Page 34 of Orc's Forbidden Claim

I give the lantern back to Sek’su and then point at the section of the wall where the wire should be. He nods understanding, then his hand goes to the lantern hood, and he moves to slide it open. I stop him by putting my hand over his and shaking my head. There is a very good chance that a patrol is not far away, possibly waiting in ambush for us.

It takes me too long to spot the wire. Whoever did this is good. Very good. That does not bode well for us. The last thing I want is to put Saylor at risk and no matter my skill or determination a fight is always a risk. Only a fool thinks otherwise.

I follow the wire up to the ceiling and see the trigger. It’s close to the ceiling. The urge to hurry up is strong. The longer we are in this main tunnel, this close to my home, we are at risk. Rushing is exactly the wrong thing to do, so I take a deep breath and hold it while clenching and unclenching my hands.

A hand presses into the small of my back. A tiny, perfect hand that I know the moment it makes contact without needing to look. Saylor has silently come to stand behind me and is giving me her support. I feel her love in her touch as if it is a warming energy that flows into my body to feed my soul.

I let out my breath slowly and with it goes the tension, replaced by the calm and certainty that her touch, her love brings. Ready, I return my gaze to the trigger. And I see it. If I had rushed, I would have missed it. The obvious trigger is a dummy, the real one is better hidden.

Understanding the trap now it is an easy matter to disarm it. Remaining silent, I turn to look at Saylor. My heart speeds up. The soft light of the lantern illuminates her features while casting half her face into dancing shadows.

Her eyes shine like a pool illuminated by silvery moonlight. I touch her face, trailing my fingers over her soft skin. My cock stiffens at the touch and for a moment there is only us. The others and the danger are gone. It is us, in our world, and together we are perfect.

There is no time for this and no matter how much I want to stay like this with her, protecting her is more important. I move my hand to her shoulder and point behind Sek’su with my free one. She nods and returns to her place of relative safety.

I watch until she stops next to Wrenlee, then force myself to turn, and face the empty tunnel. I disarm the trap and do not see any further tricks or a secondary trap, but there is always the chance I missed it. I take a slow step forward with all my senses on high alert, looking for the slightest hint that anything is wrong.

I commit my weight to the first step with as much care as I can manage. Nothing happens. I pause, letting my heart rate settle, then take the next step. I repeat this for twelve steps before feeling certain I did not miss anything.

Turning back to the others I raise my hand to motion them forward, then I hear it.

23

SAYLOR

Khiara moves cautiously ahead. I can barely take a breath watching. Anticipation and fear make my heart race, exacerbated by the care he is taking with every single step. There cannot possibly be a doubt that he’s worried he missed something.

Wren takes my hand in hers and squeezes tight. Sek’su’s tail makes a rasping sound as the tip twitches on the tunnel floor. My heart is in my throat making it hard to swallow. I stare into the dimness ahead without blinking.

Finally, after what feels like an hour at least, he turns and raises his hand. I let out a sharp exhale of relief. Sek’su takes a step forward but then we all see Khiara freeze. His lips turn down into a frown, his tusks quiver, and he looks behind himself. An instant later he disappears into the dark.

I bite down to keep myself from crying out, clipping my tongue as I do. Coppery blood fills my mouth and all I can do is swallow it and remain silent in my place while waiting. Sek’su looks at Wren and me. He motions with his hand that we should wait. Both of us nod understanding.

Where would we go anyway? The way back is blocked and there is clearly danger ahead but still, it’s an act of caring, so I take it for what it is, after my snarky thoughts. I need to be a nicer person.

Sek’su is surprisingly quiet for such a big guy. He keeps his tail lifted off the ground as he too disappears beyond the small pool of light cast by the mostly hooded lantern. Wren and I are left alone, waiting, hoping, and for my part praying to anyone and anything that might listen or help.

The seconds drag past without any hint of what is happening. Fears dance across my thoughts like skeletons performing a ballet. There is a strange, uncanny depth to my fear. Something is happening. Has been since I was trapped. Since I saw… I can’t grasp it. I know I saw something but all I have is broken fragments that make no sense.

Whatever I saw, dreamed, or whatever, since that happened, something is different. My imagination is in overdrive, I guess. I don’t know, because I’ve never been this way before. I wonder if this is what it’s like to be an artist. To see things so vividly in your head, things that aren’t real, or can’t possibly be.

I don’t like it. The fears push in but now they’re not ambiguous ideas or thoughts. No, they come now with a full-on, three-dimensional vid of late Earth quality. The vids that project into the room and make you feel like you’re in the scene. I never cared for those but some of the girls did so I’d occasionally have to in order to get along.

I never knew why I didn’t like them but now I do. I couldn’t figure it out before because though the story might make me think I cared about the characters I didn’t really. Not like this. This is my life. The real thing now and this is not okay. How amI supposed to be okay knowing he’s out there and maybe, for all I know, hurt? Dead? Especially when not only am I worrying about those things, but I’m also seeing it in my head every bit as real as if it’s already happened.

I suppress a sob but there is nothing I can do about the tears rolling down my cheeks. He has to be okay. Is this what love is? Being terrified every time your one leaves your sight? Surely this isn’t normal. How does anyone deal with this?

Wren wipes away my tears and then cups my face. She leans in close and kisses my forehead then wraps her arms around my neck. I cling to her as my lifeline. A connection to the world outside the horrific visions playing in my head.

We jerk apart when the scream reaches us.

24

KHIARA

Irecognized the almost imperceptible rustling sound. I pull the blade from my waist and proceed in a crouch down the tunnel. If it is what I think it is, this is going to be difficult. The darkness will be the creature’s ally much more than mine.

The tunnel curves left and then makes a sharp right. I move close to the wall and proceed with my back pressed to it until I reach the corner. No matter how hard I’ve strained my ears for any further hints of what I’m hunting, there is nothing but silence.

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