Page 7 of Bound to the Orc King

The green man stands in the stirrups and jumps up, balancing on the saddle like a trick rider at a rodeo. When the unicorn runs past the pillar, the man leaps, sailing higher than any human could manage. He latches onto the gray dude’s shoulders and heaves.

They go flying backward.

The green man does a complex twist in the air, one boot lashing out to hit the rock and send him shooting in a new trajectory away from the other guy. He rolls across the moss, popping back up to his feet.

The gray dude lands flat on his back with a loud whomp, all the air expelled from his lungs. But the asshole doesn’t stay down for long. He jumps up, pulling the axe from his back and spinning to face the newcomer. A long dark bruise already shows on his back where his full weight landed on the weapon’s handle.

“Orc scum!” he yells. “This sky gift is mine.”

Okay, green guy is an orc. Check.

“You lie, ogre. The Moon Goddess summoned me.” The orc unsheathes his sword. “The human is my bride.”

We’re seriously going to have to have a talk about this bride shit, but for now, he can call me anything he likes as long as he gets gray dude away from me.

The unicorn thunders back into the clearing, chasing a scaled yellow-green horse. “Face me, kelpie!” a female voice cries out. “Feel the might of my horn!”

I gasp. Holy shit. Even the animals talk!

The kelpie wheels around, front hooves striking the air, and another female voice says, “You’ll have to get close to me to use that horn.”

Both pairs of opponents clash, and my eyes bounce back and forth, trying to take it all in. It’s like watching an action movie, and after only a few moments, my gaze locks onto the orc. He moves with the precision of a martial artist who’s trained for years, but unlike the competitions I’ve seen, none of his motions are decorative—everything is pared down to practicality.

And lethalness.

The orc blocks a fierce downward blow, sidestepping and driving the pommel of his sword into the ogre’s side.

The ogre snarls and flails with his axe. “You think that crown is going to stop me?”

“No.” The orc smirks, his lips lifting to show off his tusks. “I think myswordis going to stop you.”

A precise slice opens a black line across the ogre’s chest. Then a second on his thigh.

The kelpie screams, the sound equal parts anger and pain. She gallops past the men, and the ogre throws himself clumsily across her back, pulling himself upright using brute strength. They disappear into the trees, the unicorn pounding after them.

The orc wipes his sword clean on the moss and sheaths it. Then he walks up to the base of the stone and holds out his arms. “Jump, and I’ll catch you.”

“Will you?” I lift an eyebrow.

“Of course, I will.” He gives me an imperious stare. “I just said I would, and I’m a man of honor.”

“Yeah, well, that last guy just said a lot of things, too.” I hook a thumb toward where the ogre went. “All of it lies.”

“Jump.” It snaps out with the crack of an order.

Oh, hell no. My back bristles. Even if this guy is on the up and up, I don’tdoorders.

“What choice do you have?” He lifts his arms higher.

Dammit. He’s right. I hate it, but he’s right. I grip my crystal, wanting to know if he’s telling the truth. It warms in my hands, but I don’t hear any conflicting echoes like I did with the ogre.

“Fine,” I grit out and throw myself off the pillar.

A whoosh of wind, the plummet just long enough to make my heart race with the thrill of adrenaline.

Then strong arms snatch me out of the air, crushing me to a chest almost as hard as the stone I spent the night on. Up close, he’s even better looking, that gorgeous mouth topped by a pair of handsome dark eyes.

I take a deep breath of leather and man and the clean hint of pine. God, why does he smell so good? It’s not fair. My heart’s still racing, and it has nothing to do with the fall.

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