“Ach, my kin,” Simon said finally, his voice even and slow. As though he’d been giving themtimeto stare and leer, as though he’dwantedthem to make their horrid judgements. “This is Maria. I have bought her to bear me a son.”
Boughther. Maria winced all over, the shame flaming higher, hotter — and then worse, so much worse, at the sudden burst of orc voices, and with them,laughter. Yes,laughter, these watching judging orcs were openly laughing at her, mocking her, dragging her in her shame —
“Silence,” hissed Simon’s voice, deep and menacing. “I have taken this woman, and marked her, and filled her. Thus, she shall bear us a Skai son. Youwillhonour this.”
Some of the mockery had faded from the watching orcs’ faces, but several were still blatantly jeering, their black eyes alight. One in particular — a huge, barrel-chested orc nearly as big as Simon — had actually stepped forward, slow and swaggering, fully ignoring the smaller orc still clinging to his naked form.
“You seek toclaimher?” the orc asked, his voice rough and deep. “A woman you did not hunt, nor lead a rut upon?”
Awhat? Maria’s shivers had returned in force, and even through the terrified mortifiedmisery, she could feel Simon’s already-tense body stiffening behind her. “Ach,” he replied. “She wished to sell to me alone, and swore in ink to honour and obey me until this is done. There shall thus beno rut.”
There were several actualgroans of disappointment, scattered across the room, and this time another orc stepped forward, tall and ugly and leering. “No even upon her throat?” he asked, his hoarse voice heavily accented, his eyes lingering on Maria’s lips. “She bear good mouth for this.”
The awareness of what they meant was slowly dawning, sparking more sickening fear in Maria’s gut — but Simon’s arm around her waist had clamped harder, closer. “No,” he hissed. “Until my son is birthed, and she is free of her vow to me, no other shall touch her without my leave. Lest you wish to taste your Enforcer’sfists.”
The first big orc loudly scoffed, his huge clawed hands opening and closing at his sides. “This is not the way of the Skai,” he growled. “Even the Enforcer has no grounds to alter this upon us.”
“I alternaught, Ulfarr,” Simon snarled back. “This is nomate. She is only woman Ibuy. Woman who birthsson. This isall.”
This is all. It felt like a slap, straight across Maria’s already-stinging face, and she would have again staggered sideways, if not for Simon’s iron clasp still around her waist. Clutching her even tighter as her breaths came shallower, her exposed skin burning and prickling hotter, oh gods…
“Then shall you now take her before your kin, as our fathers have taught us?” continued the big orc, his brows rising, his eyes lingering with purpose on Maria’s heavy bare breasts. “We should like to see her spurt and squeal upon a strong Skai prick, ach?”
Maria’s gulping breaths cracked in her throat, her body snapped to brittle ice, waiting for Simon’s reply — but there was only silence, fraught, simmering. And behind her she could feel his chest filling, and hollowing, and then —that. That thick, dangling beast, which had been pressed unnervingly but innocuously against Maria’s bare back, was — swelling. Rising.Wanting.
The terror flashed through Maria’s form, bright and horrifying, and the urge to run was trampling her flat, swallowing her whole. But surely there was no escape, Simon was going to make her do this, he would make her leak and scream upon him, expose all her most secret shameful longings for their judgement, and they wouldlaugh, and she didn’t care, she didn’t she didn’t she DIDN’T —
“Ach, brothers,” interrupted a voice, a familiar voice, just behind them — and when Maria jerked to look, it was again —Baldr. Baldr, standing there fully clothed and oddly menacing in the doorway, his previously genial eyes gone narrow and chilly as they swept across the room. As they held first on Simon, and then this Ulfarr, and then — Baldr’s mouth visibly tightened — on Drafli. And on the orc still kneeling at Drafli’s feet, licking his wet lips with gusto, and eyeing Baldr with something that might have beentriumph.
“The captain awaits our Skai brothers, and loses his patience,” Baldr snapped at the kneeling orc, at Drafli, atSimon. “Can this not wait?”
No one spoke or moved, though Maria could feel the orcs’ alertness, their anticipation of what would come next. Their eyes darting keen and watchful between Simon and Ulfarr, and for an instant, it felt like the tension was about to explode, and flash into something dangerous,deadly—
Until across the room, Drafli shoved off the wall and strode toward the door, swiping something from the floor on the way by. Something that proved to be a kilt, with a huge, gleaming scimitar attached, and by the time Drafli reached the door he was dressed and armed, his sharp shoulder knocking against Baldr’s as he passed him in the doorway.
“Simon?” Baldr asked, his narrow eyes finally flicking away from Drafli, and settling on Simon’s face. “Are you done?”
Simon’s body behind Maria twitched, and somewhere beneath the still-screeching mortified terror, she realized that he’d been just as tense as she’d felt. And at the feel of him relaxing against her — the feel of that prodding beast slightly softening — she could somehow breathe again, her lungs dragging in air, the blood slowly returning to her hands and feet.
“Ach, we are done,” came Simon’s reply, and it might have been relief in his voice, in the harsh exhale of his breath against her hair. “Come, woman.”
Maria obeyed without hesitation, lurching toward the door on her staggering, sparking feet. Away from those horrible, hostile orcs, from the mockery, the leering eyes, the judgement.Shall you now take her before your kin.She has good mouth. We should like to see her spurt and squeal…
Simon’s heavy hand had settled on Maria’s shivering shoulder, and she reflexively flinched away from him, her arms clamping over her chest. Her breath was still coming in thick, draining gulps, and her vision of Baldr’s stiffly striding form ahead of her seemed to be blurring, worse and worse, no matter how frantically she blinked her eyes —
“In, woman,” came Simon’s low voice, his hand nudging against her back, and though Maria flinched again, she once more obeyed. Finding herself back in his mess of a room, but it had the bed, with thosefurs, and her shivering body sprinted straight toward them, toward protection, towardsafety. Almost hurling herself under the soft whispering warmth, fully concealing her humiliation beneath.
There was the sound of a slow sigh somewhere behind her, and then a distant, prickling awareness of Simon moving. Coming nearer, hesitating over her at the edge of the bed.
“I would no yet take you before them,” said his voice, quiet. “No when you are so fearful of this.”
Noyet?! A hard shudder wracked through Maria’s body, and she curled herself tighter, clutching the fur up to her chin. “I’m not —fearful,” she countered, though her teeth were chattering, her voice badly cracking. “I’m —horrified. At you, and your awful clan. I c-can’t believe you d-id that. Y-you truly made me into a — ajoke. A trinket to besharedandlaughedat. A — a —”
She couldn’t say it, couldn’t even bear to remember him saying those words.This is no mate. She is only woman I buy. This is all…
“I said, I no share you,” came Simon’s reply, flatter now. “And you were nojoke. Skai all long for tall, ripe, buxom woman like you. Woman with strength and will to bear strong ploughing, and grow hale, hearty Skai sons.”
If that was supposed to be comforting, it achieved the exact opposite, because Maria’s badly trembling hands had skittered down to her waist, searching desperately against it. It couldn’t be fuller already, thatcouldn’thave happened from one time, in a single day, please gods please…
