Page 26 of The Orc's Promised Bride

She looked at him, then back down at her cup.

“I’m looking for answers. About how I got here, why I’m here.”

Jessamin nodded slowly, then set down her tea and turned to him.

“Would you give us some privacy? You can stand guard outside if you wish.”

Every instinct screamed at him to refuse. His jaw clenched at the thought of leaving her alone, especially after the incident with the guards. But she looked at Jessamin, then patted his hand.

“It’s all right. I’ll be fine.”

He searched her face, but she looked calm rather than afraid. That didn’t make it any easier to rise.

“I’ll be right outside the door,” he promised gruffly. “Call me if you need anything.”

She nodded, her smile helping soothe his protective urges. He still had to force himself to walk to the door, and the soft click of the latch behind him rang in his ears.

He took up position beside the door, arms crossed, muscles tense. The murmur of female voices drifted through the wood, too muffled to make out words. He tried not to think about what they might be discussing, focusing instead on scanning the hallway for potential threats. No one would get past him to harm her.

CHAPTER 14

Jana watched Jessamin’s elegant movements as she prepared a second cup of tea, each gesture precise and practiced. She looked human enough, with pale skin, long dark hair, and very blue eyes. In some way that was even more disorienting than the orcs - that someone should be so human and yet not be of her world.

She took a deep breath and let the peaceful atmosphere of the room seep into her bones. Sunlight cast patterns on the stone floor and the aroma of the tea filled the air - familiar yet exotic, like so many things in this world. Jessamin poured the steaming liquid into delicate porcelain cups adorned with painted flowers and handed her one before studying her over its rim. Those clear blue eyes seemed to see straight through her.

“What answers do you seek?”

The direct question caught her off guard. She wrapped her hands around her warm cup, drawing comfort from its heat. The past days with Lothar had been both wonderful and confusing, but they hadn’t addressed the fundamental mystery of her arrival.She took a steadying breath, the warmth of the teacup anchoring her.

“I’m not from this world at all. I lived in a place called South Carolina, on a planet called Earth.” The words felt strange coming out of her mouth, but Jessamin’s serene expression didn’t waver. “I don’t know how I got here. To this… world,” she added. “Or why. One moment I was in my workshop during a storm, the next I woke up naked in the forest.”

She paused, remembering the disorientation and fear of that moment.

“I have this feeling that someone asked me something important, but I can’t remember what it was or what I answered. I need to understand why I’m here. If there’s a purpose to all this, or if it was just some strange accident. Lothar told me his people sometimes pray to the Old Gods for help, that another woman came here that way.” She traced the rim of her cup with one finger. “But he said no one prayed for me.”

The admission stung more than she wanted to acknowledge. If no one had asked for her, why was she here? What cruel cosmic joke had stripped her of everything familiar and dropped her naked in a foreign forest?

“My people worship different deities to the people of Norhaven, but I believe that gods work in mysterious ways.” Jessamin hesitated, frowning down at her tea cup. “And lately I’ve been wondering about divine intervention myself. My father has always been… inflexible in his beliefs. Yet he suddenly agreed to this marriage alliance with King Ulric. It was most unexpected.”

“And unwelcome?” she asked quietly.

“It is my duty to obey my father.”

It was not an answer, but she didn’t press it, waiting silently for Jessamin to continue.

“My father leads our people, but he fears High King Lasseran’s growing influence. The role of High King was necessitated by war. Now there is no war, but Lasseran still seeks to extend his power. We need strong allies to maintain our independence.” Jessamin paused, her blue eyes distant. “That’s why my father agreed to the marriage alliance with Ulric, even though there were… stories about the orcs. Terrible rumors that made him doubt. I wondered what gave him the final push to agree.”

“Were the rumors true?” she asked, though she suspected she already knew the answer.

Jessamin immediately shook her head.

“No. The orcs are different from my people, yes, but they are honorable. I believe Ulric is a good male.” The other woman’s voice softened on the king’s name, pink tinging her cheeks. “Still, it’s not easy beginning a marriage this way - bound by duty rather than choice, surrounded by whispers and doubts.”

She knew all too well the horrors of an arranged marriage, but Jessamin didn’t seem afraid of Ulric. Hesitant perhaps, but not scared.

“Are you happy? With Ulric, I mean?”

The question popped out before she could help herself. Jessamin smoothed her skirts, not looking at her.

---