Page 11 of Bound to the Orc King

His grip loosens enough that I slide down his body, my coral T-shirt sliding up to expose my stomach.

As soon as I’m free of his arms, I jerk the fabric back into place, tucking the front into my stretchy skinny jeans. I know they’re not exactly fashionable these days, but when you’re stuck in a spine-crushingly tiny economy seat on an airplane for over ten hours, spandex is your friend.

“I have a name. It’s May.”

“I am Aldronn,KingAldronn of the orcs of Alarria.” He emphasizes the word, as if anyone could miss the fact that he wears a damned crown. Up close, it’s more interesting than I expected, the gold peaks worked into a design that resembles branches. How the hell did it stay on during the fight and jumping and rolling?

He strides over to the pillar of rock and presses both palms to it. “I wish to read May’s mind.”

“Do what now?” That’s the last thing I need!

Ignoring my question, he repeats his request multiple times, squinting at me, his lips pursed like he’s straining. Then his hands drop. “It’s no use. The Moon Goddess has gifted this magic to only you.”

“Moon Goddess?” Anger flashes through me. “You mean that bright ball of silver that tried to pretend to be my mother?”

He frowns. “She is the goddess of Alarria and has been for at least three-hundred years.”

“Yeah, well, if you like her so much, you can go and free her. Leave me out of it.”

He steps toward me, an aura of command rolling off him. “Explain.”

“She told me to find her and free her.” I huff. “As if I’d be happy to help someone who pretended to be my mother.” The ache of losing Mom feels raw all over again, and I rub at my bare arms.

“You could understand the goddess?”

“Uh, sure? Kind of hard not to with her bellowing ‘find me, free me’ over and over at top volume.”

“Amazing.” His tone rings with reverence. For me or for his goddess? “No one’s ever been able to understand her celestial language. It must be related to your witch powers.”

“Lucky me,” I mutter.

“Lucky you,” he says, without any of the sarcasm I put into the words. Then his brow furrows. “Wait. Did you say free her? What does that mean?”

“How should I know?” I spread my hands wide. “She’s your goddess.”

The unicorn trots into the clearing, the tip of her horn stained green. “The ogre and kelpie are gone for now.”

She’s even bigger than she seemed from the top of the rock. They both are, towering over my five-and-a-half feet.

“I’m May.” I give a little wave.

“I’m Starfall.” She tosses her head, flicking her silver mane, then steps close to snuffle at my hair.

I pet her neck, a thrill running through me. It’s pretty freaking awesome to meet a talking unicorn. But all of this raises a shit ton of questions.

“Okay, so where am I?” I crane my neck, seeing nothing but pine trees. “How far away is Ferndale Falls?” When my friends said my small town had gotten interesting, I never imagined any of this. I eye Aldronn. Is he one of the two-dicked guys? My thighs clench at the thought. Fuck. As if he needed to be any hotter.

The unicorn and the orc share a look.

Then Aldronn says, “You’re not on Earth any longer. You’re in Faerie.”

“What?” My heart skips in shock. Is he telling the truth? I grip my crystal, straining with everything I have to read his mind. But the pendant remains cool in my palm, and nothing comes to me. Why the hell do I have this new power if I can’t use it when I want to? “Are you for real? This is Faerie?”

He scowls. “As I told you before, I am an honorable man. I do not lie.”

All the fairy tales Mom used to tell me fill my mind. Her face lit up every time she described the wonders of Faerie. It hadbeen her ultimate dream, the one place all of her traveling could never take her.

I always thought I inherited my wanderlust from her, but what if the reason she and I both traveled so much on Earth was because a part of us searched for this place? Aldronn might be grumpy and bossy—and I sure as shit didn’t marry him—but if he can help me live Mom’s dream…

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