Chapter 2

Drakolt

I halted my horse on the rise overlooking the standing stones.

Behind me, my brothers and men followed suit, silent in the summer darkness. The only sounds were the creaking of leather and the huffing of our mounts' breaths in the warm air.

The full moon was still rising, lending its light to the landscape around us.

A reiver's moon.

Generations of my clan had raided under such moons, and tonight it would bear witness to the most important raid of my life.

Somewhere on the other side of those stones, beyond the veil, my Mate waited for me.

‘Twas too bad she had no idea.

If my eyes had been closed, I would have missed the way my brother Korvak moved up beside me. Of all the males in our clan, he had the best control over the horses in the herd we'd built through raids on the humans, and it showed.

When I glanced at him, his scarred visage was pointed at the stones. "How long?" he asked.

That was Korvak; brusque, bad tempered, and to the point.

I switched my attention to the moon, calculating the hours in my head. "Soon. We wait until full dark and a higher moon. That way we'll have plenty of time before daybreak to make our escape."

My brother, who looked for all the world like a warlord, slowly turned his attention to me. "Ye think the humans will chase us?"

Honestly, I had no idea, but I shrugged. "If the humans stole one of our females, would we no' chase them to the ends of the earth?"

"Aye, but we go past the ends of the earth."

I smirked. Korvak was right.

"The humans willnae follow us," Moltar announced arrogantly, cantering up to my other side and pulling his horse to a stop, causing the animal to rear slightly in irritation. "They will be pissing themselves in bed."

I schooled my expression to impassiveness, not wanting to show this conceited cousin of mine what I thought of his ignorance. "A leader makes plans for all contingencies."

"Aye, Moltar," drawled Korvak. "Ye would ken that if ye were auld enough to be a leader, lad."

The lad was a calculated insult, and it worked. Our cousin sucked in a breath, his hand dropping to the battleax he wore at his hip, his expression twisting into rage. "Ye forget yerself, cousin ."

Well, fook.

I resisted the urge to groan and rub the spot between my brows which always seemed to ache when Moltar was involved. Damn Gelma for insisting the arrogant idiot go with us.

Yer cousin has a role to play in this venture , she'd said. I'd listened to her, because—well, because we all listened to her. Only a fool ignored Gelma's advice.

But this bit was particularly trying.

"Moltar," I began, but the fool wasn't done.

"Korvak, ye think yerself a better warrior than I? That scar proves naught! "

Gods above .

"Moltar, cease," I growled.

My brother, however, held up one hand calmly. "I dinnae mind his rants, Chief. ‘Tis the envy that makes his words so ugly."

Fook. Korvak knew how to piss off our cousin, and getting calmer while Moltar got angrier was certain to do it.

"Ye are no' the warrior I am, Korvak," hissed Moltar, as his horse side-stepped in aggravation. "I will prove it. I will kill more humans on this raid than ye."

"And what will ye wager?" Korvak asked, blandly turning his attention back to the stones as if the topic wasn't worth his consideration. "Yer ax? Yer horse?"

"My bounty," growled our cousin. "Everything I take in this raid."

Part of me wanted to intervene, to halt this foolish wager before our warriors heard of it and grew distrustful. But such an insult would be difficult for Moltar to ignore, and I might end up with violence here before the raid even began.

Likely ‘twas for the best to allow such a wager to unfurl.

After a long moment—I doubted I was the only one watching him, awaiting an answer—Korvak nodded once. "Agreed. The humans' deaths will come swiftly."

"From my ax," growled Moltar before he yanked on his horse's reins, sending the animal wheeling to one side and away, taking his anger with him.

Neither was going to like the edict I would be making before we launched our attack.

"Fool," my brother murmured at my side.

I sighed, wondering if I could will the moon to rise faster. My warriors needed action. "Aye, but ‘twas no' well done to goad him."

Korvak snorted softly. "He uses reins and a saddle."

"No' all of us are blessed by Malla the Beginner with magical arses that stick to our horses' backs nae matter the weather or incline."

"'Tis no' a blessing, but a skill." When Korvak smiled—which was rarely—his tusks grew even more prominent. "One ye could work on yerself, Chief."

"I have better things to do with my days than commune with our beasts."

My brother merely raised a brow. "Ye ken that's what the humans call us? Beasts. What will yer Mate think when ye steal her?" He didn't let me answer, but turned back to studying the stones, his horse still beneath him. "She'll call ye a beast."

"She'll call me her Mate," I snarled, and aye, ‘twas an actual snarl. I was surprised my brother's words could call such a response from me. "Gelma has assured it."

"Nay." Korvak's tone was light, as if he wasn't worried about the coming raid. "Our grandmother read the bones and smoked her herbs and said that ye would find yer Mate on this raid, Tarbert's eldest daughter." His hand moved to the hilt of his blade, and I doubted he realized what he was doing. "She didnae say yer Mate would be pleased about such a change in her life."

I frowned.

Did he think I hadn't realized this?

I knew what was coming: blood, death, terror. And by daybreak, my Mate would be thrown over my saddle, the stink of her fear making my heart ache.

But Gelma had said this is what had to be done. Not just for my future, but the future of the Bladesedge clan. I needed to get a son on the eldest Tarbert daughter to secure the alliance, and it needed to be done before the end of this moon's cycle.

Tonight was the night the veil between our worlds was thin enough to pass through, so tonight would be the night I claimed my Mate .

Korvak had to know this. Had to know I knew this. Therefore, there was no reason for him to repeat it.

