Chapter 8

8

F or a jolting, jangling instant, Eben stared at the sickroom, at the handful of silent, sleeping orcs inside it. No Efterar . No Kesst .

No Alma .

Maybe Kesst and Efterar had taken Alma somewhere, maybe they’d gone off together — but no, no, Eben could follow Kesst and Efterar’s scents leading that way, up the mountain, toward the Skai wing. While Alma’s scent went… down. Out . Away ...

She’d gone. Just as she’d promised to do.

Eben spun around, and ran. Sprinting with all his strength toward the Skai wing, his eyes searching in the blessedly dim light. His breaths dragging in harsh and deep, desperately seeking that sweet, familiar scent. Seeking Tryggr .

And yes, yes, that was Tryggr’s scent, shimmering amidst the others, leading into the Skai wing — and Eben sprinted faster, skidding around corners, chasing the scent to its source. Deeper and deeper into the Skai wing, into an area he’d never before dared to visit, the light fading further with every step, while a distinct, unnerving noise grew louder, and louder. The noise of orcs, multiple orcs, shouting and grunting and screeching, with victory, and — and with pain. With … pleasure .

Eben slid to a stop before the source of the noise, blinking blankly through the open doorway, toward the sight before him. Toward the… room. And in the room was a mass of — chaos. Utter rioting chaos, teeming with shouts and bodies and hot, sweaty, bloody scents, clashing in a frenzied, clamouring mess into Eben’s lungs.

They were… fighting?

But yes, they were fighting, and — a distant part of Eben’s whirling brain pointed out — this had to be the Skai arena. He’d only never imagined it like this, with so many orcs packed in at once, not only scenting of Skai , but also dozens of Bautul , and a few Ash - Kai , too. And wait, over there, a grim-looking Efterar was crouched over a copiously bleeding Bautul , while Kesst stood beside him with arms crossed, his lip curled with palpable contempt.

There was no sign of Alma , of course — she was probably well beyond the mountain by now — and Eben’s frantically searching eyes couldn’t seem to find Tryggr , either. But Tryggr’s scent had led here, to this, and he had to be here, Eben had to find him, he’d promised, he’d promised —

So Eben edged into the room, his heart furiously thundering as he kept close to the wall, his eyes darting all around, his breaths still swarming with the mass of overwhelming scents. Pain , and triumph, and frustration, and — yes, pleasure, because that Skai had pinned another Skai down by the hair, and was grinding against his bare, sweaty arse. And that Skai there was being taken by a big burly Bautul , moaning as his hips slammed deep — and that Skai had another Bautul kneeling before him, his hand clamped around the Bautul’s neck, his scarred Skai prick gouging down his throat.

Eben watched for an instant too long, his groin shamefully stirring — and he forced his eyes shut as he crept further against the wall, dragging in deep, searching breaths. Tryggr was here, he had to be here, and maybe that, that, over there…

Yes , yes, that scented familiar, scented right, and Eben kept his eyes closed as he edged closer, and closer. Keeping his body pressed flat against the stone wall, he was almost, almost there —

“ Ach , pretty Ka -esh,” interrupted a voice, and Eben’s eyes snapped open, his heart surging into his throat. Because no, no, there was a strange Skai , here , huge and sweaty and dripping fresh blood — and he was leaning in far too close, his breaths heavy and sour in Eben’s nostrils.

“ What brings a sweet small Ka -esh like you to the Skai arena, this night?” the orc crooned, his eyes alight on Eben’s face. “ Seeking some pleasure, I ken?”

Eben’s heart wheeled up harder, his stomach twisting in his gut, and he clutched his claws at the wall, and wildly shook his head. “ N -no, naught of the sort,” he croaked. “ I am only here for a moment. Only — seeking someone.”

But the orc only leaned closer, and his huge clawed hand settled to the wall beside Eben’s head, blocking him from moving forward. “ Ach , are you?” he drawled. “ Seeking someone who can make you kneel and beg, mayhap? Just as a good little Ka -esh should?”

What ? Eben stared at the orc for an instant too long, as the heat and the misery pounded through his cheeks, against his screaming skull. No . No . This could not be happening. He should have known better, he should never have come here —

“ No ,” he gasped, pressing himself back further against the wall. “ No . Please . I am only here for — for — Tryggr .”

His voice was badly wavering, enough that Tryggr’s name was scarcely audible — but wait, the orc’s beady eyes had darted sideways. Sideways , perhaps only a dozen paces away, where — yes — there was Tryggr , on the floor amidst the mass of fighting orcs. And he was grappling with another lean, handsome Skai , both of them laughing and gasping and snapping their teeth — but Tryggr clearly had the upper hand, straddling the other orc like that, pinning his wrists to the floor…

And then — Eben’s heart lurched — Tryggr roughly shoved the other Skai onto his belly, and yanked down the orc’s trousers. Revealing a hard, muscled grey arse, oh — and Tryggr’s clawed hand gave it a swift, ringing slap before yanking down his own trousers, releasing his own swollen, scarred, dripping prick. The same prick that had filled so many of Eben’s thoughts these past weeks — and it was now sliding easy and hungry between the orc’s bared, quivering arse-cheeks. Seeking its place, finding it, and then sinking inside slow and deep…

No . No . No . Eben didn’t want to see it, couldn’t bear to see it, but he couldn’t look away from it, while the huge, horrifying orc before him — laughed. Laughed , because wait, he’d been letting Eben watch this, letting him see how his intended target was so obviously enamoured with someone else.

“ Ach , Tryggr is busy, I ken,” the orc drawled, as Eben’s blinking, traitorous eyes watched Tryggr’s hips start plunging, while the orc beneath him gasped and moaned. “ Thus , mayhap you can find other pleasures also, ach?”

Curse this orc, curse this horrible overwhelming room, this horrible day, the horrible sick jealousy screeching in Eben’s belly. This had been so foolish, so, so foolish, never trust a Skai , never let one get you alone , but Eben had promised, he had, and he needed to fulfill his promise, and then run as fast as he could, until he could collapse a tunnel behind him…

“ Tryggr !” he shouted, through his hoarse throat. “ Tryggr ! Help !”