Page 36 of Bound to the Orc King

“Magic and physics aren’t besties,” I say. “Good to know.”

The kelpie stops at the edge of the pond, her yellow-green scales shining with wetness, her seaweed mane dampened to darkness.

“Little human.” The ogre smiles at me as he dismounts, but it’s the creepy kind of smile that promises nothing good. His black eyes are completely empty of compassion. “There’s no one to save you this time.”

I scramble to my feet. Headache be damned. I grab my crystal and let out a telepathic yell.“Aldronn!”

Pain lances my forehead right as a high cry comes from the top of the waterfall, the one I heard before. Translucent shapes body surf down its face, screaming as they come, “You will leave our new friend alone! You will dance with us, water horse!”

The water nymphs slow when they reach the pond, visibly swimming instead of propelled by the water. But that doesn’t stop them. They surround the kelpie, water foam fingers grasping and tugging as they leap at her.

“Dance, dance, dance!” they shriek. This “dance” is a long way from playful, the movements pulling the kelpie down into the water.

The large fae lets out an angry whinny and half runs, half swims across the wide pond, her movements slower now that her legs are submerged. Nymphs cling to her mane and tail, pulling her even deeper as they enter the narrowing channel of the river again.

Shock ripples through me as they disappear, the river curving behind trees. I met the nymphs only that one time farther upstream, and they did this for me?

The ogre grunts and turns back to me, leering with meanness as he climbs out of the pond.

Dammit. For all their help, I’m still in the shit. Why can’t I have a rad power that will let me protect myself? Something likeflying or super strength? Super strength would be really damned handy about now.

Running won’t do any good. He’s tall as hell. He’ll be on me in a second.

He makes a halfhearted grab, and I dodge under it, coming right to the edge of the water. He laughs. “Stupid human, you just trapped yourself.”

My teeth grind. I hate being laughed at. And he’s totally wrong.

“I’m not the one who made a mistake, asshole.” I leap forward, arms outstretched in a perfect dive. The pond is really deep close to the falls, and I hit the cool water in a splash, completely submerged in a second. I swim with everything I’ve got, battling toward the waterfall.

The ogre’s huge, and all that muscle looks dense as rocks. I sure as shit hope that means he’s a crap swimmer.

My lungs burn, demanding air as I fight my way forward against the current. Turbulence churns the water around me into a milky froth, impossible to see through. I force myself to stay under and keep moving forward. This only works if the ogre doesn’t see where I went.

My arms get heavy—so freaking heavy—and the need to breathe makes my teeth ache, I’m clenching my jaw and fighting it so hard. Each kick of my legs seems to move me barely an inch, but I have to keep going.

Yes! My extended fingers brush rock. I kick harder, plastering my body to the cliff face and raising my head, moving until I find a thin sliver of open air behind the solid curtain of water. It’s an old trick kids do in the waterfall back home—use the falling water to hide from parents or a friend and then jump out at them. I sure as shit hope it fools the ogre.

I have to buy Aldronn time to get here.

It’s my only shot.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Aldronn

I shake the short tree until ripe hazelnuts fall around me like benevolent hail, several bouncing off my head and shoulders. Crouching, I scoop the orange-brown nuts into a leather bag, where they fill in all the gaps between the larger potatoes. The way May’s mouth moved when she said they were her favorite haunts my mind, as does the sparkle in her eyes. Goddess, I wanted to kiss her, to bear her down to the moss and show my bride her new favorite thing—my stud, turning into what she’ll most desire.

The heated imaginings shatter when my magic twists through me, icing my spine with a feeling of horrible premonition. My bride is in danger!

I’m up and running without any conscious thought, feet pounding against the needle-covered ground. There’s no time for stealth.

A fallen tree blocks my way, and I leap over it, my landing graceful until May’s anguished voice screams in my mind.“Aldronn!”

I go blind for a moment and crash to my knees. “May!” I roar, the word ripping my throat raw.

Then there’s nothing but running, the blood pounding through my veins, my breaths quick and deep.

A hare darts from under a rhododendron, almost tripping me in its panicked-fueled flight. Birds scatter before me, their angry squawks filling the air with the same sense of dread I feel.

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