Epilogue

TORGAN

W e needed a new plan, not that any of our old options were great ones either. But with Breac mated and his human female fierce in her refusal to allow him to sacrifice himself, well, our best plan had to be discarded. I didn't really mind that. I remembered Breac as a young orcling. He'd been a solid, solemn orc that I think could have been a powerful supporter if events had been different. If my uncle hadn't been a crown-stealing murderer and psychopath who liked to play with orc's lives like they were puppets.

I was happy that Breac had his brother back and a mate who loved him. I only wished we had rescued his mother. My own mother was still a prisoner of my uncle, though some of my supporters questioned if she had betrayed my father and cooperated with my uncle. I believed she was working with us from inside, especially considering the information she had shared and the hostages, or guests , she'd help free . And I needed to know where my sister was, if she was alive or dead.

For now, we needed a new plan. I looked around the fire at the orcs gathered, including Breac's pretty new mate on his lap. The aura of love and happiness was almost too much to bear.

"We need a new plan. I'm open to suggestions."

"We don't have the numbers to attack the capital," Brokil stated. "A direct assault won't work. Or allies support us, but are loath to pledge soldiers."

"Cowards," Raguk spat. "They've been attacked and persecuted by Gnarlug, yet they would let us fight this battle along."

"It is our battle to fight, Raguk. I would not want to involve other races in this fight, or our enemies might say we did not have the support of our own people behind us. No, this must be an orc fight."

I glanced at one of my advisors, the imp fae, Jassin Dageiros, whom I rescued from his own people who were handing him over to my uncle as a gift. He had proven his loyalty to me many times over with sage advice and the gift of foresight. He also had other powers that were harder to control or predict, but I valued him and waited for his counsel.

Jassin stood barely four feet tall. I don't know if that was common for his sub-species of fae and never had the courage to ask him, not wanting to offend him. Finally, he spoke. "We know the king has had a prophecy about a fire-haired lass breaking the curse and giving him an heir. I have not been able to get the complete and accurate wording, which could be critical, but I suspect we have not seen this female yet."

He glanced at Evie, with her dark hair tipped with red. "You are not the one. As you say, your hair is not red, though it is dyed red. Another female was at the auction where Breac was sent to purchase, but she also went to another orc. We now hear the minotaurs may join our side, along with the exiled orcs. I believe the prophecy may speak of multiple females who could fulfill the prophecy, but not for only the king."

I frowned. I hated dealing with farseers. They never spoke plainly. "You just said Evie was not the one. So, is she still out there?"

"What I mean, your majesty, is that Evie and the other female may have both possibly been the one but are not any longer. There may yet be another. The future is always changing. Our choices form the future."

I really hated prophecies. Give me an enemy I could hurt with my sword. "So, where is this other female?"

Jassin held up his hand, twisted and gnarled as if by arthritis, yet he'd been this way the entire time I'd known him. "A moment, your majesty. Indulge me. I believe the signs are here for the king to fall. I believe the fire-haired female may be multiple females who lead to the king's fall or his success. We know the first two females are now opposed to the king, with Evie breaking Breac from the side of the king, a blow to his strength. All success now rests on the third and final female."

I stifled a sigh. Like I had time to hunt around the realm for a fire-haired female. "She could be anywhere."

"Not necessarily, your majesty," Kagan, Breac's younger brother, broke in. "The king is holding a tournament for unmated orcs. The reward is a female mate. A human female. He has hired the traveller fae to bring several females from another world here to be prizes."

"We have to stop him. He can't just kidnap women and hand them out like candy!" Evie cried, struggling to her feet from Breac's lap.

"Easy, lass. We'll do what we can for them." Breac pulled her back down and rubbed her back in soothing circles until she settled.

Brokil considered the idea. "It's most assuredly a trap. The king would never allow anyone to have a female that he has not had first. He has been hoarding all the females for years, ever since the prophecy."

Raguk, my spymaster, spoke up. "He's losing the population, losing support. He is bleeding troops. Nobles are fleeing to the borderlands. There is unrest across the realm. We can tell when he puts blackguards like Grokk in charge of units. No, he is forced to do this to appease the crowds."

"So you don't think it's a trap?" I asked.

Raguk grunted. "Oh, it's a trap. He knows you're alive and hopes you will attend. But if you do it the right way, publicly, and do not let him catch you off guard, you may get away with it."

A sly smile crossed my face. I could do that. Stride right into the lion's den and steal the fire-haired female right from under my uncle's crooked nose, taunting him in the process. I liked that idea.

Jassin's eyes went vague for a moment and he swayed on his feet. Then he refocused on me. "Be sure to pick with your heart, not your brain. You must choose the right female."

I scowled. "My heart has nothing to do with this. I need to steal the fire-haired woman so my uncle can't fulfill the prophecy."

Jassin shook his head. "This is important, your majesty. You must listen to your heart, or you will lose everything."

I listened to my heart once before and it got my father killed, my mother forcibly mated, and me exiled, hunted for the last ten years. I should focus more on my head.

I stood. "That's decided. We have a plan. We ride for the capital. I have a tournament to win."

S tay tuned for Torgan's story coming soon in The Orc's Captive Bride.

But if you want more in this series, check out Rescued By Her Monster Mercenaries (Villains Do It Better series), about the fire-haired female who was bought at the auction by and orc, then shared with his minotaur best friend.