Page 17 of X'nath

I didn’t have time to react. In the blink of an eye, she thrust her hand out toward me, the air around her crackling with dark energy. My body froze, the pressure building in the air like a storm ready to break. But before the magic could strike, I heard a roar—loud, primal, and furious.

With an earth-shaking crash, X’nath exploded from the brush behind her. His massive form collided with the crone in a blur of motion, his strength and fury taking her completely by surprise. They hit the ground with a deafening thud, and for a moment, everything was still.

I staggered back, my heart racing, as X’nath pinned her down with a savage growl, his hands wrapping around her throat. Hisweight crushed her to the earth as she struggled beneath him, face deep into the swamp’s squelching mud. She struggled to breathe, but every time she did, he grabbed the back of her hair and slammed it deeper into the mud. X’nath was like nothing I had ever seen. He was wrath incarnate and she was no match for his power. The dark magic she’d been wielding faltered, crackling in erratic bursts that barely made it past X’nath’s raw force.

“Did you thinkIwould let you hurt her?” X’nath spat, his voice a guttural growl that sent a shiver down my spine. He pressed down harder, his hands tightening around her neck.

The crone screeched in fury, her hands clawing at his arms, slipping because of the mud but she was weakening. The magic around her flickered and dimmed as her focus wavered under his relentless assault.

I stood there, heart still pounding in my chest, watching the scene unfold before me. For a moment, it felt like time itself had frozen—like we were caught in some strange, otherworldly stasis. But the battle around us was still raging. The orcs fought with renewed fury, and the creatures they had been fighting pressed forward in the direction of their master, but now, they were less of a threat. With their attention stolen by the crone, they became easier to kill from behind. They began to scatter, confused by the sudden change in the tides.

I felt a rush of relief, but it was short-lived. There was still danger—still so much left to survive. But with the crone finally vulnerable, I knew that the tide was beginning to turn in our favor.

And for the first time since we’d entered this cursed swamp, I felt the flicker of hope ignite in my chest. We might just survive this after all.

X’nath’s face morphed into one I didn’t recognize, his eyes wild, his sneer vicious as he pulled the crone’s head back andwhispered, “The swamp remembers. It hungers. And right now, I want nothing more than your death, old crone for what you dared.”

The twist and crack of her neck was followed by her banshee-like howls of pain. My face paled as I covered my mouth with a shaky hand, the other still gripped tightly on the pistol. But X’nath wasn’t done yet. With his axe firmly gripped in both hands, he pulled it back and swung it down with such speed and force, blood sprayed as his blade cleaved the crone’s skull in half with another loud crack.

The creatures around us moaned in agony as they all began to fall one by one.

X’nath jerked his axe back once more and swung it down a second time, his face coated in crimson as brain matter mixed with the mud from the swamp from the impact of his hit. His body shuddered before he slowly got to his feet, the men around him looking at him with pride.

I wasn’t sure if I should feel disgusted or grateful—and at that moment, I felt both. I had never doubted the orcs’ ability to destroy, and now, they had proven it to all of us. My suspicions should’ve skyrocketed, but instead, X’nath’s words kept echoing in my mind:“Did you think I would let you hurt her?”

No, apparently he didn’t.

But it still didn’t mean he wouldn’t hurt me.

10

Trust in the Muck

X’NATH

The battle had ended, but the weight of it still lingered in the air. We had survived. More than that, we had protected the women. That fact sat heavily on our shoulders, a pride swelled within me. We had all fought fiercely, and though we were battered and exhausted, we had come through it.

Greag slapped me on the back, making me grunt from the force of the hit. “Well, that went better than I expected,” he said, grinning.

I chuckled, wiping sweat and blood from my brow. “You always expect the worst, old friend. Good thing we’re notalwaysfacing the worst, eh?”

"Don't curse us, X’nath," Gorruk grumbled, adjusting his weapons with a grunt. "I’m too tired to fight another battle today."

Vakgar snorted from the front of the group, his voice booming through the swamp. "At least therealbattle's over. Now we just need to keep these girls safe. Or else we’ll be in trouble with X’nath."

I raised an eyebrow, a smirk tugging at the corner of my mouth. “You think they’ll bethatmuch trouble, Vakgar?”

“Oh, I know they will,” he said, winking back. “Especially when you’re around.”

Gorruk let out a deep chuckle. “Ah,X’nath,the charmer. Always so full of himself.”

I grinned and turned to watch the women. They walked in a tight huddle, their faces wary, eyes darting around as if expecting something to jump out from the swamp at any moment. Some of them glanced at us nervously, clearly still unsure whether to trust us, but the tension in their posture was starting to loosen, just a little. They weren’t as scared as before, though I could tell they were still on edge.

But then there was Gracie. She was different. She didn’t flinch when the swamp’s murky waters sloshed around her ankles, didn’t hesitate when the brush grew thicker. Watching her fight earlier had been a strange mix of admirable and... well, attractive. She moved with purpose, not just in battle, but in everything she did. Her confidence in her every step, even when she was under fire, made something inside me stir. It wasn’t just her strength—it was how she carried herself through all of this.

I couldn’t quite explain why, but that made her stand out, even in a group of strong-willed women. She had the fire of someone who had already survived too much. And as much as I hated to admit it, that made her all the more... interesting.

I had chosen well.

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