my forearm before I can protest. Dilacs snickers so I punch him in the side making him grunt with pain.

I missed what happened with Sek’su, but he is glaring at me with narrowed eyes and a clenched jaw. Looking at him all I can think is how much I hate him. His smug look. The stupid tan of his scales. The smirk of his lips. I want to beat him until that smirk is gone forever.

But if I am to save my dragoste, I have no choice. All they will send with me is him. I would be much happier with my brother at my side, but he is right too. The lizards will never find the signs of tunnels without him which means the entire compound is at risk. And they will not mount a force to take out the Shaman until their compound is safe.

I am caught between a figurative rock and a cave-in. Resolving myself to the situation, I walk over to Sek’su. He’s a head taller than I am as well as a little broader in the shoulders. I look him over slowly, carefully, until our eyes meet. I thrust my hand out between us. He stares at it. I wait.

Finally, he grasps my hand by the wrist, like a warrior, and we shake.

I am coming for you, Saylor. Even if it means having to work with this dim-witted lizard, I will find you. I will save you. And I will kill anyone who has laid a finger on you.

9

SAYLOR

My head bangs against a low-hanging part of the ceiling. Stars dance across my eyes and I’m pretty sure I black out for a moment or two. Tears fill my eyes, but I grit my teeth and take pride in the fact that I don’t cry out despite how much it hurts. Our captors seem to enjoy our pain and I’m not going to give them the satisfaction if I can avoid it.

I don’t know how long we’ve been traveling. Time has lost all meaning as they continue to drag us along the tight tunnel. I wonder if Khiara is looking for me. He must be, right? He’ll come for me and Sek’su will come for Wren. It’s only a matter of when not if. It must be. Yet the further we move away from the compound, the longer we’re in these monsters’ grasp, the harder it becomes to hold on to hope.

My clothes are torn from the rough treatment of being dragged along the rough cut stone. Instead of getting wider or nicer, the tunnel has gotten tighter the further along we’ve traveled. The Urr’ki are crawling without enough room to even rise. The one pulling me along moves ahead a foot or two, stops and drags me up even, and then repeats the process. It has made for veryslow progress, which is good. I’m in no hurry to get where they are taking us. I’ve heard enough about the Shaman and his adherents. The horrors they do to their captors, even to his people. It would be almost comical if it wasn’t so deadly serious and real.

The Urr’ki ahead of us grunts something in their language and everyone stops. I try to see what is happening but the one dragging me blocks my view. I hear them shifting and shuffling around then I’m drug forward. Suddenly the ground is gone and I’m falling.

“Ah!” I cry out as my stomach drops faster than my body.

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