Page 19 of Claimed By the Orc Emperor

“No. They cannot inherit the throne because they are not of my dam and sire’s bloodline. My mother and father were only together to produce an heir, me. My father had mistresses and those unions produced Mahk and Nash. It was not uncommon for emperors to be with others, but whatwasuncommon was giving a child born outside the royal mating royal positions. It was not a very popular decision, but my father loved his sons and wanted them to be royalty as he was.”

“That’s sweet and very honorable. Were your parents at least…happy? With him…cheating and all?”

“Oh yes. They were best friends until the day my mother died. They were not in love, however.”

A relieved look crosses Rainn’s face. Most emperors do not love their mates, only paired to produce a strong heir. I was lucky that my dam and sire were friends, getting along well in private, when they did not have to keep up pretenses of undying love for the kingdom. The only blight in their relationship was the kingdom knowing my sire had mistresses. They’d assumed, but Nash and Mahk were the proof.

Like my father, my mother loved my brothers too. They were always welcome in the palace, staying weeks at a time with us whenever they wanted. It was not a decision that endeared subjects to my father, but he did not care. He refused to turn his back on his children. My father was a flawed man, thinking more with his emotions than logic, but he was fair and a good father. His legacy to this kingdom is extremely complicated.

“So,” Rainn says, pushing food around on his plate, “your brother, the lord, doesn’t want to be a lord, and your other brother likes to kill people?”

My lips twitch as I say, “Yes, exactly.”

“I’d love to meet them.”

“You will. At least Mahk. He visits court often, mostly to ensure he does not have any duties from me. You also have a brother, correct?”

Rainn scowls. “Yes. Though I haven’t talked to him in years.”

“Why? I cannot imagine not speaking to Nash and Mahk for years. We may not live near each other, but we are close.”

He sighs, a shadow crossing his face. “So, I’m really smart, right? And I’m not saying it to be funny or full of myself, it’s a fact. I skipped the seventh grade and could have gone to high school at twelve, but my mother wanted me to have a semblance of a childhood. My brother is smarter. He went to college at sixteen, medical school at twenty, and became a cardiothoracic surgeon by the time he was thirty-three.”

“What is a cardeeoh…surgeon?” I cannot remember the word he said, though I am hanging on to every syllable that leaves his lips.

“A heart surgeon, mostly, but they work on everything in the chest. The esophagus, the heart, the lungs, and any other part of the chest that needs operating on. He’s smart and he knows it. He likes being smart and ahead of his peers. We are like night and day. I was shy, but more of a people person than him. He liked school, liked learning, but didn’t like people and would have much rather had been homeschooled. I never liked school. I was more interested in working outside, in nature, you know?” I nod, though I am not sure. Orcs choose their occupations mostly based on their skills in magic, but not always. We are free to take whatever path we wish. Unless you are born to the throne, like me.

Rainn continues. “When I quit my job as a human resource manager when I was twenty-six—something he’d already said that was beneath me—to become an author, he told me I no longer fit in the life he’d made for himself. That when I got my act together and got a job that reflected my standing in society as a genius, I could contact him again. I haven’t talked to him since.”

A growl leaves my lips as I think about his brother not wanting to talk to him because of some rule his society put on him. “What about doing what makes you happy? Why is that not enough?”

Rainn shrugs, not looking too upset. “Who knows? My mother loved that I did what made me happy. She knew I liked to do my own thing and never made me feel bad about it. My brother is just a dick.”

“Knew?” I ask, though I know in my heart what him using the past tense means. It is how I speak of my dam.

Now Rainn’s face looks drawn and hurt shines clearly from his eyes. He sets his fork down as if he has lost his appetite. “She died some time ago. She was…the best.” His voice cracks on the last word and my heart goes out to him.

I rest a hand on his, offering him my condolences through touch.“I am sorry. I understand your pain. My dam died when I was fifty. Though the pain of loss becomes bearable, it does not get any easier.”

“No, it doesn’t. What about your father? He had to have passed away if you are the emperor. What happened to him, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“I do not mind.” I pause to collect my words. “He died only fifteen years ago. Though I loved him, he made a very foolish decision based on anger, hunting down a tribe of ogres that were causing no harm to us or our kingdom. He was struck in the chest with an axe and our healers could not save him.”

“Jesus, Axum. I’m so sorry to hear that. Are you okay?”

No one has asked me that before and it does funny things to my heart. “I am, sweet Rainn. Thank you for asking.”

“Do you miss him?”

That is a hard question to answer. My father was a good orc, but not an extremely adept emperor. His lessons have only stuck with me in his death so I do not make the same mistakes that he did. But I was not trained for my role as I should have been. If not for my sire’s advisors, I may not have been prepared at all.

“I miss him as a father, but not as an emperor. I wish…I wish we had spent more time together while he was teaching me for my position, but I enjoyed the time we spent together as father and son. Our relationship was…complicated.” I flick my eyes up to his. “What of your father? Is he…?”

“He passed away before I was born. I never met him. My mother and others told me he was a good man, though. So I had two good parents, though I only met one.”

“I am sorry, sweet Rainn.”

He nods, then purses his lips. “Enough with the sad stuff. Can we go out for a walk? I’m not really dressed to go far, but I’d like some fresh air.”

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