Chapter 21

Cragnorr

I ’ve been set up on a cot, my body weight nearly crushing the thing, lying on my belly. My wounds have all been treated, the big ones stitched, and covered with poultices and bandages. Then the healer left me alone without even a guard posted at the door.

“Cragnorr?” a small voice says. I jerk to one side, which causes a terrible pain to ripple through my body.

It’s Mia. My Mia.

I try to sit up, but she stops me with a hand on my shoulder. “No, no. Stay down. I’ll sit with you.” She kneels on the floor next to my bed, making sure to maintain contact between us. “I’m so sorry this happened. That I let them do that to you.”

I give her a baffled look. She did nothing to cause this. I was the one who tried to escape. She stopped it by... well, murdering a king.

It was phenomenal, actually.

I take her hand in mine and bring it to my lips. She is incredible. A marvel of a woman, and I was given the greatest gift of all to be her mate.

“I should have killed that asshole a long time ago,” Mia says, caressing my hand as she surveys the wounds on my back. “I’m so sorry, Cragnorr.” She leans her head down next to mine and kisses the tip of my nose.

I shake my head. She shouldn’t be sorry for anything. In response, I kiss her lips, and then scoot over on the tiny cot so she can lie next to me. Just moving makes my torn flesh scream, but I bear it to be closer to her.

“I don’t know what all this ‘queen’ business is about,” Mia huffs as she curls up next to me. “They’re going to be sorely disappointed. Can I elect a different queen? Is that within my powers?”

I shrug and kiss her forehead. If they’ve really made her their next leader, then why not do whatever she likes?

“Yeah,” she says, snapping her fingers. “That’s what I’ll do. I hope if I pick someone, though, they don’t have to kill me first.”

My hand instinctually tightens around hers, but she just laughs. “Don’t worry. I won’t let that happen.” She’s facing me as she draws my hand down her body to her soft abdomen. “Not while I have the two of you.”

I close my eyes and simply hold her there, imagining a world where I can have my mate and my whelp both. I will show them the best life imaginable.

Soon someone arrives with food for me, and it’s real food— fresh food. Even though I have to eat in a strange position, it’s marvelous and life-changing to devour apples and cooked venison.

“Bathe him, too,” Mia says to the guard as she gets off the cot, giving me one last peck on the cheek. “Sponge him down if you have to. He shouldn’t be this dirty.”

Without a second thought, the guard obeys her, leaving to fetch water.

Mia hovers by the door. I give her a curious look as I eat. “I would kill anyone for you,” she says to me under her breath. “I’d kill him again if I had to. Ten times over.”

I almost choke on the wave of emotion that threatens to wash me under. I have found the best woman in this whole complicated universe.

After blowing me one last kiss, she slips out of the room.

Mia

I wish I could say there was a lot involved in putting on a big feast, but really, Narria and Gru do everything. The little man is clearly peeved with how this has turned out, but he also seems afraid of me now.

“I’m not doing this,” I tell Narria as I make my way to the head of the table, where Zake’s elaborate, jewel-encrusted, tree trunk of a chair sits. I awkwardly stand next to it. “Can you bring me a regular chair?” I ask her. “Can I have your chair?”

Narria gives me an odd look as I drag away Zake’s monstrosity and take hers instead. Everyone in the room is watching me, all while trying to pretend like they’re carrying on their own conversations.

“You’re not doing what?” Narria asks as she produces another chair to sit on.

“This ‘queen’ stuff, whatever it is.” I look her over, contemplating the choice I’m about to make. She’s decent as far as outlaws go, and people here respect her. She was the King’s second in command, which should give her plenty of legitimacy.

“You have to do this ‘queen’ stuff,” she hisses in my ear. “You killed him. You take the crown. Now you’re queen, whether you like it or not, if you want to keep your own head, too.”

I shudder. I know how easily the bandits can turn on someone .

“No,” I say firmly. “I’m giving it to you. In exchange for the chair.”

Narria scowls deeply. “You can’t just hand it off to someone else!” she says in a hushed tone. “That’s not how this works.”

