“You mentioned your sister,” Taegan said. “You think she’s trustworthy? Have any of your other siblings reached out to you?”
“I trust her,” Zorvut replied firmly, quickly enough that Taegan had no doubt of it. “She’s the only one who has been in contact with me, though. It seems like the others were not in the city when everything happened, and… Well, I suspect they aren’t happy about me taking the title of warlord. So they may have gone to join a different clan, or… I don’t know. I’m hoping they’re not part of whatever group is considering trying to overthrow me, but I can’t discount it entirely.”
“Hmm,” Taegan murmured. That would certainly be a disappointment, but he didn’t know Zorvut’s family well enough to guess one way or another. And something from the bond felt guarded, like Zorvut had more thoughts on the matter he did not want Taegan to know of. “Well, what do you know of this group, then?”
“Very little,” he replied with a grimace. “Gorza has been the one with her hand on the pulse of it all, so to speak. She’s always been very social and has contacts in nearly every group in the city, official or not. But even she has only really been able to give me bits and pieces. Whoever these orcs are, they know enough to keep their conversations to themselves. It’s good they know their sentiment isn’t likely to be well-received as a whole, but it’s concerning in its own way. The less we know, the less we will be able to prepare.”
“How about from the elves you’ve brought with you? Have you heard anything from them about orcs giving them trouble or anything like that?” he asked.
Zorvut paused, thinking. Taegan could practically feel the gears ticking in his head like clockwork as he must have been running through all the conversations he’d had with them in the past days.
“No,” he said slowly. “I don’t think so. But I will speak with the captain to be sure everything gets reported, no matter how small. They know I have some concern, but I’ll make sure that’s reiterated.”
“Hopefully my presence here will help at least a bit, although I’m sure they’ve given you no trouble so far,” he said, and Zorvut smirked at that.
“No. I wouldn’t have made it without them,” he said. A flicker of protectiveness burned through the bond, taking Taegan by surprise. “It reminds me of a conversation we had once, about how elves are loyal to their monarchs because of their trust in the gods. I’ve found that to ultimately be true. I know some of them may still have their qualms about me, but they trust in the fact that I’m a leader and have never given me a reason to distrust them. It’s… a refreshing change from dealing with orcs, to be honest. They’re very different.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Taegan said with a slight smile. It was indeed something he had hoped to hear, but given how every elf in the castle had seemed to walk on tiptoe around them for months when they were first married, it was a pleasant surprise.
“Anyway, all that to say, we should be cautious for the next few weeks,” Zorvut continued. “If anything does happen, I’d expect it to be sooner rather than later, now. Stay close to me and we should be alright, though.” A slight, dark grin spread across his face at that. “Maybe I’ll have the chance to show off a bit of what I’ve learned for you.”
* * *
Over the next few days, Taegan mostly stayed sequestered in the stone tower. For all his bravado, he was hesitant to be out and about in the orc city now that he was here; as strange as it was, considering he had seen almost none of the city when he was held captive, it kept reminding him of the miserable days spent in the underground dungeon in the darkness, the cold. But in their shared quarters it was comfortable with a fire always going, and he could curl up in a chair or in their bed with a book or sit at one of the windows and observe the streets in safety. Zorvut seemed to sense his uncertainty, and didn’t press.
But he knew he couldn’t stay in the tower forever. So after a few days he finally traded his loungewear for a nicer robe as he dressed in the morning.
“Heading out with me today?” Zorvut asked, watching him dress from their bed. Taegan turned back and smiled at him.
“That’s the plan,” he said, holding a soft blue tunic up to his chest. “What do you think? I want to fit in.”
Amusement trickled through the bond as Zorvut sat up to look at him more closely. “I don’t think there will be much you can do to avoid standing out, my love. But it is a flattering color on you.”
“The next best thing, then,” Taegan sighed, looking at himself in the mirror. Itwasa flattering color on him.
When Zorvut left, Taegan was at his side, and they walked together toward the town square. Two elven soldiers followed them, not so close that they would be eavesdropping but close enough that they could keep a watchful eye on them. Taegan glanced back at them briefly, but tried not to think about their presence too hard.
“So what’s your plan for the day?” he asked, leaning a bit closer to Zorvut.
“Mainly I need to talk with my sister, Gorza,” he said, glancing down at Taegan with a soft fondness welling up from the bond. “I don’t think you’ve met yet. But I’m hoping she has some more news for me about… well, I told you.”
“We haven’t met yet, no. I hope she has good news for you.”
Doubt flickered from Zorvut, like a shadow flickering over the bond. “I hope so, too,” he replied, more softly this time. Clearly he did not feel confident he might receive any good news, though. He couldn’t say anything to that, so they walked in silence the rest of the way.
Zorvut led him to one of the larger tents near the town square—he still did not quite understand why some of the tents appeared to be permanent fixtures yet were not moved to some of the stone or wooden buildings around town. This tent was one of the largest, a patchwork of purple, red, and yellow cloth similar to the warlord’s tent they had stayed in the first few nights in Drol Kuggradh, and two orc guards were standing watch outside. Taegan could feel their eyes lock onto him as they approached, but neither said anything and only gave the slightest of nods toward Zorvut.
As they entered, Taegan glanced around the room quickly, noting more strangely permanent fixtures—bookshelves and display cases, a large wooden table with a map and a range of markers spread out upon it, several chairs—and, with a start, he realized one of the chairs was inhabited. Zorvut seemed mildly surprised, as well, but did not seem concerned as he greeted the orc sitting on the far end of the table.
Again Taegan could feel the orc’s eyes on him as Zorvut spoke to him in orcish, and the stranger was silent for a moment before finally he looked back to Zorvut and responded. Taegan had no idea what they were saying, but then Zorvut gestured toward him and he heard his own name somewhere in the words he spoke, so he managed a polite, tight smile in greeting. If Zorvut was not concerned, he would try not to be, either. From the bond he couldn’t quite tell what the orc was saying, only that Zorvut felt exasperated and had heard the questions before.
They spoke for only a moment before the other orc left, bowing stiffly before exiting through the tent flap on the opposite side of the room.
“What was that about?” Taegan asked, his eyes lingering on the swaying tent flap.
“He’s a merchant,” Zorvut said with a sigh. “One that won’t leave me alone. He wants updates regarding a trade route to Aefraya when I have no news. Luckily I told him you don’t speak any orcish otherwise I’m sure he would have talked your ear off, too.”
Taegan chuckled at that but didn’t have the chance to respond—from behind them a voice called out in orcish, muffled as if from a distance, but he glanced back anyway. After a moment the tent flap they had entered from opened once more, and another orc stepped inside, this one female and less intimidating as she was closer to Zorvut in height, but with a scowl on her face that gave Taegan pause.
