Chapter 5

Jar’kel doesn’t speak to me as we’re bound by the wrists with leather ties and dragged down the snowy slope toward the camp. What’s there to say? This whole mission was for nothing.

The orcs all speak in Trollkin, so I can’t understand them. Damn it. I wish I knew what we were walking into, but Jar’kel keeps silent and doesn’t even try to translate for me. By the look on his face, though, I don’t think what they’re saying is good.

Vavi. I failed her, and I failed Dad, too. Now there will be nothing left for him at home, and he’ll have yet another daughter to mourn.

The camp is populated by hardy tents made of deer hide, the roofs held up with wood posts. It bustles with activity, orcs going this way and that. I keep my fear and my dread all bottled up, and instead put on a carefully neutral face. As we’re led through rows and rows of tents, Jar’kel doesn’t raise his head once. The orcs call to others as they pass, exchanging grunts and laughs. Our leather ties are jerked as we’re shown off. Will they kill us, or will they keep us alive to wring some entertainment from us first?

There’s a great open area in the center of the camp with a huge fire pit dug in the middle, and wooden trestle tables assembled around it. There, they throw both of us to the ground.

I find myself looking at a pair of bare green feet, the four toes wrapped with leather that trails up the ankle. Wolfskin pants hug the calf, and I chance a look up at the owner.

He’s huge, bigger than any orc I’ve ever seen, with long hair hanging down his shoulders. His face is brutish, with a nose that was once surely broken, and two massive tusks curving up from his jutting jaw. His eyes are yellow and cruel, and I know that I won’t be leaving this place alive.

There’s an “oof!” as Jar’kel is hurled down onto the ground next to me. Again the orc growls something in Trollkin, and Jar’kel lifts his head, eyes ablaze, and snaps something back at him—something I’m certain will get us both killed.

“Shut up,” I hiss. Then the massive orc gestures to two others standing at his flanks and they grab our ropes, hauling us back to our feet.

“What did you say?” I snarl at Jar’kel.

“I told him not to delay it.”

“Delay what?” Then it occurs to me: this idiot troll asked them to kill us quickly. “You jackass!” I could just spit on his face. “You’ve sentenced us to death!”

“A fast death is better than a slow one,” he says. “You know, even though we ended up here—” the orcs snatch up our ropes again and yank us along behind them— “you’re an interesting girl, Simka.”

“Interesting?!” I could claw his eyes out. “That’s the best you can do?” I can’t believe I’m going to die alongside this asshole.

“Simka?” The sound of a familiar voice floats from behind me. I glance around, sure that I’ve imagined it—but then I find a familiar woman running up to us. Jet-black hair flutters around her slender face, and her big dark eyes are wide and disbelieving.

It’s my sister. And she’s alive.

“V-Vavi?” I whisper. I’m frozen to the spot. “Is that really you?”

“Wait! Gorren, let her go!” Vavi waves her hands back and forth to get the big orc’s attention. “That’s my sister!”

Our captors halt, and I take the chance to get to my feet—only to be bowled over by Vavi. It’s her, as sure as the sun is bright. She wraps her arms around me and brings me in close.

She’s always been good at giving hugs. I bury my face in her shoulder, and even though she smells different than I remember, I never want her to let me go.

“Sister?” the orc’s deep voice booms in a familiar language. He speaks our tongue? Vavi releases me, and he approaches her from behind, casually running a hand through her long hair. “This is Vavi’s sister?”

“Yes!” Vavi shrieks, and I also forgot how loud she can be. “Oh my gosh, Simka. What are you doing here?”

It takes me a moment to lift my jaw up off the ground. “I’m looking for you,” I say. She isn’t bound up with leather ties, like we are. She’s standing freely at this orc’s side, one of his hands looped over her shoulder, and she’s dressed in the same leathers and furs that he is.

Vavi’s face falls. “Oh. You shouldn’t have come.” Next to me, the corporal’s jerked to his feet by our captors, and he stumbles in the snow. I hope they don’t hurt him.

“Why not?” I ask, perplexed. “Of course I would come looking for you.” My lip trembles from the sheer relief I feel at seeing her well again.

Vavi shakes her head with deep regret. “The camp is hard to find for a reason.” She glances at Jar’kel and her expression grows even darker. “And who’s this?”

“Corporal Jar’kel,” I say. “He’s with the city guard.” Jar’kel snarls and makes a cutting gesture across his throat.

Ah, shit, I guess I shouldn’t have said that.

“City guard?” the orc says, baring his teeth.

Vavi looks increasingly distraught. “And he’s here looking for our camp as well?”

“Our camp?” I repeat. What does she mean? She’s not one of them, one of these orcs.

Vavi nods, and places one of her hands over Gorren’s. He visibly relaxes. “Ours,” she answers in a steady voice.

She can’t possibly be saying what I think she’s saying. These monsters came and kidnapped her. They stole her, right from our home.

“Who is this guy, Vavi?” I gesture at the orc who still has one arm around her.

“He’s the leader of the clan,” she says, rubbing her hand over his. “And I’m his mate.”

I stare at her, my mind going blank. “Mate?” I echo. I only know what this means in the context of the arctic hawks, who mate for life.

She raises her eyes to his, affection plain on her face. “Yes. I’m his everything, and he’s mine. We were bound together, fated to find each other by…” She trails off. “By a higher power.” Gorren’s hand travels down her body to the swell at her hips, where she cups her own hand over it. “And,” Vavi says with a hint of a grin, “I’m going to be having his baby pretty soon. Or whelp. Whatever you want to call it.”

