Page 46 of Orc's Little Human
"We should keep moving," she says gently. "Find higher ground before the afternoon rains start."
But as we gather our things and continue deeper into the swamp, Thali chattering about everything she's discovered, I catch Selene watching me with the same careful attention I've been giving her.
She feels it too.The knowledge settles in my chest like truth finally acknowledged.This thing growing between us, stronger than magic, deeper than desire.
Love.
21
SELENE
The camp Korrath chose sits on a rare patch of solid ground, surrounded by the twisted roots of ancient swamp trees that form natural barriers against the wetlands beyond. Thali has arranged her collection of the day's treasures in careful rows—smooth stones, interesting shells, a piece of driftwood shaped like a miniature equus. She hums tunelessly as she works, completely absorbed in her makeshift museum.
I watch her from where I sit cross-legged on my bedroll, mending a tear in Korrath's cloak with the bone needle he'd fashioned for me. The repetitive motion of stitching soothes something restless in my chest, though I can't shake the feeling that we're being watched. The swamp holds too many shadows, too many places for things to hide.
"Selene, look at this one!" Thali holds up a piece of what might be fossilized wood, its surface smooth and dark as polished stone. "It feels warm, like it remembers being alive."
The wonder in her voice makes me smile despite my unease. Everything is still magic to her, still worthy of excitement and careful examination. I envy that ability to find joy in smalldiscoveries, to trust that the world holds more beauty than horror.
"It's beautiful," I tell her, setting aside the mending to accept the fossil. The wood is warm against my palm, worn smooth by countless years of water and time. "Maybe it's from one of those ancient tiphe trees, the ones that used to grow as tall as mountains."
Thali's eyes go wide. "Really? How do you know about ancient trees?"
Because I had to learn everything that might keep me alive.The thought carries the bitter taste of memory, but I push it down. Thali doesn't need to know about the desperate education that came with captivity, the way I absorbed every scrap of knowledge that might prove useful.
"I read about them once," I say instead, which isn't entirely a lie. "Before?—"
The sound cuts through my words like a blade through silk. A branch breaking, but not with the random crack of settling wood or animal movement. This break has weight behind it, deliberation. Purpose.
My blood turns to ice water in my veins.
No.The denial screams through my mind even as my body responds with trained efficiency, dropping the fossil and reaching for the hunting knife Korrath left within my reach.Not here. Not now. Not with Thali.
"Thali." My voice comes out steady despite the terror clawing at my throat. "Come here. Right now."
Something in my tone cuts through her absorption in her treasures. She looks up, amber-green eyes immediately alert to danger even if she doesn't understand its source.
"What's wrong?"
Before I can answer, they step into our small clearing. Two men in the rough leather and metal of human scouts, theirfaces bearing the particular hardness that comes from years of hunting other people. I know those faces. I've seen them in nightmares, in waking moments when memory crashes over me like a wave.
Jorik and Halvdan. Rusk's dogs.
"Well, well." Jorik's voice is exactly as I remember—rough as gravel, edged with the kind of casual cruelty that finds amusement in others' pain. "Look what crawled out of the camps to play house with the greenskins."
My hand tightens on the knife handle. The blade feels too light, inadequate against the weight of memory and the reality of two armed men who've spent years perfecting violence. But it's what I have, and between me and Thali, it has to be enough.
"Hello, Selene." Halvdan's smile is all teeth, predatory and patient. "Captain Rusk's been looking everywhere for you. Seems you took something that doesn't belong to you when you ran."
My brand burns against my collarbone, the skin heating as though the metal were being pressed there fresh. They know. Of course they know what was done to me, what mark I carry. They were there, holding me down while?—
No.I force the memory back, focusing on the present. On Thali, who's moved closer to me but hasn't yet understood the true danger we're in.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I lie, buying time, hoping against hope that Korrath will return before this gets worse.
"'Course you don't." Jorik draws his sword with casual confidence, the steel singing as it clears the scabbard. "But see, that mark you're hiding under all those clothes? That's valuable property. And the Captain, he don't like it when his property goes missing."
Thali's sharp intake of breath tells me she's finally grasped what's happening. When I glance at her, I see confusion and fear warring in her young face, but also something else. Trust. She's looking at me like I know what to do, like I can fix this.
