Page 2 of Wagered to the Orc
Surrounding them, surrounding us, were the monsters themselves. Huge, hulking, towering over the men.
They sit atop horses. Of course they will look larger.
But that was not the reason.
Directly in front of us, two of the orcs glared down at me. They were both brutish, green monsters, but one—the horribly scarred one—was uglier than even his fellows. Mayhap ‘twas the terrible scowl he wore as he swung down from his horse.
“Ye would bargain with us, traitor?” he growled. “Greedy enough to demand more, now that we have the upper hand?”
“Let me live!” John demanded, his too-strong fingers digging into my upper arm, causing me to wince. If he did not kill me this night, he would likely gloat about those bruises.
“I want more gold. I brought ye more women, after all. See?”
He yanked at me, and I couldn’t help the way I gasped in pain, the way my eyes pooled with tears. But still, I couldn’t tear my terrified gaze from the beast before me.
The scarred orc was tall—far too tall, so tall I would have to tip my head back, he stood so close—and he had halted, frowning down at me. He studied thetears on my cheeks and shook his head in disgust, fingers tightening around the hilt of his huge sword.
Aye, I wanted to shout.I am weak. A weak female, worth naught more than what is between my thighs! If John does not kill me, some other man will!
“Ye hide behind a woman?”
It took me a moment to realize the hideous monster was talking to John. His disgust was not directed at me?
Behind me, I felt John relax, his tone turning smooth. “Aye, this one is not as valuable as the others, although she’s a fair tumble. But Lady Sorcha and her sister? They are worth more gold. You wanted human females.”
The truth slammed into me.
John had betrayed us—nay, he had betrayed Lord Tarbert! I was not worth betraying, but he had taken the laird’s daughters from safety and delivered them to these beasts…for gold?
God’s Wounds, help us. Keep Sorcha and Roxanna safe.
I couldn’t help the whimper which escaped my lips, and I saw the scarred one’s gaze drop to mine.
“We only wanted one female in particular,” he said, his tone almost curious. As if wonderingwhat John would say.
I could have told him.
I had known the bastard long enough, after all.
Behind me, I felt John shrug. “Then I have no use for this one.”
Oh God.
When I felt the knife at my throat draw to one side, ready to plunge into my flesh, I allowed my eyes to flutter shut. I knew I was going to die, murdered by the man I had sold myself to, and my last vision would be the hulking beast before me.
I felt a single tear track down my cheek, and my last wish was that I might have been braver.
But then there was a whistle, athunk, and I felt John jerk behind me.
My eyes flew open in time to see the beast swinging his sword back to his side, the blade’s edge covered in blood. Time stilled.
John slumped to one side and I glanced down to see his head split open, already dead despite the fact the wound still pumped. I should have felt disgusted, but when I reached for the panic, all I felt was numbness.
Wide-eyed, lips parted on a scream I couldn’t manage past my closed throat, I turned back to the monster who had saved my life.
He wore a simple kilt like so many of his fellows, but it seemed more severe on him.Everythingabout him seemed more severe. His jaw was sharper, his eyes darker, his tusks longer. Oh God,tusks. And that scar that bisected his face made him even scarier.
With another little whimper, I swayed forward.
