Page 29 of Bound to the Orc King

Cradling May to my chest, I slide from my friend’s back. I sink down onto the moss-covered ground, holding my moon bound on my lap.

Her face twists with pain, her hands still fisted in the hair at her temples, her entire body locked tight with tension.

I’ve never felt so helpless in my entire life, and I hate it.

Starfall meets my desperate gaze and shakes her head, not knowing what to do either.

“Have you ever heard of the Moon Goddess appearing during the day?” I whisper.

“Never.” Starfall’s tone turns hard. “I’ve also never heard of her attacking anyone before.”

“Why my bride?” I scowl. “Why May?”

Starfall shakes her head again.

I turn my attention back to my bride, whose muscles remain coiled and hard. The only idea I can think of is a callback to the last time anyone ever comforted me. I rock May gently back and forth, humming the tune my mother always sang when I was young. Continuing to hold my moon bound with one arm, I use the other hand to gently unclench her fingers. Then I smooth her hair, running my fingers through it, slow and steady.

Bit by bit, her muscles relax until she melts against me, her face smoothing to sadness.

I press a kiss to the top of her head and continue to hold her until she stirs.

“The goddess attacked to keep me from going south.” May draws in a shaky inhale. “I can’t go in that direction. She won’t let me. She says it’s the wrong way.”

“The wrong way to what?” I ask softly.

“The wrong way to find her.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

May

My head pounds, lingering flashes of too-bright lightning flickering across my vision like afterimages. Is this what a migraine’s like? It sucks. And it’s not the only thing.

“Your goddess sucks,” I mutter.

“I’m assuming that’s a pejorative of some kind?” Aldronn keeps stroking his fingers through my hair, and I never want him to stop. “I have to agree.”

“What did she say?” Starfall asks, leaning close to nuzzle my forehead, her touch amazingly gentle.

“She didn’tsayanything—she fucking yelled.” I wag a finger and adopt a commanding, strident voice: “‘You dare to defy me! You go the wrong way!’” My hand falls back to my lap. “I questioned why I should help her after she lied to me, and her voice got even louder, ringing through my entire body until my bones vibrated.” I rub at my arms and snuggle closer to Aldronn.

“You fell quiet.” Aldronn’s worried gaze searches my face. “Then you started screaming.”

“When I couldn’t talk anymore, I switched to telepathy. I tried to explain that we needed to go south to meet the dragons and the others who could help, but she wouldn’t listen and yelled louder and louder. She kept repeating, ‘Find me! Free me! Find me! Free me!’ The pain didn’t let up until we turned around and went back in the direction she wanted.”

“And then she disappeared,” Starfall says.

“Yeah, but not before bellowing one last world-shattering, ‘FIND ME! FREE ME!’” Pain spears my temple, and I wince. Yelling right now is a colossally bad idea.

“We’ve always known we have a capricious goddess,” Aldronn says. “As apt to drop sky gifts that help as those that harm, but I’ve never heard of her directly hurting someone before.”

“I haven’t either,” Starfall says.

“Lucky me,” I mutter.

“There’s only one answer to our problem.” His voice rings with command. “Starfall, you must go and bring Naomi here. Once she’s familiar with the spot, she can teleport the rest.”

“Yes,” the unicorn says.

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