This must be a dream. A really weird, fucked up dream that I’m only having because I’ve been chasing Vavi’s shadow for so long.

Wait, no. It’s a nightmare. Definitely a nightmare.

“There’s no way,” I whisper. “That’s not true.” There’s no way my sister believes this.

But Vavi nods rapidly. “It is true! And oh, Simka, it’s the best thing to ever happen to me.” She smiles up at the monstrous, terrifying orc, and to my surprise, he smiles back at her. The expression is odd and unpracticed, but it’s genuine, and directed right at my sister.

She isn’t lying. She’s “mated” to this beast, whatever that means. And she’s so pregnant that it must have happened the moment she came here.

I can’t believe what I’m seeing. All this time that she’s been gone, all this time that we’ve missed her, and she was up here shacking up with a fucking orc?

Vavi glances at Jar’kel. “Why is he here with you? Is he a friend of yours, Simka?”

“He…” I begin, not sure what to say. He’s made it clear we aren’t friends, but I’m not sure that’s the right answer right now.

Gorren spits on the ground. “City guard are not welcome here. The troll will die.”

“What?!” I gape at Vavi. “You can’t kill him!”

Jar’kel, though, appears totally unfazed by this. “Expected as much.” He cracks me a sideways smile. “But I’m glad you have an in.”

As the orcs start to drag him away, I grab onto Vavi’s arm. “Wait, wait! You can’t!” I turn a pleading gaze on her. “What’s going on here? Please, Vavi, don’t let them do this.”

“I’m sorry, Simka,” she says, rubbing my shoulder, but I shove her away. “But no one can know that we’re here. Especially not the city guard. He can’t be allowed to live with what he knows.”

Jar’kel simply nods, and the two orcs holding him by the arms resume their march. But I can’t just let him die. I’m the only reason we’re here in the first place. I have to save him somehow.

Taking one more look at Jar’kel, with his one stubby tusk, his face relaxing as he resigns himself to his fate, I make a split-second decision.

“Wait.” I glare at the woman who used to be my sister, who must have been replaced with someone else when she was stolen from our home. “He’s… he’s mine, Vavi.” I lower my voice, hoping I can really sell it. “He’s my mate.”

Vavi blinks, and Gorren’s eyes go wide. Jar’kel gives me a puzzled expression, like I’ve just spoken in a language he doesn’t understand.

“What?” Vavi whispers, disbelieving. Her eyes go wide and bright, and she rushes towards me, taking my hands in hers. “So you’ve felt it, too? The mating bond?”

I nod vigorously. “Yes. I have. We have.”

Jar’kel looks simply aghast. “We’re n—” he begins, and I cut him off.

“It’s amazing, isn’t it?” I say, even more earnestly. I can’t believe I’m doing this, but it’s his only chance. “The, um… the bond.”

“Yes!” Vavi cries, throwing her arms around me so her big belly squeezes between us. “There’s nothing else like it.” When she releases me she returns to Gorren, leaning in close to him. He hungrily rubs his hands over her body, up to her breasts. She doesn’t even seem to mind as he gropes her in front of us. In fact, she sighs with pleasure.

“I’m so glad you’ve found it, too, Simka,” Vavi goes on. She bats her eyelashes at Gorren. “We can’t kill him, my love. The troll is my sister’s mate. That means he’s safe, right?”

The big orc studies me and Jar’kel suspiciously.

“You wouldn’t kill my sister’s mate,” Vavi repeats, uncertainty in her voice. “Just don’t let them go. They’ll stay here, with us, and no one will ever learn that we’re here.” She turns back to me. “Right, Simka? If the clan doesn’t kill him, you won’t try to leave, right? It’s really lovely here, where you’re accepted. You’ll see.”

I hold up both hands. “I want to be where you are, Vavi,” I say. “Of course I do.”

She smiles again, and by the expression on Gorren’s face, I can tell he’s already given in.

“Fine,” he growls. “The troll will not die.” Gorren waves off the two orcs holding Jar’kel captive, saying something imperious in Trollkin, and they untie the ropes around our wrists.

Vavi claps her hands together. “Oh, this will be the best thing ever,” she says, radiating pure joy. “You found your own mate with a trollkin, too! We really are cut from the same cloth.” She gives me a gentle push towards Jar’kel. “Now you can be together, without anyone looking down on you. Your relationship is celebrated here.” She winks conspiratorially. “There are others like us among the clan, you know.”

“Others?” I ask.

“You know. Humans and orcs. Mates.”

“Right.” I shoot a sideways glance at Jar’kel, and Vavi’s grin fades.

“What’s wrong?” she asks. “Shouldn’t you be... happier?”

Oh. I realize then what she’s asking. She expects me to crawl all over the corporal the way she’s basically melded into this big, ugly orc.

“Of course I am. I’m just… surprised, that’s all. And we’re so used to, you know, keeping it a secret.” I sidle up to Jar’kel, who’s watching me from the corner of his eye, and slide an arm around his waist. “We’re very happy we can be ourselves here. Aren’t we?”

He finally seems to catch my meaning. With a grunt, he awkwardly hugs me against his side in return. I turn my head up towards his.

“Kiss me,” I whisper, so quietly I hope Vavi can’t hear me.

He looks into my eyes, uncertain. His lip twitches, and then, quite suddenly, he captures my chin in his hand. He leans down so my face is cradled between his tusks, and plants his lips firmly on mine.