Page 61 of Summoning the Orc

I gasped, turning and hurrying toward the bedroom I’d shared with Rok. I yanked open my closet, shoving at the clothes there until it bared the tiny safe at the back.

My fingers shook as I struggled to use the thumbprint lock. When it opened, I grabbed the gold coins that my mate had gifted me when he’d first arrived at our home.

I raced back out of the bedroom to find everyone staring at me in shock. I shoved the coins at Tasia and she caught most of them, but two fell in a loud clatter to the floor. I ducked, struggling to pick them up in my haste before handing her those as well.

“Please,” I begged her. “Please take these and open the portal to bring him home.”

She stared down at the coins in awe before shaking her head. “I’m so sorry, but I can’t open the portal. I can only find him. My powers aren’t strong enough,” she told me with sadness pervading her voice.

The hope that had been brimming in my chest died, my entire body sagging with disappointment. She took my hands, passing the gold back to me.

“But I can find someone who can,” she said, her words getting stronger with each word. “Iknowwe can. My coven isn’t the only one in the city.”

A tentative smile spread across my lips as I gripped her hands in mine, squeezing them as the coins dropped from between our fingers. I saw Dristan wince behind her but I ignored him.

“Can you scry for him now?” I asked, fear still clogging my throat. “So I can make sure he’s safe?”

She nodded, giving me a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, we sent him back to his home,” she said in a low, soothing voice.

“His home is a feudal land where he has to fight for his life,”Dristan growled, annoyance brimming from every inch of him. “And while you fulfilled a contract, you returned him there without a single weapon.”

My heart froze in my chest the same way Tasia’s smile froze on her face.

“We hadn’t thought of that,” she gasped, shaking her head and moving to the giant dining table that we hadn’t had a chance to use yet. She shoved the place setting off, pulling a drawstring bag from her pocket. She dumped the contents to the table and they clattered as they landed.

Stones and twigs?

I moved toward it with her, my eyes moving between the junk on the table and then to her face. “This is supposed to help you find him?” I clarified, doubt filling my mind.

What the hell kind of witch is she?

She nodded, spreading the twigs and stones into a circle before holding her hand out to me. I took it with hesitation, wondering what the hell she was going to do.

“Okay, I need you to think of him. To feel your bond,” she told me, her expression focused as she lay her hand over the circle she’d made.

I jerked as I felt power thrum through her, sending a jolt of shock through me. Impressed and excited that this might work, I squeezed my eyes shut, picturing my handsome mate in my head.

His chocolate eyes, his long hair that tickled my nose at night, the way his lips curled around his prominent tusks. I loved the little bend in his nose that told me it had been broken once upon a time.

The tug of a connection in my chest let me know that whatever we were doing was working. I heard Pen gasp behind me but I struggled to focus, to do exactly what she’d told me to.

“I have him,” Tasia announced with a little laugh. “I knowwhere he is.”

My gaze snapped open and I almost pulled away from her as I saw that she was glowing, her hand over the circle pouring light onto the table. In the center of the pool, one of the stones had been pulled, floating in the middle, teetering on its edge.

After a few moments the stone fell to the table and the light disappeared. Tasia turned to grin at me, lifting the stone toward me. “This is it,” she squealed. “We have his location. All we need now is someone powerful enough to open a portal to him.”

I huffed out a relieved breath, grabbing her into a hug and jumping up and down with her. Pen joined us, and I was giddy with excitement.

We’re going to find him.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Rok

I peered over the stone wall, prodding at it to see how stable it was. It wasn’t too tall to scale, but if the witch was injured, it might be difficult to get her over it.

I spotted a warlock moving toward the building we needed to infiltrate and I ducked my head to avoid being seen. I looked back at Krusk, and saw him facing away from me, his axe up to protect me.

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