Chapter 22

The dining hall brims with life as I walk in, Eirik in my arms and Violet following close behind. Golden firelight flickers across carved bear totems and tapestries. The heady scent of roasted boar and spiced mead fills the air.

My clan brothers take their places at the long tables around the hall. I climb onto the dais to the king's table, facing my clan. Everyone gets to their feet once I approach.

I take my seat and wave a hand so everyone can go back to their conversations. They do so immediately. In here, we're all a big family—they mingle and take care of each other, and I take care of them.

Violet's amber eyes sparkle, drinking in the bustling scene with a kind of wonder that makes my chest tighten. She is the only human in the hall at the moment and yet she shows no fear. I'm amazed at how someone so fragile can be this strong.

I guide her to the seat on my left and pull the chair out for her—it's too heavy for her to even move it. Once she's crossed her curvy legs under the table, I let her pick up Eirik.

Zog walks in a moment later. He pauses next to me, bows, and settles on my right. My closest adviser cuts an imposing figure, his long black hair pulled back in a warrior's knot, his gray gaze assessing Violet from behind wire-rimmed spectacles. He says nothing, as usual to him. Zog observes a lot before acting harshly, which is the main reason he's my second.

Food is served and soon, the hall is loud and booming with chatter. This always lulls me. Comforts me. My people having fun, smiling, and eating well.

It always reminds me of my duty. Of why I am the leader.

Violet sets her cutlery down. Both she and Eirik have cleaned their plates. She perches Eirik on her lap, bouncing him as she turns to me. Her bright eyes study me for a moment. I wonder what she sees. Surely a monster, so unlike her.

"Can I ask you something?"

"You just did."

She narrows her eyes, then relaxes. "I will take that as a yes…"

"Which it wasn't."

"…How dangerous is it here? You have all this fighting, but you don't seem to be very worried."

I frown at her. Worried is the first thing I feel when I wake up in the morning and the last before I go to sleep. "Why would you say that?"

"Well…" She glances at the hall, where my clan eats, drinks, and laughs. "You're… celebrating. Right?"

"Every meal is like this. We don't know if we'll be alive tomorrow." As warriors, we learned many years ago to enjoy every possible moment with family.

I surely should have learned that lesson sooner.

"Which takes me back to my point," she says, tucking her hair behind an ear as she glances at me with those golden eyes. I've never seen eyes like this. They're kind of magical. They glint like metal. Or like fae wine. "It is a dangerous place, then."

Blinking, I refocus my attention on her words. These eyes. They keep distracting me.

I reach for my tankard. "Where you come from, what happens when someone tries to take your land?"

"A battle?"

"It is the same here. Orcs enjoy fighting, but we only fight each other if someone invades our lands. The Wolfbone Clan has been trying to take ours for some years now. They've been directly attacking the city for a year." At first, we thought it was just ambition. There's more behind the ambition now. My gaze gets lost in memories. "Their leader would slit his own son's throat for a scrap of land."

"That's horrible," she breathes, a crease forming between her brows. Something warm unfurls in my gut at the way she hangs on to my every word, so different from the cool respect in my warriors' eyes. "I wish I could say we're different back home, but that would be a lie. It feels like we're always at war with someone."

I tilt my head as I gape at her. "Then you understand ambition has no boundaries."

Something cold crosses her eyes. "Yes. I know that very well."

I want to ask her more. A painful memory has crossed her mind right now, I can tell.

Zog is faster. He leans forward, the firelight glinting off his bone earrings. "These feasts honor those who gave their lives to defend our people. We don't have dealings with humans, so I wouldn't know if you have something like this. Do you celebrate your dead?"

"Some cultures do. In mine, death is a bit of a taboo. We do have celebrations for life." She flashes him a smile. For some reason, my stomach tightens. It must be hunger. "We have a winter celebration called Christmas. It's about birth and celebrating the goodness of people. Lots of food, decorations, and presents." She looks back at the hall, and the firelight makes her skin shimmer like gold powder. "This reminded me of it."

"Christmas." Zog rolls the foreign word around his tongue. "Since you're going to stay here for a while, perhaps you could tell us more about your world sometime. I have always appreciated different cultures."

Violet smiles at Zog. An unexpected flare of possessiveness tightens my jaw as they beam at each other. I hate it. I want to lean forward and stop Zog from looking at her. My teeth grind together as the fire inside me grows hotter.

What in the ancestors' names is wrong with me? She's just a human.

"I could make some Christmas dishes!" Violet chirps. "I promise I'm good. There's this cake called a yule log that would be perfect with some tart berries and?—"

"No," I snap, more sharply than I intended. "Your task here is to care for Eirik. Not to cook."

She shrinks back into her chair and I curse under my breath. Brilliant. Trample the girl's tentative trust into the dirt, why not?

It comes to prove that this is not her place. She's a tiny human in a violent land ruled by orcs… She would never fit here. She would never want to.

But as I watch her coax a gurgling laugh from Eirik, her ebony curls shining like raven wings in the firelight, I feel like I'm caught in a landslide.

Why is this human occupying my mind? She's captivating, yes, with her unique eyes, and her temper is maddening, and I've never met a human this brave…

But the last time I let someone in my clan love an outsider, it brought nothing but pain. I can't risk it again, no matter how my traitor heart leaps at her smiles.