Chapter 3

Becca

T he deep grooves between the chief’s thick eyebrows smoothed out as he looked at me.

“Ah, there is nothing better than coming home to a woman waiting for you.” He sauntered to the table.

“Who said I’m waiting for you?” I scoffed.

“A feisty little newt.” He raked his eyes over me while shifting aside the towel over the dish on the table.

A pile of white, fluffy rolls came into view, and I no longer paid the orc any attention, unable to tear my eyes away from the food. I hadn’t eaten bread for years. I’d almost forgotten what it looked or tasted like.

“Where do you get the flour to make those?” I asked with a swallow as my mouth watered.

To my knowledge, the wetlands couldn’t grow wheat. The seeds we’d planted last spring rotted in the wet ground without producing a single plant.

He picked up a roll and ate it whole in one bite.

“We trade.”

“Trade or raid? ” I specified, skeptically.

“Not a big difference.” He shrugged, then intercepted my ravenous stare. “Hungry?” Picking up another roll, he bit off half of it.

“It’s not like anyone has fed me. Orcs are lousy hosts, it seems.” I pretended not to care about the half-eaten roll in his hand while also trying not to drown in my saliva as I watched him eat.

He moved toward me.

“Not true. We take care of our guests.”

“Right.” I smirked, keeping my body between him and the hook on the chain. The workbench remained in semi-shadows, and I hoped he wouldn’t notice the chains I’d wrapped it in. “Only I’m not a guest, am I?”

“No, you’re my sweet plaything.” He brought the roll to my mouth, and I couldn’t refuse the amazing aroma of the flaky crust or the spices of the meat inside.

I opened my mouth as a good little “plaything,” and let him feed me. It was all I could do not to moan in pleasure, as I chewed on my first meat pie in years.

“You’re something far more special than just a guest,” Agor murmured with a lascivious smile that I might’ve returned had we been in my fantasy.

But this was reality, and the danger was real. Pivoting on my heel, I grabbed the chain and hooked it to his belt at his back, then kicked the workbench, sending it crashing down to the floor. The hook yanked the orc up. The combined weight of the heavy workbench, the anvil, and the metal wheel lifted him off the floor.

“Fuck!” he cursed, tipping forward, his arms and feet flaying in the air.

I didn’t wait for him to come down. Grabbing the chain as high as I could with my hands bound, I added my own weight to keep him suspended, then I fixed the chain to the hook in the wall, leaving the orc securely hanging at my chest level over the floor.

“Hey! What the fuck?” he yelled, grabbing at the air behind his back.

But even if he got hold of the chain, he wouldn’t be able to unhook himself in this position. I knew it for a fact. I got caught on a tree branch by the back of my waistband like than once, and there was absolutely nothing I could do to free myself other than screaming for help until Gleb found me and helped me down. With all the orc’s weight put against his belt, he couldn’t even loosen it enough to open the buckle and take the belt off.

Jumping around him to avoid being swatted by his waving arms and kicking legs, I grabbed his hunting knife from the sheath strapped to his upper arm.

All he could do in this situation was scream for help. Yet the orc didn’t make a sound louder than soft cursing and grunting, wiggling on the chain like a fish bait on a hook.

I propped the knife handle between my knees, then used the blade to cut the leather belt from around my wrists.

“Now, be a good little orc,” I cooed mockingly, tossing aside my cut restraints. “And tell me where you have the key to this fucking chain.” I kicked my leg with the manacle, making the chain rattle.

He slowed down his useless struggling and dropped his legs down, trying to reach the floor.

“Nuh-uh.” I swiped a coil of chain from the pile on the floor and loped it around one of his ankles, then tied both his feet together. “You stay put now.” I fixed the chain to the hook at his back, forcing him to bend his legs up.

Dropping his arms, he stared at me in wonder.

“What the fuck, woman?”

“Ah, you didn’t think newts could do that, huh?” I did a quick job on his hands, too, by catching each wrist in a noose then chaining them to his waist. “Is this not how your playthings usually behave?”

He seemed too shocked to fight me in earnest, yanking at his hands only after I’d secured them at his sides.

“Well, since you don’t give me the key, I guess I’ll have to find it myself.” I petted his back pocket.

The key wasn’t there, but the muscles in his ass flexed under my touch, making me pause.

