Chapter 5

5

E ben slept badly that night, jolting awake again and again to visions of Drafli , of daggers, of death. Until he finally gave up and dragged himself out of bed, fighting to steady his thoughts and his breaths.

Perhaps last night had just been — a mistake, for Drafli . A moment of weakness. Perhaps he had learned his lesson, and would henceforth stay out of the sickroom, well away from the woman, where he could resist any murderous impulses he felt toward her. And perhaps if Baldr stayed away long enough, the scent-bond would eventually weaken, and this entire situation could be forgotten.

Eben’s cautious optimism rose once he reached the sickroom, and found no sign or scent of Drafli or Baldr whatsoever. Alma’s condition had also continued to improve overnight, to the point where Efterar had finally deemed her well enough to awaken — and she soon proved to be a shy, polite woman, who greeted the sickroom staff with quiet, earnest gratefulness.

“ I — I’m truly sorry to have inconvenienced you, sir,” she told Efterar , her voice thin and raspy through her still-compromised throat. “ If you’d be so kind as to draw up the bill, I will —”

But Efterar firmly waved the matter away, as always, and began his usual patient briefing, while Eben pulled over Alma’s chart and began adding notes. As usual, he and his fellow Ka -esh medic Salvi had been mixing daily tonics specifically tailored toward Efterar’s ongoing assessments of her needs, and this would surely provide some helpful insights, and —

And then Baldr burst into the room, his eyes wide and panicked, his scent reeking of alarm. Suggesting , damn it, that the scent-bond was still exerting a considerable draw upon him, enough that he’d been able to sense Alma’s awakening, from wherever he’d been. But wait, he’d likely been with Drafli — and yes, there, the scent faint but coming closer, was Drafli himself.

Eben’s heart jolted in his chest, and his sweaty, shaky hand abruptly dropped his quill, smearing ink all over Alma’s chart. Curse it, curse it — and though Eben frantically fought to mop it up, he didn’t miss Alma’s genuine-seeming pleasure upon seeing Baldr , or Baldr’s ever-increasing scent of alarm as he also glanced toward the door. Toward where Drafli was now striding into the room, his head held high, his clawed hands hanging with dangerous casualness at his sides.

Eben only distantly noticed his own ink-stained hands clutching at the workbench, his heartbeat hammering louder in his ears. What would Drafli do now? Would he pull out a dagger, threaten Alma again, kill her before they’d even seen him move? Or , perhaps he would finally punish his mate for having succumbed to the call of the scent-bond, against whatever self-control he’d clearly found for the past day?

But in a jerky movement, Baldr spun and rushed straight toward Drafli , relief reeling through his scent. And rather than refusing, or pushing his mate away, Drafli instantly drew him closer. Sinking a possessive hand into Baldr’s hair, guiding his head into his own shoulder, even as his eyes dangerously narrowed, glowering toward Alma in the bed.

Alma blanched, clutching her blanket to her chin, the scent of her fear sharpening in the air — and wait, wait, Drafli and Baldr were both moving toward her. Toward her, rather than away. And what the hell were they doing, was Baldr … making introductions ?!

But no one in the room seemed to notice, or share Eben’s rapidly rising panic. Efterar had already turned away to another patient, while beside Eben , Salvi was actually attempting to talk to him, speaking words Eben couldn’t even slightly hear through the shrieking in his ears, and the scent of Drafli’s ever-rising rage in his nostrils. A scent that was far too similar to the night before, to that moment when he’d held that dagger over Alma’s throat —

Eben’s body was already lurching, staggering over toward them, when suddenly Drafli spun around and stalked toward the door, his eyes blazing, his hands in fists. Leaving Baldr to trail unhappily after him, his scent reeking of misery and pain, while Alma had already curled up beneath her fur, and the sounds of her soft, sniffling sobs began scraping through the room.

“ You all right, brother?” Salvi’s distant voice cut in, as his elbow nudged into Eben’s side. “ Not feeling ill yourself, are you?”

Eben’s breath exhaled in a harsh, shaky sigh, and he rapidly shook his head, and forced his focus back to his work. But it was a miserable way to spend a morning, breathing in the scents of a helpless human’s anguish, while casting constant worried glances toward the door. And even when Alma fell asleep again, Eben could still scarcely concentrate, making multiple foolish errors mixing his tonics, until Salvi finally dragged him off for a meal with him and his Ka -esh mate Tristan . And while Eben considered them both good friends, and made a concerted attempt to chat and smile through his misery, he returned to work feeling even more bleary and exhausted than before.

But at least there had been no further sign of Drafli or Baldr , and Alma was awake again, sitting up in her bed, and even weakly smiling at Efterar’s mate Kesst , who was clearly plying her with all his considerable charm. But Alma’s eyes were still puffy and swollen, her scent laced with misery and unease that echoed Eben’s own — especially when Kesst shot a sly, assessing glance across the room toward the workbench. Toward — Eben ?

