Chapter 38

Chapter

Thirty-Eight

GOVEK

G ovek gripped Miranda's hand as they walked through the warrior's disheveled and noisy camp.

Everything was in chaos. Some of the males were already packing to leave, but most were fighting in a makeshift dueling ring. They challenged each other to bloody battle and fought viciously to win.

The prize being the chance to stay in the Rove Woods.

"Why?" Miranda asked. She flinched as one male landed a particularly nasty punch. "Won't they all be coming back anyway?"

He took a deep breath of the glorious, crisp air, looking at the brightness of the trees, felt the hum of the Fades deep beneath the ground, beckoning and soothing.

"I guess there is war out there... isn't there?" Miranda said softly and Govek nodded.

"There is, and some of the clans they will need to move are particularly entrenched. "

Change was coming to these woods and to their land of Faeda. Govek could not imagine how different the Rove Woods would be once every orc on this side of the Wyin Mountains was moved into their borders.

But according to Evythiken, it would be better than the horrors the land outside would soon sustain.

"They are remaking us." That is what the seer had said to him before Karthoc dragged him off to hunt Viravia. "And all we can do to ensure our survival through the chaos is get out of their way."

And out of the way meant under the Great Rove Tree.

Fuck, it was going to be thousands of orcs. Would it even be possible?

"Govek." Brovdir moved out of the crowd. His eyes were dark and his posture slumped. Govek felt some guilt over his cousin's plight, knowing that Karthoc had forced Brovdir into the role of chief because Govek had refused to take it.

"See him?" Brovdir winced over each word. He had to talk too much. He constantly had to bark orders now.

"Yes," Govek said, though it came out strangled.

"You okay?" Miranda asked as Brovdir led them further into the camp. "I can go in with you if you want."

"No." Govek stroked Miranda's hair back behind her ear. He did not want her anywhere near this. He was glad that Sythcol had put up a glamour so that none could hear anything from within the tent.

"He's ready," Brovdir managed. "Gagged."

Gagged. And sitting in squalor inside a rough leather tent over muddied ground tied to the center pole so he could not escape, bound with the same magic that had blistered Govek in his youth .

The once-great chief of Rove Wood Clan had been reduced to a level even Govek had never been subjected to.

And now Govek would deliver his punishment.

"Thank you, Brovdir," Govek said before patting Miranda's back. "Wait with her for me."

Brovdir nodded. Miranda let him go and he pushed through the cloth exterior into the dimly lit tent. It was stuffy inside, with no windows and a door that shut tight. The only light was a sliver at the top where the fabric was pulled together.

Ergoth's hands were bound behind him, the pole dug into his back. His legs curled up beneath his slender frame. He was dressed in trousers and no shirt, and Govek realized he had never seen Ergoth in anything but his opulent robes before.

He looked small.

His back was to Govek, and the male straightened. Govek inhaled sharply and walked around to face his father.

For the last time.

Ergoth's skin and white hair were both clean, obviously washed recently, judging by how damp it was. They'd cut it close to his head to make the care of it easier. That one change in appearance somehow accentuated his wrinkles, displaying the heavy bags under his eyes, the whites of which were so bloodshot they looked almost entirely red.

Ergoth's green skin was pale. His breathing jagged against the tight rope gag that silenced him. And his gaze spat wild venom at Govek as he knelt in front of the male who had caused him so much grief over the course of his life.

Govek forgot the words that he'd planned to say for a moment, but the tightness in his chest ebbed. The fury churning at the back of his mind cooled, and he released his tension.

This male could do nothing to him now.

"You know," Govek said slowly, his voice light and smooth. "Karthoc wanted to rip out your tongue."

There was a flash of anger in Ergoth's eyes, and Govek swallowed at the reversal of power here. He was in control and Ergoth was lost to his fury.

And this brought him no comfort.

"I told him not to," Govek said. "I didn't think that punishment was good enough for what you've done."

Ergoth straightened, his pupils tiny pricks.

Govek snorted. "And no, I do not mean death either. That would be far too easy, wouldn't it? To let you return to the Fades you so greatly praise. The beings who supposedly favored you above almost all others. Do you truly think they would be glad to see how you have abused your power?"

Ergoth bit his gag, chewing at the rope, trying to dislodge it.

Govek reached out to slice it away. Sythcol's magic prevented Ergoth from doing harm and that included verbal magic or incantations. All Ergoth could do was hurl powerless insults, words that held no control over Govek any longer.

There was truly nothing Ergoth could do to him.

The male spoke the moment his mouth was free. "So, you aren't so much a coward than you cannot bear to hear the truth ."

Govek's brow twitched as he worked to keep his emotions at bay. "And what truth is that, Ergoth?"

The male growled. "The truth that you are evil . Far more wicked than I could ever be. What son would ever want to punish his own father this way? What child would relish his parent's suffering? Your mother was right to abandon you. You are a wretched abomination."

Govek's brow furrowed, his head tipped.

"You think Miranda would want to be mated to a male who promoted this torture ? Does she know that I have been denied real food? That I'm forced to relieve myself while bound? Does she know you want the male who sacrificed so much and worked so hard to raise you to suffer so horribly for only a few simple mistakes?"