“Where is the key, Chief Agor?” I asked in a voice too soft for a demand as my hand squeezed his backside. It was a nice, hard backside, with almost no give at all when he flexed. Realizing I was pawing at him, I jerked my hand away and swallowed hard. “So? Are you going to tell me where you keep the key? Or should I keep searching?”

He licked his lips.

“Keep searching, sweetheart.” His husky voice came with a deep rumble in his chest, and I felt my control of the situation slipping.

Determined to succeed, I circled his head on the way to his right side to search in his other pocket.

A loud knock on the door made me jump.

“Chief! Bula and Violette are here. They say you wanted to see them tonight, right after the human.”

I stilled, frozen in horror. I almost did it. I’d come so close to being free. But the damn manacle was still around my ankle.

In a desperate attempt to keep him silent, I grabbed his neck with both hands. It was so thick, I’d need two more hands to circle it fully.

Maybe I could threaten him with the knife to stop him from calling for help?

“I’m good,” he replied, loudly but calmly, sending a jolt of disbelief through me.

What game was he playing?

All he had to do was to call someone in, and they would...

They would see him all trussed up like a goose ready for the oven, and his entire keep would know what the captive human woman did to their chief.

“Bula and Violette can sleep in their own beds tonight,” he said, sounding rather cheerful, considering his position. “The human proved more entertaining than I thought.”

“I’m not entertaining you,” I hissed, digging my fingers into the thick cords of his neck muscles. “Trust me, as soon as I get the key, I’ll be on my way.”

Still, he wouldn’t alert his men, raking his eyes over my face and chest.

“What’s your hurry?” he said with a lazy smile. “You’ve got me where you want me. Why leave now?”

With my hands on each side of his neck and my head bent to his, I realized it looked like I was about to kiss him.

I shoved him away with a little more force than necessary. He swayed on the chain backwards, and when he came forward like a pendulum, he opened his mouth and closed it over my breast.

Startled, I pressed my hands into his shoulders to push him away. The tip of my breast fit neatly between his tusks. He found my nipple with his tongue through the fabric of my tunic, making it instantly hard.

“Dammit,” I groaned, and instead of pushing him away again, I drew him closer.

He raked his teeth over my nipple, rolling it and tugging at it. My desire burst from glowing embers into a flame.

It’d been a while since a man touched me. And even when they did, no one had ever nibbled on my nipples like he’d been starving all his life, his tusks digging into my flesh, his growls rolling with heat over my skin.

Sliding my hands to the back of his head, I arched my spine, pressing into his mouth. Heat pooled between my legs, my inner muscles clenching with need.

Gathering all my strength, I finally shoved him away in a desperate attempt to come to my senses.

He licked his lips, devouring me with his eyes.

“Take off your shirt, girl, and give me your other tit too.”

I glanced at the wet spot he left on the front of my tunic. My underpants were just as wet, too, now. But every moment I stayed here, the risk of someone coming in grew. There was also a chance that he might scream for help, after all.

“I know the game you’re playing,” I said, uncertainly. “You want to distract me.” Then, when my guard was down, he’d gain the upper hand again.

“Can’t you see, sweet pie?” he growled. “You’ve shocked and surprised me. You made me want you so much, I can hardly breathe. I’d die if I don’t get to fuck you tonight.”

I measured him with a mocking glance. “ Fucking would be actually impossible in the position you’re in. Don’t you think?”

“But I’m in the perfect position to suck on your tits. Take off your shirt. Give them to me. Use me,” he almost begged.

He had the men on the other side of that door, ready to barge in and rescue their chief. He also had at least two willing women who’d gladly spend the night with him. Yet he sent them all away, choosing to remain at my mercy.

The feeling of power over the mighty orc proved heady. My mind was reeling. But I couldn’t lose my head completely. First thing first. I had to get free from my chain.

“Key,” I rasped. “Where is it?”

I swung him around, then patted his side, finding another pocket.

“Ah, there.” I shoved a hand inside it and felt...something.

It seemed he’d stuffed a piece of firewood into his pocket. A thick, long, hard log that went on forever as I felt along it with my fingers.

“Fuck,” he groaned, bucking his hips into my grip.

The “log” jerked in my fingers, and I yanked my hand out.

“That is not the key,” I muttered, my cheeks flushing with heat.

“The key is there, too, sweetheart. You just have to dig deeper.”

“Why do I not believe you?” I rolled my eyes, patting another pocket on his ass instead. The bog orcs sure had a lot of pockets.

