Page 20 of The Orc Warrioress and the Elf Lord

GATHREN DECIDED HER best course of action was to wait until the coast was clear. She told the elf who’d detained her that he was right, of course, that she should not distract Iahir, and that she would simply return to her chamber, hide away, and he let her go.

She did not go back to her chamber, however, but found an alcove out of sight and waited until no one was in the hallway before darting over into that darkened hallway that she’d been directed to before.

Then, quick as she could, as noiselessly as possible, she darted down the hall until she came to a door covered by two kingsguards that she knew from the sparring ring. They were both wide-eyed and worried, hands to their swords, looking this way and that.

They saw her and she knew she could beat both of them in a fight, but that was one-on-one. Two of them against her? Well, she wasn’t sure about that.

She could not convince either of them that she was frightened. They had seen her with Iahir too often to believe that about her. She could think, however, of no good reason to be coming into the king’s private part of the palace except, well, to harm him.

She stood there, breathing, wracking her brain for something to say.

They looked her over, suspicion all over their faces.

“I am…” She must think of something. “Worried,” she suddenly decided. “Yes, worried. About Iahir.”

They raised their eyebrows.

“You have seen him!” she exclaimed, gesturing with one hand in the direction of the sparring ring. “If he is attacked by invading orcs, he may succumb. He needs me.”

They both narrowed their eyes.

She walked towards them. “I’m going in here to find him,” she said.

They didn’t stop her.

She entered through the doors.

And now she was in another hallway, and there were doors everywhere, and there were no other guards anywhere. She supposed this would house a queen, princesses and princes, that sort of thing, if Findas actually had them.

Oh, he had heirs, but the two women who had married him had both died, so there was no queen.

The heirs were older, off on their own, not living here in the palace but instead in their own houses here in the Vale. Two lived right here in Renegahan, the capital, and the other three resided in other regions nearby.

Gathren began opening doors, each of them leading to darkened, empty rooms with bare beds and very little furniture.

She was ducking out of one of them when Iahir appeared out of another door, and there was blood on him, a fine spatter of red dots against his chin his neck and against his white and gold uniform.

She let out a noisy breath.

He looked up and saw her. “You.” He pointed at her. “You didn’t know, did you? You had no idea when the army was coming.”

She swallowed. Truth was, she’d known when the army was supposed to attack, what they had decided on before she left the orc encampment in Bilkwood, but they’d obviously changed their strategy. “I thought I knew. They have been making plans without me, clearly.”

“Maybe because the High Chieftain is worried about his daughter?” said Iahir, advancing on her. “You were so intent that we not send any word at all until the High King was dead, but I think you knew this would happen. I think you did it on purpose.”

She shook her head. “I swear to you, I—”

“No matter,” he said. “You will send word to your father now. You will stop all of this, as you promised, stop the orcs from sacking this palace.”

Right. She nodded. “It may be difficult now that the army has moved. I do not quite know where to send word.”

“Oh, I imagine finding the High Chieftain will not be difficult,” he said. “We’re going to Marthlis now.”

“Is the High King…?” She had come here to verify that, after all.

“Obviously,” said Iahir, offended.

“I’ll just see for myself.” She started for the door he’d come out of.