Page 10 of Obeying the Orc
“You have one minute to be gone. Anything you leave behind will be thrown out.”
The door slammed shut and I couldn’t move, or even take in a single breath, for several seconds. Numb disbelief clutched at my heart.
How could this have happened?
Mr. Foxthorne’s leering glances had made me uneasy, but I’d never expected he would try to force himself on me.
Wiping the tears from my face, I shot out of bed and hurried to dress myself. I quickly packed my things in two valises. I didn’t have much to my name anymore. Most of my pretty dresses and nicer things had been exchanged for extra food while traveling on the ship to Orsleann. After that, I’d been forced to part with even more of my belongings because the stagecoach that brought us to Faircross only allowed a few pieces of luggage per passenger.
When I burst out of the bedroom struggling to carry my valises, Mr. and Mrs. Foxthorne were waiting at the bottom of the steps, standing next to the open front door. My heart lurched. I was literally being tossed out onto the street in the middle of the night. A distant howl carried in with the breeze, and I vaguely wondered if the mountain beasts ever came down to roam the town in the darkness.
“Good riddance, whore,” Mrs. Foxthorne hissed under her breath as I walked outside.
At this hour, the town was shut down and dark—except for The Sweet Siren. Piano music, singing, and laughter floated out of the establishment as I neared it, still struggling with my valises. The whole place was lit up, and I saw the figures moving around in front of the large front window. Miners and sirens.
Not far down the street, two lanterns glowed on the porch of The Bluebird Inn, but all the windows were dark. The owners of the hotel, Antonny and Sarah Bluebird, were likely fast asleep right now. I didn’t have the nerve to knock, and I moved back down the street toward The Sweet Siren again.
I felt lost. Stranded. And so very alone.
At this time last year, I’d just arrived in Orsleann with Logan. My heart had been full of hope. Hope for a new life in a new land. I’d even hoped to have a child soon. But no matter how hard we tried, it never came to pass during our short year together. Perhaps that was a blessing. I couldn’t imagine trying to raise and provide for a child in Faircross all by myself. Especially now.
What would I do? Where would I go? The few gold pieces I had to my name wouldn’t get me more than a week at The Bluebird Inn.
I stumbled over something in the street. Probably a pile of manure, judging by the stench that reached me as my valises flew forward. One opened when it landed, and everything inside spilled onto the dirty road. I started to cry but stopped when I felt a hand on my shoulder, and in the next moment someone was lifting me up.
Heart racing, I spun around. Was a bandit going to rob me of my few gold pieces? Was he going to steal what little possessions I had left?
I stared up at one of the tallest males I’d ever seen and gasped. A minotaur, I realized, with huge bull horns. If he was a bandit, I wouldn’t stand a chance.
“Relax. Be calm, human female. I only wish to help you.”
In the darkness, I couldn’t make out his expression very well, but the kindness in his voice indeed put me at ease. Besides, if he planned to rob or harm me, wouldn’t he have done so already?
“Are you lost?” he asked.
“N-no, I’m… I have nowhere to go. I didn’t even do anything wrong, I…” I dissolved into sobs. I’d nearly been raped, and now I was truly homeless. The weight of my predicament made it difficult to breathe. When I’d eloped with the love of my life and traveled southwest across the ocean, I had certainly never planned on ending up stranded in a remote mining town, alone and nearly destitute.
“My name is Trevonn, and I’m a guard from the tavern. Let me help you with your belongings, and if you’d like, you can stay at The Sweet Siren tonight.”
“But I’m not a…” I stopped myself. I couldn’t saywhoreor evensoiled maiden. Maybe some of the sirens had once been in my shoes, stranded with nowhere else to go. I couldn’t fault a woman for doing what she must to survive.
“I didn’t say you were.” He put my scattered belongings away and picked up both large valises as if they weighed nothing. “Come. Madame Sage will make sure you have a safe, warm place to sleep tonight. No one will hurt you. I give you my word.”
I took a deep breath and wiped away my tears. “All right. Th-thank you, Trevonn.”
CHAPTER6
NATALEE
Piano music,laughter, and voices drifted into the kitchen from the main room of the tavern. I sat at a small table across from Madame Sage, sipping hot lavender tea with honey, as I took in the warm and friendly atmosphere of the establishment that had become my refuge a short while ago. My hands shook as I brought the cup to my mouth, and I was trying my best to hold back tears. I still couldn’t believe what had happened tonight.
“Sweetie, are you sure I can’t call a healer to have a gawk at you? You look like you’ve been through quite an ordeal.” Concern reflected in Madame Sage’s gaze. “Would you care to tell me what happened?”
I stared at the kind madame, feeling some of the fright of my evening dissolve. I was in a warm, safe place, just as Trevonn had promised. A room was being prepared for me to spend the night in, and Madame Sage had assured me that I didn’t have to do anything to pay for the room. The woman seemed to genuinely want to help me without expecting anything in return.
“Let’s just say the couple I was living with were not as gods-fearing as they claimed to be,” I finally said, suppressing a shiver as I thought of Mr. Foxthorne. What a wicked man.
“Who were you staying with?”