Unless he was purposefully trying to rile me.

Fook .

And I'd allowed it.

"Keep yer tongue still, brother, lest I remove it," I growled.

Judging from the slightest lifting of his lips, he was pleased at my reaction.

Hells. How was it easier to be chieftain to the Bladesedge clan than older brother to this male?

My self-pity was interrupted by the sound of hoofbeats and I turned in time to welcome Varkaan as he trotted up wearing a big smile. As always.

"The warriors are ready, Chief," he announced, pushing himself up in the stirrups—another fine human invention Korvak eschewed—to peer at the circle of stones in the hollow below. "We but await yer signal."

I nodded, pleased that someone could maintain discipline around here. "My thanks. Yer brother believes ‘tis helpful to stir resentment."

Varkaan sent his twin a smirk. "Why is he my brother when he's doing something difficult, but yer brother when ye brag about him to the other chieftains? "

Pretending embarrassment, I hissed from one corner of my mouth, "I told ye no' to mention the bragging! Torvor's Hammer, his head will swell even more!"

"Impossible," Varkaan scoffed good-naturedly as he shifted in the saddle. "If his head swells more, he'll fall off his horse."

"Fall from my horse? Dinnae speak of such impossibilities," growled his twin, and Varkaan, of course, laughed.

Sometimes it amazed me—and the rest of the clan—that these two could be twins. Och, ‘twas common for orc females to birth twin sons, but two more different personalities could not be imagined. While Korvak was grumpy and short-tempered, his twin was appealing and affable, always ready with a laugh or joke. The fact that Varkaan was considered a charmer and a favorite of the females of the clan didn't hurt his reputation, either.

Mayhap Korvak is the way he is simply because his twin is so charming.

Mayhap.

All I knew was that I was a lucky male to have two such brothers. Each brought different things to my life. Not only as a family member, but as the chieftain of a powerful orc clan. I was glad to have them at my side.

Not just for tonight's raid, but always.

Speaking of which, however… "Varkaan, ye are on Moltar tonight. Keep him contained, aye? He's made a foolish wager with yer brother—"

"There ye go again with the yer brother nonsense." There was laughter in Varkaan's dark eyes as his mount reacted to his high spirits by side-stepping away from mine. "What is the wager?"

"He thinks to kill more humans than I," Korvak deadpanned.

Before his twin could respond—possibly adding more fuel to this fire—I held up a hand to cease the conversation. "I would have nae humans killed."

Both my brothers settled their attention on me. Now I spoke as their chief, not their childhood playmate, and I needed them to understand.

"Gelma's vision will secure a peaceful future for the Bladesedge clan," I explained. "If I can breed the Tarbert daughter and get a son by the spring solstice, I will have the alliance we need to stand against the Bloodfire clan."

"Aye," growled Korvak unnecessarily. "Hence this raid to fetch yer Mate ."

The only way I would be able to breed this human female was if she was my Mate, as Gelma promised. Only Mated pairs produced offspring, everyone knew that. I didn't feel the tug the elders had spoken of when a male knows his Mate was near…but I had to trust my grandmother's vision.

Our people relied on her knowledge, her guidance, and she wouldn't turn us the wrong way now.

"Tonight's raid will gain my Mate and secure our future, only if Laird Tarbert doesnae have cause to hate us. Hence the trouble to contact the human John and promise him gold. If he can bring us the human female to the place we planned near the stones, there will be no need for any deaths tonight."

"He'll come," Varkaan assured us. "Ye didnae see how greedy he was. The Tarbert's eldest daughter's name is Sorcha, and she will be in the dilapidated building east of the circle tonight." He nodded toward the stones. "Already the mist rises."

I glanced down to see that my brother was right. The moon was almost in position and soon the veil would be thin enough to travel through, as so many of my ancestors had done before.

Nodding once, I caught Varkaan's gaze again. "We cannae give Tarbert reason to hate us. We cannae slaughter his men tonight. It is vital he think our only crime is that of stealing his daughter, which he will eventually forgive when he hears of her happiness and meets his grandson."

At least, that was what Gelma had assured me. I prayed to all the gods that she was right .

My brother studied me for a long moment then nodded. "Aye, Chief. I will spread the word among the men."

"Especially Moltar." My fingers tightened in the mane of my mount. "If he goes into a berserker rage, I'll end him myself." Why was the fool with us, anyhow?

It seemed as if Varkaan was asking himself similar questions. "Gelma claimed ‘twas vital to our future that he attend this raid."

"Mayhap he'll take an arrow in the throat," grunted Korvak.

I scowled at my grumpy younger brother. "With that morbid thought, tell the men Korvak will lead the assault. See that Moltar is behind him."

To my surprise, Korvak grinned. "So any arrows will find my throat first?" He nudged his horse's flank with a heel, causing it to wheel away, better trained than any other animal in our herd. "Thank ye, brother," he called as he rode back toward our awaiting warriors.

"Fook," I muttered, forgetting another brother still waited beside me.

Varkaan, of course, laughed at my exasperation. Then he rose up on his stirrups, pointing. "The time is near, Chief. "

I studied the mist among the circle of standing stones. Everyone knew time and space worked different there, and if I squinted, I could see glimpses of the other side. The human's world.

"Nay," I finally murmured. "'Tis time now ."

So saying, I lifted my ax above my head and took a deep breath. I would meet my fate. I would meet my Mate .

"Bladesedge!" I bellowed, kicking my horse down the slope. "Attack!"