Page 6 of Bred By the Orc
“Especially Moltar.” My fingers tightened in the mane of my mount. “If he goes into a berserker rage, I’ll end him myself.” Why was the fool with us, anyhow?
It seemed as if Varkaan was asking himself similar questions. “Gelma claimed ‘twas vital to our future that he attend this raid.”
“Mayhap he’ll take an arrow in the throat,” grunted Korvak.
I scowled at my grumpy younger brother. “With that morbid thought, tell the men Korvak will lead the assault. See that Moltar isbehindhim.”
To my surprise, Korvak grinned. “So any arrows will find my throat first?” He nudged his horse’s flank with a heel, causing it to wheel away, better trained than any other animal in our herd. “Thank ye, brother,” he called as he rode back toward our awaiting warriors.
“Fook,” I muttered, forgetting another brother still waited beside me.
Varkaan, of course, laughed at my exasperation. Then he rose up on his stirrups, pointing. “The time is near, Chief.”
I studied the mist among the circle of standing stones. Everyone knew time and space worked different there, and if I squinted, I could see glimpses of the other side. The human’s world.
“Nay,” I finally murmured. “’Tis timenow.”
So saying, I lifted my ax above my head and took a deep breath. I would meet my fate. I would meet myMate.
“Bladesedge!” I bellowed, kicking my horse down the slope. “Attack!”
Chapter 3
Sorcha
I was not sleeping when the attack came, but ‘twas only by God’s grace.
Something woke me, a strangetuggingsensation. I swatted at my side, assuming ‘twas my sister yanking on my chest. But the tightness did not ease and eventually I opened my eyes to see Roxanna curled against me, with Effie on her other side.
My cousin still clutchedA Harlot’s Guide to the Forbidden and Delightful Arts.
Just seeing that made me smile, despite the band around my chest. I pressed my palm against my heart, wondering if I could feel it spasm, and was pleased I had broadened Effie’s horizons a bit.
Her mother was the younger cousin of my father, who had married beneath her. After her father’s death, Effie and her mother moved to Father’s keep to serve as our companions. I didn’t love the way she was treated as little more than a servant, and I’d hoped that bringing her with me in my marriage to Laird MacDonald would mean more opportunities for her.
Mayhap now she’d have a better idea of what she wanted in a physical relationship or marriage.
Above the ruined roof of the croft in which we slept, a cloud passed in front of the full moon, casting darkness. Frowning, I glanced up, my fingers digging into the silk of my bodice as I tried to calm my racing heart.
What was this?
‘Twas not a sudden fear, that much I could say. More of a… Well, an urgent need to be gone from this place.
Nay, not gone. Merely…outside.
Mayhap I needed to piss.
With a mental shrug, I swung my legs off the bed as slowly as possible so as not to wake Roxanna and Effie. Then I padded toward the door, expecting to see John standing guardoutside.
He was not.
In fact, the guards’ fire—and Father’s guards themselves—was some distance from our sanctuary. My lips tugged down thoughtfully as I scanned the clearing around the croft. Above, the moon emerged again, and I could see more clearly that we were far from well-guarded.
When a figure of a man stepped around the corner, I sucked in a gasp. ‘Twas not until it resolved into a grinning John that I allowed myself to exhale.
“Milady,” the weaselly man exclaimed, making a small bow. “What are you doing awake? To bed with you, now.”
This man was not my keeper, to order me so. I allowed my gaze to travel around the clearing, looking for more men. “Are you our only guard tonight, John?”