Ergoth certainly could smell Miranda outside the tent, but Govek could scent her too. Her sweet honey and strength. He breathed deep, holding that courage in his lungs as Ergoth's words continued to roll over him.

"She will leave you for this. What woman wouldn't ? But perhaps if you offer a reprieve, she might not be convinced you are a complete monster. Perhaps she could find it in her heart to forgive these vile acts if you allow me a final say in my own fate. If you do the right thing and give me a fair judgment, which I should have had already instead of being forced to sit here in the muck."

"You think the clan would side with you?" Govek asked, no longer shocked by Ergoth's delusion. "After everything you've done? Even Maythra has turned her back on you. We offered her and the other two a reprieve from the silencing in exchange for the full truth, and she took it without a moment of thought. She told us you incited her to attack Miranda. Said that you swore you would protect her no matter the outcome, but you didn't uphold your vow."

"She's a wretch and a liar," Ergoth spat. "She'd say whatever she needed to get out of her rightful punishment. "

"Her punishment for attacking Miranda or for betraying you ?"

Ergoth's face contorted into a glower that revealed the truth.

"You've never done anything for anyone in this clan unless it benefited you. You manipulated us all."

"I made you all. They will see that in time. They would be nothing without my guidance. They would have nothing if I had not been there to steer their hands through these gruesome times. I alone have been the one capable of preventing horrors from descending upon this fair clan.

"Your mother would be sick to see what you've done," Ergoth spat. "To see you punish the only male that ever cared about you. To see you torture the great leader that led this clan to glory. The moment you rid me of my rightful place in this clan, the Fades will abandon it. But it's not too late, Govek. It's not too late to change your mind. To set me free. I demand you look into yourself and see what is right."

Ergoth finally broke off, panting. Eyes wild.

And Govek felt nothing but amusement.

Govek said with a shrug, "Is that all?"

Ergoth's mouth slacked, his rows of sharp teeth, the same as Govek's, just more easily hidden, finally on full display.

"All these years, I've let your lies consume me. But that's all they are, aren't they? You worked so hard to trap me inside them. To keep me in your clutch. To control me, just as you have controlled everyone in this clan."

"The clan followed me because I am the best ruler they have ever had. I have led this clan to glory ."

"Perhaps. In some ways, you have brought glory to this clan. Your accomplishments here are vast. You created the vote and proper judgments. You increased the trade with Oakwall. Food production has been incredible, and the forest is thriving through organized communions you orchestrated." Govek met Ergoth's gaze. "But no one is going to remember that you started any of it."

"Of course, they will! It is in the historical scrolls for all to see. I've had birds sent to every clan outlining my practices so their scribes could?—"

"I am going to have them removed."

Ergoth went pale. "What did you say?"

"That is your punishment, Ergoth, what I have decided for you. The scrolls outlining all of your good deeds will be burned and every vile corruption you have orchestrated within this clan will be outlined for all to see. The binding that was little more than torture, the silencing that you used to cover your tracks, the clearing that warped our minds, all the lies you spread. Only that will be attributed to your name."

"You can't do that." Ergoth's voice shook. His eyes were wide. "You cannot just rewrite history. "

"It's already being done. Sythcol is performing the task now with his conjurers. Birds are being sent to the other clans." Govek got close, looked into Ergoth's eyes. "And you will soon be dragged around the continent to each and every one of them. You will be forced to listen while Karthoc speaks the truth of what you have done here in Rove Wood Clan to every orc who will listen. It will be written down in their clan histories. It will be sent in scrolls with Evythiken as he travels across the mountains to the overlord. And there, in the overlord's great keep, with the entire history of our race, your crimes will remain, painting you the vile monster you tried to make me .

"The image you worked to create is gone, Ergoth of Rove Wood. And not one being in all of Faeda will ever believe your lies again. That is why I allowed you to keep your tongue. That is why you will not have a magical silencing. Not because of mercy, but because it will be far more torturous for you to be able to scream, and wail, and lament and have all ears turn away from you, see through you. They will hear you and be unaffected. Uncaring. Just as I am now."

Ergoth's body shuddered as if racked by fever. His mouth gaped.

His voice was gone.

Govek got to his feet. "The power you once held over me is broken. The monster you thought you turned me into has only made me strong. Strong enough to fight you and win."

"No," Ergoth managed. "No, you aren't.

"This is my final goodbye." Govek truly felt this to the very depths of himself. "And know that I will never think on you. You will never haunt my mind. I am going to thrive with my mate. And once I leave this tent, you will never occupy my thoughts again."

" I own you ," Ergoth managed past his shock. "This clan is mine. You are mine! Even your mate is mine! I will have it all again."

Govek chuckled, honestly amused by Ergoth's desperate final words. "Not anymore. The Fades have abandoned you and so too do I."

And with that, Govek exited the tent.

His whole body felt light. His mind was bright.

The flap closed behind him.

He was free .

Miranda looked into his beaming face and grinned. She tugged him down for a kiss. Held him tight in her loving embrace. He lifted her from the ground, relishing the sweetness of her mouth, the feel of her hands in his hair, the love that she surrounded him with and that he gave back to her. Together. Eternally.

From this moment forward, they would thrive.