As I searched that one, trying hard not to fondle his ass again, he looked at me over his shoulder.

“I swear on the life of my dog that the key is in my right-side pocket. Take it. Do whatever you want with it, but if you touch my cock again, please don’t stop touching it.”

“Well, I believe you, but only because you seem to really like that dog.” I reached into the right pocket again. Trying to avoid touching the giant “log” that pressed against it from inside of his pants, I searched around for the key.

“Have you ever been with an orc before?” he rasped.

“No. I’ve been lucky enough to avoid being raped by your kind so far.”

“But how can I rape you if I’m tied hand and foot?”

“You can’t,” I agreed. “That’s the whole point of why I did it.” I finally found the key buried in the bottom of his pocket, all the way under the bulge of his cock. “Got it!” I yanked it out triumphantly.

Crouching down, I unlocked the manacle around my ankle and tossed it aside.

“If I can’t rape you,” he continued, “then you have no reason to be afraid.”

I shook my head, not buying his sweet talk.

“You’re not the only orc in this keep, and I can’t possibly tie all of you up. The way I see it, my best chance for survival is to get out of here right now.”

I glanced back at the platter with the meat pies. I couldn’t leave this place without having more of them. It wouldn’t hurt to grab a few for the road too. They smelled so damn good even when they were no longer piping hot. I stuffed several rolls into my pockets, then grabbed one more and bit into it.

“Mmm,” I moaned, chewing. “Whoever made these must be a wizard.”

“Violette bakes good squirrel pies,” he agreed.

“Is she the one who made these? Really? If she’s as good in bed as she is at baking, then why do you ever need me? Or anyone else, for that matter? Marry that woman, chief, before someone else does.”

He smirked. “I’m too young to get married yet.”

“How old are you?”

“Thirty-one.”

“Really? Me too. Only at thirty-one, they say, I’m way past the marrying age for a woman. Funny how it works, isn’t it? Anyway,” I headed past him toward the window. “I’ve got to go. You hang in there, chief.”

“If you leave now, wouldn’t you always wonder what you passed on tonight?”

I turned to say something quick and snappy, but my gaze lingered on him hanging there, suspended in chains and expectations, all wrapped up like a present for me.

His stare trapped me, keeping me in place.

“You got me right where you wanted me, little newt, didn’t you? Wouldn’t it be a shame if you got nothing out of it for your pleasure at the end?”

I paused, tapping a foot on the floor.

“You really wouldn’t mind me taking advantage of you like that?” I asked.

“As long as I’ll get pleasure out of it too. And I have a feeling that I will.”

Maybe I should’ve gagged him in addition to tying him up because his words held power over me. They spelled temptation.

I pondered his proposition.

Why shouldn’t I have him?

The spoils of war belonged to the winner. That rule held true for both humans and orcs. Tonight, I bested him and came up on top. I was the winner, and the orcs’ chief was my bounty. Like a pirate’s booty, he belonged to me.

I slid an appreciative glance over his booty . It was a fine one. And it was all mine, as well as the rest of him, to do with as I pleased.

I picked up his knife I’d used to cut his belt from around my wrists and shoved it into my boot.

“If you try anything funny, I’ll cut you,” I said without even a hint of a smile, then unbuckled my belt and tossed it aside.

His eyes lit up with anticipation as I lifted my tunic and took it off over my head.

With his stare glued to my chest, he jerked in his restraints, swaying on the chain, but not enough to reach me.

“Give them to me. Come closer,” he rasped, licking his lips.

I remained in full control here. The thought sent a shot of thrill through my body as I took a step toward him.

He stuck his tongue out, desperate to touch me. It was a long tongue, I noted, coming close enough for its tip to stroke one of my nipples. Rush of tingles skittered through my body as he dragged his thick warm tongue over my skin.

I wished to feel him everywhere, on every part of my body. Only caution kept me at bay.

“Closer,” he begged, looking at me the same way I’d eyed Violette’s meat pies a short while ago.

I gripped his pointy ears and turned his head up to face me.

“If you put your teeth or those tusks of yours on me to hurt me—”

He smirked. “I won’t hurt more than you’ll enjoy.”

I couldn’t delay it any longer. I wanted him too much to waste the little time we had.

“If you hurt me, I’ll hurt you back,” I vowed quickly.

“Deal.” He grinned.

I pulled him to me, and he buried his face between my breasts, breathing me in.

