Page 30 of Claimed By the Orc Emperor

“We do not have a healer,” one says, looking apologetic as he climbs off one of the animals, “but our Rhipponek are fast and sure-footed. They shall carry you to your palace with haste, Your Highness.”

“Thank you for your assistance. We shall return them at our earliest convenience,” I promise them. The people that live here need these animals for transportation. They are too isolated not to have them.

“It is our pleasure to assist you, sire.”

They assist in strapping Larek to the back of one of the large animals, arranging my tunic better to his wound to help control the bleeding.

After they bow and I thank them once more, we take off down the road, hurrying to get Larek back to safety and the arms of his mate.

I cannot wait to sink into the arms of my own.

ChapterEleven

Rainn

Axum adjustsme on his lap as we sit in the throne room, stifling a hiss of pain as he jostles his arm. I look at him with concern, but he waves me away as he looks over a letter he received just a few minutes ago.

Saying I was shocked when I saw the state of Axum, Larek, and Olog when they returned from their visit to another city is an understatement. Both Axum and Olog held an injured Larek between them, shouting for healers to come and tend to him, blue blood coating them and dripping on the white marble floor.

I ran after them, grabbing the towel I planned to use to wash my hair and gave to to Axum to use in place of the one that was soaked through already.

Once they got Larek to an empty room, healers began to work on him immediately, using some kind of potion that smoked when it touched his skin, making him cry out in pain. They also forced a concoction down his throat. I heard one say that his wound was too deep and the weapons were coated with some kind of poison too toxic for them to use magic alone. They had Axum take some of the concoction as well, since he had an open wound on his arm. He drank it quickly, then shooed them away when they tried to tend to him instead of working on Larek.

I stood back, wringing my hands, needing to do something, but not wanting to get in the way.

When Axum tasked his guards to retrieve Larek’s mate, I demanded to go with them. My mate didn’t look happy about it, but I needed to feel useful and I think he understood that. So I accompanied the three orcs to a modest home, about fifteen minutes away, to tell Larek’s mate what happened and bring her to the palace. I’m sure the guards would have been able to get there far quicker without me, but they didn’t complain, allowing me to set the pace.

They’ve been so kind to me.

We brought Larek’s mate, Snakha, to the palace as quickly as we could and she sat by his bedside for the rest of the evening. We brought her everything she needed, ensuring she and Larek wanted for nothing.

Before we left their room, Larek held Axum’s hand in a tight grip, thanking him over and over for bringing him back to his mate. Axum tried to shake off the praise, but neither Larek nor Snakha allowed it. He said that Larek was like family and he would have protected him with his life.

After we made sure Larek was okay and his wound wouldn’t fester, I took Axum to our room and cleaned up the cut on his arm. The healers said it wasn’t deep, so they said it was safe for me to dress it. While I was playing nurse, Axum told me what happened.

From what he gathered, from their weapons and attire, it was the rogue band of orcs he had been worried about. Axum also found a letter on one of the orcs from their leader, Koth, conspiring to kill Axum to get back at Nash. He said he, Larek, and Olog killed nine of them during the attack, and there are only about fifteen to twenty in the band. More are out there to hurt my mate. He said he may have a way to get to the others, but he has to wait to hear from his brother.

The letter he has in his hands now is just the word he was waiting on. I’ve learned how to speak some orcish, but I’m unable to read it, so I don’t know what it says.

Axum grunts, shaking his head with a slight grin.

“What is it?” I ask, resting my head on his shoulder.

“My brother, Nash. He says he will visit soon, but he is busy fucking his human mate.” He chuckles. “In the meantime, he has asked for permission to hunt down the band of orcs on his own.”

“Maybe you should have him and his human come here. They would be safe from that Koth guy.”

Axum shakes his head as he motions to one of his scribes to give him a quill and ink. “He will not come. He does not enjoy being a part of the aristocracy, even though he loves his title. Besides, he will want to handle this himself. Nash has always been the type to fix what he deems are his mistakes.”

His hand flies across the paper. I don’t understand any of what he’s writing, but his penmanship is pretty terrible. I don’t know why he didn’t have his scribes write it, but I guess since it’s his brother, he wants to do it on his own.

With a small smile on his face, he says, “I have told Nash that he’s more than welcome to lead the hunt with his trusted orcs.”

“Good. You can also tell him you’re fucking your own human mate.” I chuckle against his neck, kissing him there gently.

Axum puts his quill down and pulls me back so he can meet my eyes. He searches my face, his gaze softening. “You do know that it is more than sex with us, correct? You are my mate. I—” He pauses, looking back at his scribes. They take the hint and bow to him, leaving the throne room.

He slides the small table from in front of the throne and repositions me on his lap so I can look down at him. “It is more than sex, my sweet Rainn. We are mates.”

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