Page 39 of Fated to the Orc

My clan has outdone itself.

Through it all, I run — withherin my arms.

Evelyn clings to me, arms wrapped tightly around my shoulders as I barrel through a collapsing corridor. Guards shout behind us. Bullets crack against the walls.

“Keep your head down,” I growl, shielding her body with my own as I round a corner and take the stairs two at a time.

They will not take her from me again.

We burst through a door. For the first time in a long time, air, proper Xavrosairhits me. It’s glorious.

The endless sky stretches overhead, filled with stars. Freedom is so close I can taste it.

Orcs roar somewhere nearby A human transport shuttle waits near the edge of the launch pad, humming with power.

I spot Garomshir there, waving at me, his massive frame barely fitting inside the thing.

That’s our exit.

I rush towards it and only when we reach the platform do I set Evelyn down.

“We made it,” she says.

“Not yet,” I say. “But you are with me — and I do not lose what is mine.”

“Warlord,” Garomshir says. “Took you long enough.”

Evelyn and I scramble into the shuttle as another explosion rocks the compound. Debris falls from a nearby roof. Alarms scream behind us.

The doors seal behind us. The engines ignite. And just like that, we aregone.

Evelyn collapses into the seat next to me, finally letting out a deep breath. I wrap an arm around her and pull her close, and her soft frame melts into me.

“What now?” she asks.

I rest my chin on her head and inhale the scent of her hair.

“Now,” I say, “we gohome.”

Epilogue

EVELYN

It’s beenfour months since we escaped. Four months since the fire, the blood, the running. Four months since Varkul carried me into the jungle and never looked back.

TheOrc-Human Fertility Clinicis gone. Reduced to rubble and smoke. The total destruction of the research compound was a devastating blow to the human occupation of these orc lands. It’s slowed the humans down, scattered their efforts.

For now.

They still control the skies. They will regroup and rebuild. Dr. Kelly is looking for us — forme— but he’ll never find me. Not here, hidden deep within the ancient heart of Xavros.

No one knows these jungles as well as the orcs do.

I’m safe. And, I’m not alone.

I place on my hand on my belly, on the slight curve beneath the woven fabric of my tunic. It’s still early days, but it’s real. Growing.Alive.

I’m carrying Varkul’s baby.

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