“ Have you met any of our orcs yet?” Kesst asked Alma , his voice deceptively light. “ If you’re feeling up to it, maybe one of them could give you a tour? How about you, Eben ?”

What ? Wait , was Kesst implying that Eben — liked Alma ? Like that? Enough to personally take her on a damned tour , where a murderous Drafli might emerge at any moment?! And curse it, Eben’s hands were suddenly spasming again, sloshing his jar of blood thinner all over the workbench — to which Kesst triumphantly smirked, while Alma flushed, scenting of both flattery and chagrin. And beside Eben , Salvi cursed under his breath as he snatched Eben’s priceless notebook to safety, and then tossed a rag into his hot face.

Eben wiped up the mess as well as he could, though his cheeks wouldn’t stop burning, and he couldn’t even hear the rest of their conversation through the ringing in his ears. But finally, it seemed that Kesst had offered to take Alma on the mountain tour himself, and soon they were leaving the room together, Alma’s steps still slow and halting, while Kesst cheerfully chattered away beside her.

Eben helplessly watched them go, his miserable alarm jolting higher — surely even Drafli wouldn’t attempt to kill Alma in the corridor, with multiple witnesses? — until Salvi bumped him with his shoulder, his familiar scent tasting of both amusement and exasperation. “ What the hell’s going on with you today, brother?” he asked under his breath. “ You aren’t actually interested in her, are you?”

In Eben’s exhausted state, he couldn’t stop his incredulous glare back, because Salvi should know better by now, shouldn’t he? “ Ach , no,” he replied, too sharp. “ I am only… tired, I ken.”

He reflexively shifted on his feet as he spoke, wincing at the distant pain still nagging in his sore back and arse — and Salvi instantly followed the movement, comprehension flaring across his eyes. “ Ach , now I follow,” he said cheerfully. “ Took things too far in the dyflissa again last night, then? Mayhap you should have Efterar take a look at it?”

He’d angled a meaningful glance across the room toward Efterar , who was blearily working over a sleeping Bautul patient, but Eben grimaced, shaking his head. “ Ach , no,” he said again. “ It was foolish. I shall heal.”

Salvi’s sidelong glance was a little too knowing this time, but he shrugged, and dipped his quill in the ink. “ I heard Othan was asking about you yesterday,” he said, as he began writing in his notebook. “ He’s a decent fellow, ach? Would treat you like you’re made of gold.”

Eben grimaced again, frowning down at his own notebook, as yet more misery plunged in his belly. Because that wasn’t at all what he wanted, was it? He didn’t want some bigger, stronger orc doting upon him, condescending to him, as if Eben was some kind of weak, fragile, stupid little pet… right? Or did he, and the memories of the laughing Skai orc were surging again, with his cool commands, his dragging, petting claws. I can show you the way …

And curse it, what the hell was wrong with Eben ? Why was he still so caught on this? He’d surely observed more than enough Skai behaviour by now, to the point where he’d nearly witnessed a Skai murdering an innocent victim. He needed to pull himself together, and distance himself from this entire situation, and…

And just then, Alma rushed back into the room. Her head ducked low, her hands over her mouth, the bitter scents of her terror and pain swarming sudden and sickening through the air. And Eben couldn’t move, couldn’t think, as he watched her stagger toward her bed on shaky legs, before hurling her weakened body beneath her fur, and bursting into sobs.

“ That vile prick Drafli ,” Kesst snarled from where he’d stalked in behind her, his eyes flashing on Efterar’s confused face. “ He was openly fucking Baldr in the baths, when he knew we were going that way! And then Drafli lost it on her, flailing and growling and spitting at her, while Alma begged and wept and apologized to him! Promised him she’d leave the mountain forever, so he’d never have to look at her again!”

Damn it. Damn it. Eben’s stomach twisted and plunged, the bile roiling in his throat — so it hadn’t been murder, but perhaps it very nearly had been. Perhaps it soon still would be. And what was he supposed to do, he should have told someone, he should have found help, confessed it all to someone stronger and wiser, who would know how to keep her safe. Never trust a Skai , never, never, never…

It was too close, too certain, too strong to bear, and Eben croaked an incoherent excuse to Salvi , and then rushed for the door. Not looking as he dodged into the corridor, his head ducked low, his breaths gasping and shallow, so thin he didn’t even scent the orc striding around the corner —

Until he crashed straight into him.

The impact sent Eben reeling backwards, almost colliding with the wall behind him, as shock and humiliation flooded through his chest. And he couldn’t even make his prickling eyes focus on the orc, the orc whose strong hands were grasping his shoulders, holding him still…

“ Ach , Ka -esh!” the orc exclaimed, in a smooth, alarmingly familiar voice. “ Watch where you’re headed, ach?”

No . No , no, no. But Eben’s blinking, burning eyes were squinting hard now, fighting to see in the too-bright light of the nearby lamp. And finding a handsome, horribly familiar face…

It was him. The laughing orc from the corridor. The Skai .