Page 22 of Bound to the Orc King

He jolts, his thighs tensing into steel bands. “You heard that? I thought your magic wasn’t working.”

“It wasn’t.” I throw up my hands. “If you’ve got an instruction manual for how to use it, I’m totally down to read it.”

“Perhaps the dragons will have something,” Starfall says, dodging around a large rhododendron covered in hot-pink flowers.

“Dragons?” Excitement races through me. When I was little, Dad used to read me Chinese mythology made into children’s stories. I always liked that the dragons were good instead of “monsters to be slain” like European folktales made them out to be. “Dragons are real? Do they control rivers and oceans?”

“They are, but I haven’t heard of any fae dragons having power over water,” Aldronn says.

“They’re our historians,” the unicorn adds. “They collect and hoard all kinds of magical knowledge. If anyone knows how to use your magic, it’s them.”

“Oh.” I sit back. “I’d really hoped to meet some of the great water dragons.”

“The realms of Faerie are numerous, but they may not be all the magic that exists,” Aldronn says. “There could be other realms or magics we don’t know of.”

“You’re right.” I perk up. “I mean, if you’d asked me a couple of days ago, I’d have said Faerie was a myth, and here I am riding a talking unicorn with a fae orc! So maybe other magical places exist, too.” Earth has a lot of different magical belief systems. It’s comforting to think that all of them might be real.

And meeting any dragon, no matter the type, is seriously rad.

“Let’s go find some dragons!”

“We will,” Aldronn promises. “We’re heading to the Dular Mountains, where they make their home.”

We ride on, the two of them telling me more about this new world I find myself in. The longer we talk, the less stodgy Aldronn becomes.

My telepathy flares briefly to life, my crystal pulsing with warmth.

“I like this,”his voice echoes in my mind. It’s such a simple statement, but the feeling behind it takes my breath away. It’s full of a quiet joy that makes him feel awe—a contentment that’s clearly been missing from his life.

If I’m honest, it’s been missing from mine too.

CHAPTER TEN

Aldronn

The mate bond tugs at my chest, and there’s no denying the sexual attraction May and I share—our mutual dreams made that crystal clear.

Yet talking to her—reallytalking to her—might be my new favorite thing.

When I told her the truth of my past encounters, my moon bound didn’t judge or deem me less than kingly. She understood. She empathized.

Would other people have been as understanding if I’d given them the chance? Am I the one who’s isolated myself from any form of emotional intimacy beyond the friendship of Starfall and a few of my advisors?

Perhaps. It’s a bitter pill to swallow. I don’t like it.

Yet May doesn’t know my deeper worry. I’ve felt not a single spark of love or even strong affection for any of the women I’veencountered. Everyone else I know seems to have had at least one teen sweetheart, one object of infatuation, but not me. I’ve never told anyone about this, my darkest secret.

We stop at a creek, so Starfall can drink and I can refill the waterskins. May disappears into the underbrush, cleaning cloth in hand.

My eyes track her, and my magic spools out, searching for any hints of danger to come. Thankfully, it finds nothing.

“She’s good for you.” Starfall bats me with her horn.

I grunt and dip another waterskin beneath the surface.

“No, I mean it. You hold yourself apart.”

“It comes with the position, as you well know.” Even if I can now admit to myself that I’ve been part of the problem, the realization is too raw to say out loud.

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