“Why not?” A big plate of freshly-barbecued ribs are set down in front of me, and I hastily grab one. My mouth is watering after the weeks spent tied up in Zake’s house, awaiting whatever scraps he would spare for me. “I’m the queen. A queen can do whatever she wants, right?”

Narria’s mouth works, but nothing comes out. Her frown deepens even further. “I guess so,” she says uneasily.

“Well, there we are, then.” I slap her on the back as I stand up. The tent quiets down, and people turn to me expectantly. “It’s decided.”

“Nothing is decided!”

I ignore her as I raise my empty mug in the air. “Thank you, everyone, for coming to eat with me,” I call out across the assembled degenerates. “I hope you can understand why I won’t join in the drinking tonight, though.”

“The ogre-fucking queen!” somebody shouts, and a few others let out a hurrah !

“That’s what I’d like to talk about. First, though, I have some decrees.”

“Decrees?” Gru asks, brow furrowed.

“Orders? Requests.” I shrug. “I can make those, can’t I? It’s in my power?”

“I suppose so,” he says, uncertain. “His Majesty gave orders whenever he wanted.”

“Wonderful.” I take a deep breath, hoping I don’t fuck up this massive opportunity I’ve been given. “Then here is my first decree: Cragnorr and I will be allowed to come and go as we please.”

“ Go ?” whispers Narria, concern crossing her face. “You can’t?—”

“We will come and go as we please!” I shout, my voice strong and firm. Narria’s eyes go wide, then she hastily sits back down in her chair. Some people are murmuring, so I quickly follow it up with, “Shut up!”

They listen, and silence falls again.

“For my second decree...” I turn to Narria. “I am giving away the title of queen.”

The tent erupts in furious noise.

“She can’t do that!” someone cries.

“That’s not how it works!”

Sighing, I climb up onto the chair, and then onto the table. I stomp my foot a few times on the hard wood to get everyone’s attention, and once again they fall quiet.

“Why not?” I demand. “I am queen. I can do whatever the fuck I want!” I reach down and take Narria’s hand. “Get up here,” I whisper to her.

Very annoyed, she does what I ask and gets onto the table with me.

“Now...” I begin, studying her. “This one will make a fine queen, won’t she?”

Confusion ripples out across the crowd. A few people hit their tables with mugs.

“Yes!” I hold Narria’s arm up into the air. “I have decided! This is your new queen now!”

There are some hoots and hollers, and a lot of arguing. People can’t seem to agree on whether I can do what I’m doing or not.

“But the ogre-fucking queen’s not dead!” a woman shouts. “She has to be dead!”

“Who says?” I snap back.

Narria stomps her foot on the table. “Listen, you fucking warts!” she shouts. “The queen said it’s so, so that means it’s so!”

Clearly, she was the right choice for the job, because she’s only met by a few irritated grumbles .

When the dust has settled and the celebrating has resumed, Narria glares at me.

“I can’t believe you saddled me with this,” she growls. “After everything I’ve done for you.”

I shrug. “Sorry.”

She shakes her head. “You’ve been a pest since the beginning. As if that would change anytime soon.” Her gaze darkens. “You’re going to leave, aren’t you?”

I nod slowly. “We can’t stay.”

Narria lets out a defeated sigh. “Fine. Get the fuck out of here. See if I miss you.” Then her lip quirks up at the side.

That night, an additional bed is brought into the tent where Cragnorr is recovering, and I sleep beside him, our hands linked. The healer attends to his wounds again in the morning, but it will be a slow process of healing. Only once he’s on his feet again can we finally leave this place behind us.

Though it seems my transfer of power was successful, and Narria has taken up residence in Zake’s old lopsided house, a few people still mutter “the ogre-fucking queen” when they walk by. Some even nod in respect, though I’m nobody special now.

Then, at last, after weeks of his skin stitching itself back together, Cragnorr is able to move properly without pain. I’ve never been so relieved to see him up and walking around again that I jump onto him, throwing my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. He hums with pleasure, cradling me against him as he kisses my throat.

Let’s just say that the healer makes a point of not returning that night as our cries echo around the camp.