“Oh, you’re such a sweet, sweet little thing,” he moaned, turning his head to kiss along my breast to my right nipple. The curve of his tusks pressed into my skin, making his kisses and nibbles feel even more intense.

I slid my hands behind his neck, over his shoulders, and down his shoulder blades. That was as far as I could reach in this position, but I needed more. I needed him to touch more of me too.

Gripping his beard, I tipped his head up to me once again.

“I’ll get you off this hook, Agor, if you promise to be good.”

He gave me a wicked half-grin. “Just how good do you want me to be?”

Trusting an orc was careless, dangerous, and simply stupid. But I needed just a little bit of his cooperation to get what I wanted from him.

“Good enough for me to leave you alive.” I leveled him with a stare. “Do you promise or not?”

“Will you take off the rest of your clothes if I do?”

“Maybe.”

“Then yes, I promise.” His tongue skimmed his bottom lip between his tusks. “I have to know if your pussy is as red as your head.”

I huffed a breath, releasing his beard, then stepped out of his line of sight to hide the effect his words had on me. The men I knew would never dare speak to me like that. It was crude, and vulgar, and...it reached deep into my lower belly, fanning the heat through my body.

“Be a good boy, and you might find out,” I muttered, heading to his bed behind the curtain.

I grabbed the wide, puffy quilt from his bed and an armful of pillows, then tossed them on the floor under the spot where I’d hung up my orc.

Loosening the chain that attached his feet to the hook, I allowed him to straighten his legs, then guided them down to the floor.

“Put your weight on your feet so I can unhook you from the chain.”

He did as I said, giving me the slack on the chain needed to unhook him. With his feet bound together, he lost his balance without the support of the chain and crashed sideways into the pillows on the floor, then rolled on his back.

I stood over him, admiring my work. Propped up by pillows, he lay with his legs bent, his knees raised, his arms still secured to his sides. Just how I wanted him.

He relaxed into the pillows, looking up at me. “Come here, little newt, let me lick all of you.”

“Patience,” I said for my sake as much as his.

My fingers trembled when I lowered my pants and underwear down to my ankles. I kept my boots on with the knife tucked in one of them.

Warm air stroked between my legs, sending a shiver of anticipation through my body.

He drew in a breath in a hungry gulp, his nostrils flaring.

“Ride my cock,” he groaned.

“No. But I’ll ride your face.” I smirked, sinking down to one knee first.

My clothes around my ankles limited how far I could spread my feet, so I spread my knees wide instead, placing them on each side of his face. His focus narrowed to the patch of the copper-red curls between my legs.

“You are a scorching fire. Head to toe.” He swallowed hard. “What a needy weeping pussy that is. Bring her down here, little newt. Let me take care of her.”

I no longer wanted to gag him. It thrilled me to hear him say out loud the things I never even said in my head. His words spurred my arousal. Heat pulsed between my legs, begging to be “taken care of” by him.

But safety came first. I wound his long hair around my wrist, then pressed my hand into the pillow next to his head.

“No biting,” I warned.

He gave me a non-committal smirk. Nudging with his chin against my thigh, he shifted my knee to drop my hips down. His head was now trapped between my legs.

He met me with his mouth wide open, lapping at me as if he was dying of thirst and I was a creek of fresh, cool water. Propped on my hands, I curled my body around his head, riding his mouth with no shame or restraint.

The curves of his tusks slid against me, hard and unyielding compared to his tongue that alternated between firm and pliable. My muscles wound up tightly. My body overheated with lust. I couldn’t stop even if his men walked in and held a knife to my throat.

I moaned, biting my lip. The orgasm teased, making me move faster. I rubbed harder against his tongue.

Intense pleasure exploded, then rolled through my body in a swell of bliss. My thighs flexed, gripping his head. I slacked against his chin, spent.

Then I remembered that the orc needed to breathe and shifted from his face to his chest.

His expression was tense, his bushy eyebrows shifted close together.

“Fuck me, sweetheart. Ride my cock next. Please.”

Desire curled through me again. I’d come too fast, too intense, and not enough. I craved more.

I slid my hands down his chest. His hard muscles flexed under his linen shirt. With his bulky frame, thick neck, and shoulders as wide as a house, he wasn’t built like any man I knew. I wanted to see more of him. To feel more too.

Sliding his hunting knife out of my boot, I raised it over his chest. His brows jerked up in shock, but I gave him no time to make a sound before bringing the knife down.

