Chapter 32

My bedroom door looms before me. The wood grain is knobby and has worn smooth with age. I raise a hand and stop, wondering if I should do this.

Ever since Violet arrived here, she's taken over my mind. Like a flickering candle flame, I'm drawn to her despite knowing the risk of getting burned.

My sister died because she loved an outsider.

Orcs don't marry humans.

And yet, I can't stop thinking about Violet. About the way she smiles, how loving she is with Eirik, and how we have such similar experiences even when we're from different worlds.

Literally.

Before my senses kick back in, I rap my knuckles once, twice.

"Come in," she calls. My stomach does that weird thing it's been doing since she arrived. I ignore it.

I push open the door. Violet twirls to face me, the beautiful curls of her raven hair bouncing. Her warm eyes find me, then dart back to the bare walls.

"You took down all the blades," she says. Her eyes are huge as I walk in and close the door behind me.

"I did." My voice sounds weird, even to my ears. "I don't need you bleeding all over my things."

Somehow, she sees right through me, a teasing smile curling her lips. "Of course. And when did you do this?"

I search for Eirik and find him crawling over the rug, grabbing at the fur. "This morning," I say. "I told Gorbag to take care of it while we were at breakfast. We needed to make sure you wouldn't kill yourself with a dull sword."

Violet laughs, the sound doing something weird to my insides. "Please, I'm not that clumsy. I just grabbed the sword so it wouldn't hurt Eirik."

Yes, I know. This woman, who is not from my clan, not even from my species, keeps putting herself in harm's way for a child that is not hers.

She grabbed the sword because her instincts are good. She truly cares. And this thought keeps haunting me.

Eirik crawls closer, fists grabbing our legs for balance. He pushes off the ground, standing on his two feet as he holds onto us. Violet wobbles and reaches out to steady herself on my forearm. A zing shoots through me at the contact.

"You're strong for someone your size," she says to Eirik with a grin. She glances up at me with those bright eyes. "He's almost walking by himself. He's been trying to stand these past couple of days."

Eirik holds us together, so I can't step away. I have no option but to stand too close to this woman, to her intoxicating scent, to her gloriously curvy body.

"Good," I tell her. "Soon you won't be strong enough to carry him."

Violet meets my eyes and smiles. "Soon he'll be able to carry me."

A chuckle rumbles up from my chest before I can stifle it. Violet's eyes dance with humor.

"Did you just laugh?" She wobbles again and I grab her elbow.

"No."

She snickers. "Yes, you did! I didn't know you could do that!"

I roll my eyes at her teasing tone, my fingers releasing her elbow and tracing her arm to her wrist. "I contain multitudes," I rasp, barely recognizing my voice.

"That you do," she whispers back.

And may the ancestors help me, because I see fire in her eyes. My body stiffens, then goes hot. I stare at her and her alone. My fingers wrap around her arm and I tug it up. Madness takes me. That's the only explanation.

With our eyes locked, I bring her hand up to my face and brush her wrist against my cheek. That intoxicating smell of hers grows stronger here. I touch my nose to the soft skin and a roar starts inside me.

A sharp rap on the door jolts us apart. Eirik has let us go. He's crawling over to the door.

My heart races as I let Violet's hand drop. We stare at each other with wide eyes for a second. She pulls her hand to her chest.

What in the ancestors' names was I doing?

"Come in!" Violet cries out, her voice trembling as she takes another step away. I swear I see her hands shake, but it's just for one second.

Morga bursts in. Her apron hugs her tall shape, her short, dark hair pulled back behind her head. My head cook is so out of sorts her head snaps from side to side, her earrings clinking in her ears. I glower at her, but she doesn't seem to notice. She stops and stares between Violet and me with a weird, maniacal smile.

A shiver runs down my spine. Did she hear something she shouldn't?

"What?" I bark at her, already annoyed with the interruption. Not that anything was going to happen, because it wasn't.

Morga holds up a half-eaten piece of Violet's flat cakes, the ones she baked yesterday. Cookie? Yes, I believe it was called a cookie.

"What are these?" Morga asks, her voice pitching high.

Violet and I glance at one another. I nod at her.

"A... cookie," she starts. "I couldn't sleep, so I went to the kitchen and..." She looks at me again.

"I let her bake that," I say, staring at Morga. She doesn't look at me anymore. It's like I don't even exist.

She strides to Violet and grabs her hand. "These cookies are divine! I found the batch you left resting and since we didn't know who baked them, we shared. Everyone is crazy about them!"

Violet's eyes glitter and she smiles. This smile. She's beautiful. These eyes are hypnotizing. No wonder Morga can't stop looking at her. I can"t, either.

"I'm glad you like them. I wasn't sure..."

"Like them? We love them!" Morga cackles, throwing her head back. She grabs Violet by the shoulders. "You keep baking like this and we'll have to steal you away from the prince."

I drop my eyes to Eirik, who's crawling toward me now. I scoop him up. He takes one look at Morga and makes grabby hands at the remaining cookie.

Arching an eyebrow, I pluck the cookie from Morga's hand. She gasps in insult, but I give the cookie to Eirik either way.

"Violet, this is Morga. She's our head cook. Morga, this is Violet, Eirik's nanny," I say, emphasizing her job. "Not your cook. She's not for hire."

Morga grunts in complaint, but I'm not paying attention. I can only see Violet, her bright smile directed at me.

And I can only think I want to see that smile over and over.