What a joy it is, to be reunited with my ogre, the thrumming center of my heart.

Cragnorr

At long last, it is time to leave this hellish place behind. I walk away utterly changed, from my fresh scars to my full heart.

Narria, the fearsome woman with the braid, orders people around until a wagon is filled up with goods. We have food, drink, building supplies, basic tools, firewood, and clothing. None of it fits me, of course, but we will remedy that when we find our new home.

Where that will be, of course, is a mystery to us yet.

We’re also gifted a horse to pull our new wagon: an irritable brown mare who only seems to like Mia. As we reach the gates to the town, she slips the horse another apple, and I can’t imagine why it prefers her.

We don’t want to attract a crowd, so the gates are opened discreetly. I decide not to ride the horse, as large as I am, but I do lift up Mia and set her on top so she doesn’t have to walk. I think often of our whelp growing in her belly, and I want to protect her from all the discomforts this world might try to inflict.

Mia waves goodbye to Narria, who gives an irritated flick of her wrist in return. She may pretend she doesn’t like us, but I can tell she has a soft spot for my sweet woman, like most everyone does.

Then we’re off, down the path we once traveled together and stumbled upon a net. We walk for a few miles in quiet, until suddenly Mia says, “Do you know where we’re going?”

I pause and glance up at her, perplexed. I thought she knew where we were headed.

A bright laugh falls from her lips. “You don’t know either, huh?” She brings our horse to a stop, and peers around the woods. “I guess we could go anywhere. But we should probably stay far from any human towns—and trollkin ones, too. ”

I nod in agreement. Her kind are a danger to me, and mine are a danger to her. Together we’re strange and unusual, and it will be difficult for us to find a safe home in a world that will inevitably have a problem with us.

“Hmm.” Mia leans back, thinking. “I suppose... we should just keep looking until we find the right place. Somewhere we want to raise our kid.” She grins and pats her belly. “Peaceful. Quiet.” Then her expression falls. “But I don’t want to be alone, Cragnorr.”

But there’s nowhere we could go that we won’t be alone. It’s a necessity if we want to live the peaceful life she wants.

“Wait a second!” Mia sits up abruptly on the horse’s back. “There was this guy, the one who told Zake that humans and trollkin could have babies together. He said he found out in Eyra Cove. It’s one of the neutral cities.” She looks puzzled for a moment. “I have no idea how we would reach it, but clearly others like us are living there. It’s a neutral city, and if we can just figure out...” Mia trails off, now lost in thought. I wait patiently while she ponders the question of how we cross an ocean together. I certainly don’t know how, but if anyone can find us a path to our destination, it’s her.

“We split up.”

My heart catches in my throat when she says it. I reach for her hand and seize it in mine, shaking my head fervently. She gives me a pitying look. “I know, I know. But it would only be temporary. I can’t take you on a human ship, and you can’t take me on a trollkin ship. If we could just get there, though...” She leans down and takes my cheeks in her hands, so I have to look right into her big, brown eyes. “Then we can be together forever.”

Though everything in me riots at the idea of being apart from Mia, I know she’s right. I swallow hard.

“A cave?” I finally venture, and she jolts up at the sound of my voice.

“I would love to live in a cave with you,” she says, straightening on the bored mare’s back. “But what happens when the baby comes? What if something goes wrong?” She shakes her head. “I know it seems dangerous, but we can do it. I know we can. And then we’ll be safe, at last.”

This warning strikes me deep in the belly. She’s right. How often have ogres and humans created offspring? Rarely, I would imagine. It might be best to do as she says and find this city of hers, as much as it pains me to think of parting with her—not when we have done everything we can to be together again.

My heart almost can’t bear the idea, but Mia looks so resolute, I am forced to agree with her.

“Good,” she says, patting my head when she sees I’ve finally given in. “Then we’ll stop by Sackett, pick up a map, and make our plan from there. All right?”

I nod, and she smiles brightly at me.

“Don’t worry,” she says as we begin walking again. “We’ll always find our way back to each other.”

And I know that she’s right. Nothing will keep us apart, not ever again.