CHAPTER THIRTY（Untitled）Wranth

CHAPTER THIRTY

Wranth

We eat and drink late into the evening, the ale and cider running freely and adding a boisterousness that fills the entire village green.

Before they get sent off to bed, the younglings demand a ride on Grace’s contraption. Their excitement makes it nearly impossible to remember this ride is here not for fun but to protect the open village green from the sluagh. As they fill most of the swings, I catch Naomi looking on wistfully.

“Would you like to ride it?” I gesture. “Go ahead.”

“Are you going to?”

I shake my head. “Adult orcs weigh too much. But you should go.”

“I’ll ride it with you!” Taylor calls out, pulling my bride along.

The pixies return, and members of the original village flock spread out among the younglings, clinging to their hair and clothes. As soon as Naomi’s settled in a swing, the pixies adorned with tiny bits of pink swarm over her until she looks as if she wears a shirt of glowing light. “If the other pixies are doing this, we want to do it, too!”

Grace starts the ride, and the swings fly up into the air, trailing shrieks of laughter. My moon bound’s smile as she whirls past is so beautiful it makes an answering happiness fill me, a contentment such as I’ve never known.

It feels so right to be here, with her, in this village.

I can’t be certain, because it’s a new sensation, but it feels like home.

As parents usher younglings away for bed, Naomi returns to my side, full of laughter and joy.

Selena asks Sturrm to play a few songs on his guitar, and they finish with a duet of them singing Under the Apple Tree . The sound is so sweet the pixies come back and dance in the air over their heads, like stars pulled down from the sky by the beauty of their harmonizing voices.

This is a happy rendition of the song, the pace a little quicker, their voices playful. But I remember the version of the ballad Sturrm sang for years, his voice full of longing, haunted by the ghost of lost love.

My arm snakes around Naomi’s waist, and I pull her close. She looks up at me, delight shining in her eyes as she enjoys the music. Goddess, I want this happy version for myself, my moon bound bride always by my side.

Tonight has been a glimpse of what it would be like to live here in this village, embraced by the community. I’ve always hovered on the edges of such camaraderie, observing it without feeling its full force. I’ve also always blamed my outsider status on being orphaned, but now realize some of it was also me—I held myself apart, assuming I wasn’t wanted.

If I didn’t try, I couldn’t be rejected.

Naomi makes me want to try.

So when the duet finishes, I raise my tankard and cheer loudest of all.

The next morning, pounding on the front door makes me roll out of bed far earlier than I want to.

Naomi spreads into the warm spot I left in the furs, reaching her arms and legs out in a full-body stretch. She offers me a satisfied smile that makes me want to climb right back into bed and between her plump thighs. I spent hours there the night before, licking her until her voice went hoarse from screaming my name.

The knock comes again.

I bare my tusks in a snarl and yank on my leather pants, fastening them as I cross the main room. My chest tingles as I reach the very edge of the tether. If I’m not careful, I’ll be yanked back into the bedroom. I yell toward the front door. “Come in!”

It swings open, and Selena stands holding a human cup and a leather food sack. She calls out, “I’ve brought you a caramel latte!”

“Oh, you’re the best!” Naomi hurries into the room, wearing my shirt as a dress, and reaches past me to take the drink.

My nose wrinkles as I catch a whiff of the bitter beverage, but my moon bound hums happily as she takes a sip.

“Ashley arranged time with Reta, the village weaver, this morning. So we can go and get you your own clothes.”

“A bra?” Naomi asks, her tone hopeful.

“Yes, bras and panties, too!” She lifts the sack. “Do you like donuts? Olivia made some!”

“Gimme.” Naomi snatches the bag and peeks inside, then looks up at me, her big brown eyes serious as she clutches the sack to her chest. “What are you having for breakfast? These are mine.”

“I will make por—”

She breaks into laughter. “I’m kidding! There’s plenty.”

After getting dressed, we eat standing at the kitchen counter, scattering powdered sugar across the honey-colored wood like the first dusting of winter snow. It’s nice. It feels like something an established couple would do, having a quick breakfast together before they start their day.

Selena joins us for a donut, and we demolish the entire sack. The confections are sweet, as so many human things are, and contain no meat, but my bride eats hers with such relish I voice not a single protest.

“See you, Wranth.” Selena hooks her arm through Naomi’s. “We’ll be back in an hour or two.”

“You’re not leaving me behind.”

Selena glances at Naomi and hooks a thumb toward me. “Ay! Did you score a guy who likes clothing shopping?”

“It’s the tether,” Naomi explains.

“Oh, right.”

I follow them to the village green and wait outside as they go into the weavers, leaning back against the heart tree cottage’s outer wall.

“Well, orc.” Shadow’s smile hangs in the air beside me, and the rest of his body appears around it. “Have you taken it upon yourself to hold up this fine tree?”

His jab deserves no answer.

“I, on the other hand, have been doing something useful this morning,” he says, eyes sparkling with amusement. “I come bearing news. The cat sith messengers have returned. Your king will arrive tomorrow, as will Sheevora the Magnificent.”

“Good.” The dragon will hopefully have information that can aid Naomi in using her magic.

The feline fae disappears again but not before one parting shot. “Have fun being useful , orc.”

I grind my teeth together, because, fuck, he does have a point. I might be glad of the tether for now for keeping me with my bride, but if it persists, how will we live with it, day in, day out? Will I never hunt again? Will she never be able to go to one of the “girls’ nights” the other women enjoy?

It’s a problem for the future. For now, I must focus on only two things: protecting my bride and wooing her.

Sturrm finds me not long after. He takes up position beside me, leaning back against the tree and crossing his arms over his chest in a position that mimics mine. “So, you have a moon bound bride.”

I grunt a yes.

“You should ask King Aldronn to post you here, to Moon Blade Village. Naomi will want to live near the other witches.”

“Naomi wants to go home, to their world.”

It’s his turn to grunt, though his is a displeased one.

We stand silent for several moments, watching a pair of younglings dart across the green in a game of chase.

“What will you do?” he asks.

“I don’t know.” Goddess, I hate admitting that! Being an orphan means I always feel a bit unmoored, even with my place in the king’s guard. Any further uncertainty is painful. “If we’re still tethered, I’ll go with her to Earth. I didn’t feel at home in that magicless world, but it should have magic once the doors of Faerie open.”

“And if you aren’t tethered?”

“I’d still go,” I say. “If Naomi will have me.” I stop there, unable to give voice to the other possibility—a life separated from her.

“She will.” Sturrm clamps a friendly hand on my shoulder and gets me to meet his eyes. “I saw her looking at you with fondness last night. Naomi feels something for you already, and you can make it grow. The Moon Goddess would not have bound you together if it were not fated.”

I wish I shared his conviction, but no one’s ever chosen me, not even my own parents.

So how can I be enough for a beautiful, brilliant woman like Naomi?