Page 84 of Blackthorn

Draven’s expression darkened. “I vowed to repair the damage I had done, so I went to the only place I knew that had the facilities I needed.”

“A military base.”

“An unfinished storage facility. A few armed guards do not qualify as the military,” he said, tying off the thread. He applied an ointment and covered the stitches with gauze. “Hal went into a cryo chamber—that’s a machine that puts you in a deep sleep—while I worked on a cure. And I’ve been here ever since. Now let’s get my sword back from that traitorous rat.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Draven

Awareness pricked along Draven’s senses, unable to ignore the orc pacing in the lab. It was only a matter of time before his brother burst into a fit of rage. Hal’s transformation left him fiendishly strong and quick to anger.

Or perhaps that was just with Draven. Charlotte had unlocked Hal’s cage, and he didn’t attack her. They bargained. Draven had never gotten more than a handful of words from Hal before the orc required sedation. Then again, he hadn’t the patience to bother being patient. Once again, bastard.

Still, Draven watched Hal. He was weak, but he’d defend Charlotte with everything he had.

Speaking of his delightful soulmate, she continued to ask questions, determined to pry every one of his secrets out of him. “That doesn’t explain why you kept your brother in a cage.”

“What part of uncontrollable rage is confusing, sweetness? He’s dangerous. I told you.”

She stiffened at his words. Perhaps his tone was a touch condescending. Fine, very condescending. He was severely injured and barely functioning. He didn’t have the energy to be nice. Nice wouldn’t get his fortress back or eviscerate Stringer.

“He seems to be perfectly fine at the moment, although I’d understand if he were to throw something heavy at you,” Charlotte said.

Hal picked up a specimen analyzer like it weighed nothing and grinned. “Be good, Ethan.”

Draven dipped his head in acknowledgment. “While it appears as if Hal has been my prisoner, he is not. The cryo chamber was to halt the transformation’s progress. Hal was…undercooked. Not fully shifted. I thought I could reverse the damage. Before you comment that obviously, I failed, I have been making steady progress. Recently my equipment has been sabotaged. The last functioning cryo unit was destroyed on our wedding night.”

“I heard him in the corridor,” Charlotte said, sounding almost pleased to have solved a mystery.

“Exactly. He’s been sedated and restrained ever since.”

“Why aren’t there more green people? Why haven’t I ever heard about orcs before?”

Draven rose slowly, leaning heavily on the wall. “The first flush saw all sorts of creatures. Hal is only one variation. There was a woman who grew wings, just like an angel. Lovely but impractical. The wings couldn’t support her weight. There was a man who turned invisible. He vanished.” He waited for her to laugh. She did not. So much for trying to lighten the mood.

Hal laughed. Too loud and too frantic. It was unsettling.

“Do we have a plan?” Charlotte asked, clutching her dagger.

“I admire your optimism, but do not attempt to use your dagger,” Draven said. When she looked as if she would protest, he added, “You’re not a trained fighter. If you come at a soldier with that, you’ll get yourself killed and then I will have to slaughter everyone on this mountain.”

With a finger under her chin, he tilted her head up to look him in the eyes. “I’m serious.”

“Understood,” she murmured.

“We need to reach the Black Gate. I sent my people there to secure it,” Draven said. He found a rusty crowbar in a tool cabinet. It wasn’t ideal, but it would work for him. “Then we find Stringer and get my sword back.”

“That ridiculous sword,” Charlotte muttered.

“I need my sword,” Draven said.

Hal glowered and said in a very clear, determined tone, “No.”

Draven turned to his brother, finally seeing him with clear eyes. Hal was very green and very bulky. Whereas Draven’s transformation shaped him to be tall and slender, Hal went broad and massive. The tusks were distracting, twisting Hal’s lips into a grimace. Draven could almost make out Hal’s original features. Also, he was nude. Alarmingly so.

“Yes,” he replied, equally determined.

“I see the familial resemblance,” Charlotte said. “I’ve had enough of that blasted sword. It’s more trouble than it’s worth. It’s not better than another sword.”

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