“I hope you don’t care much about this shirt.” I cut it off him from the neckline down to his belt, the blade scraping his sage-green skin but not deep enough to draw blood.

He released a breath of relief. “I never know what to expect from you next.”

“How exciting, isn’t it?” I dead-panned, but he nodded in earnest.

“You make me feel things I never felt with anyone else before,” he said.

I slid a little more down his body, and we both gasped as I straddled his massive bulge that strained in his pants.

“Fuuuck,” he groaned, as if I had stabbed him.

With my fingers fumbling from impatience, I unbuckled his belt, then cut with the knife through the leather string that laced the front of his pants.

His cock sprang free, and I shrank away, faced with that monstrosity. Dark green like his hair, it pointed straight up like a spear or more like a thick, veiny club one could kill with if given a good swing.

“Can you handle that?” he asked with a challenge.

I had no answer, eying his “club.”

“What are these?” I slid a finger up a row of bars inserted through the skin on the underside of his shaft.

Each was as slim as a match made from a material so pale, it appeared luminescent. A pair of small silver balls enclosed the ends of each bar. I didn’t count their number, but the orc’s impressive length seemed to accommodate at least a dozen of these bars.

As I fingered his cock, he sucked in a breath through his teeth and squeezed out a reply, “Fogbird’s bones...”

“What are they for?”

“To mark every virgin I’ve taken to my bed.”

“Neat.” I shrugged. “But you won’t get one on my account. I haven’t been a virgin for well over a decade now.”

“Thank gods for that,” he groaned. “I’m enjoying you too much to wish you were anything else than what you are.”

That was probably one of the nicest things anyone had ever said to me, but I didn’t allow my mind to dwell on it. It didn’t matter what he said. It was just sex that pulled me to him—wild, animalistic, mind-blowing sex with the enemy. I would likely feel guilty about this whole thing in the morning when the lust had gone.

Right now, however, my desire for him only burned brighter. I inched closer to his decorated cock, my insides clenching in anticipation.

I shifted up his body. His hard cock pressed to his stomach under my weight. I rubbed against it, the bars of his bizarre tally dragging over my sensitive spot with the most thrilling sensation.

“Good girl,” he said with a smile, clearly aware that I could not refuse what he offered. “What a good, brave girl you are, my fire newt.”

The orc’s massive cock wasn’t designed to fit into a human. I must’ve lost my mind. But his tongue had already made me hot, slick, and ready, and I felt horny enough to try.

Besides, he’d challenged me, and I hated to back away from a challenge, especially the one like this.

“You think I can’t handle it? Well, watch this.” I lifted my hips over his erection. Grabbing it in my hand, I rubbed the tip around my opening. Little by little, I eased it in, stretching around him with a delightful sensation. The stretch came with a sting of pain, but it only added intensity to my pleasure, like spice added flavor to a dish.

By the time I sank all the way to the base, it felt like my internal organs had been re-arranged. I tried not to sneeze or even breathe, afraid that I’d split in half if I did. But the feeling of satisfaction cursing over me was enormous.

“See? I did it.” I jerked my chin up triumphantly.

“That...you did.” He spoke, taking short, shallow breaths, as his features tensed with restraint.

Leaning forward, I slid my hands up and down the hard squares of his abdominal muscles that, like his chest, were generously sprinkled with short, dark curls.

“If you come before me, I’ll be extremely disappointed,” I warned in a coarse half-whisper, then rotated my hips to take him even deeper.

A tortured growl erupted from his throat, making both my satisfaction and arousal spike higher.

“You’re killing me, woman,” he groaned in rapture. “But what a death that would be!”

It was a heady feeling to be wanted this much. The power I had over this big, bad orc made my head spin. I fully realized that I held this power only very temporarily, but I intended to enjoy it for as long as it lasted.

“If you come without my permission,” I threatened, “I’ll cut your dick off with all its virginal mementos.”

After cutting his shirt, I’d put the knife back into my boot, and I had no intentions of actually hurting him unless he attacked me first. But the way he bit his lip—his hands fisting, every muscle straining to comply with my order—was a treat to see.

Shifting my hips, I found just the right angle for my clit to rub against the hard muscles of his lower belly. Another orgasm approached as I started to move. This one built up slowly, pleasure stretching, rising, and ebbing in a long, steady stream. The way he filled me so completely felt simply exquisite.

He arched under me, the heels of his boots digging into the rug.

“You feel so...so good, sweetheart. Please...please let me—” he growled in desperate need as the whole house seemed to shake under us.

“Don’t you dare,” I gritted through my teeth, digging my fingers into his hard abs.

He held on, and I let go. My orgasm made my legs shake, sending me crashing down onto his belly. Pleasure rolled through me, finally filling me with a complete and utter satisfaction.

“Now,” I murmured, sliding my hand up to cup his cheek. “You can come now, Agor.”

He roared, buckling his hips so hard, I gripped his shoulders, afraid he’d kick me off. Hot spurts of his release filled me, then trickled out and down my thighs.

When he finally slacked under me, I splayed my body on top of his, my cheek pressed to his upper belly. He was so tall that with his cock still in me, my head didn’t quite reach his chest.

The house was warm. The fire crackled peacefully in the hearth. With the delicious meat pie in my belly and with my body thoroughly satisfied, I felt relaxed and more comfortable than I’d been in years. My eyelids dropped, feeling heavy. I could fall asleep just like that, with him still inside me.

I was in the orcs’ chief house, in the middle of the most hostile territory, and I didn’t feel like leaving it. That must be the craziest part of this entire experience.

Gathering whatever was left of my common sense, I pushed away from the orc and up to my feet.

As he slid out of me, his release gushed out as if a plug had been yanked from a wine barrel.

“By the glorious Mother of the World, how much of it did you pump into me?” I stared in shock at the bright green streams rolling down my legs.

“I have more where this came from.” He shifted his hips, his massive cock bobbing in the air again as if it hadn’t just expelled a bucketful of seed already.

Grabbing a corner of the quilt on the floor, I wiped the green mess off me the best I could, then pulled up my pants and underwear.

“I could’ve licked it off you,” he offered. “And from inside you too.” He licked his upper lip, curling his tongue up to demonstrate its impressive length.

A part of me—the part that seemed to have every bit of sense and logic fucked out of it—wished to take him up on his offer. Thankfully, the two orgasms had cleared the lusty haze from my brain enough for me to find the strength to refuse.

“Thanks. But I’ve already stayed much longer than necessary, considering that I never planned to come here in the first place.”

“But you’re having fun, aren’t you?” he asked, as if he cared whether or not I enjoyed myself.

I scoffed, running my gaze over him. Big and burly, he seemed harmless when tied up in chains and relaxed after being thoroughly fucked. But I knew better. I knew how deadly orcs could be. Bog orcs couldn’t be much different from the many other orc tribes that my people had suffered from before.

“I had fun,” I admitted. “But only because I didn’t let you take charge.”

He shrugged unapologetically. “Women enjoy being in my bed. Take these off...” He flexed his arms, tugging at the chains, “and I’ll show you why.”

But I wasn’t that stupid.

“No. I far prefer you in chains.” I put on my tunic, then buckled my belt over it. “Well, it’s been fun, Chief Agor, but I have to go now, and I sincerely hope I’ll never see you again.”

I grabbed a coil of rope from the floor by the workbench.

“Wait.” He set up, rattling the chains.

I paused on my way to the window.

“Are you going to call your men in to stop me? Should I gag you?” I probably should. Why was I even asking him?

He shifted awkwardly in the pile of pillows.

“If I promise not to send my men after you, will you untie me?”

“You don’t want your people to see you like this, do you?” I guessed.

“No. Not really,” he admitted.

“All right.” I took pity on him and kneeled at his side.

Shoving a single coil of the chain from his wrist down past his knuckles, I got up again.

“There. This will let you free yourself soon enough, but not too soon.” I hurried to the window again.

The chain had enough slack now for him to shift it down loop by loop, eventually setting himself free. If I lingered, I risked becoming his prisoner again.

Not losing another second, I opened the window and climbed out.

“Wait!” he called after me. “I don’t even know your name.”

There was no need for him to know it. Absolutely no need at all.

I jumped out, hitting the ground hard, then ran to the wall, keeping to the shadows. I grabbed the closest ladder leaning against the wall and climbed up without looking back.

The dog’s howling bark came from the chief’s house. If he sent dogs after me, would I live long enough to see another sunrise?

Fear made my hands shake. But I couldn’t let it paralyze me. I looped the rope around the sharpened end of a log, then climbed down. Once my feet hit the ground on the other side, I ran as fast as I could, leaving the keep and its chief behind as quickly as my legs would let me.