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CHAPTER8
ROSA
The trek to the King’s palace and through the leering gazes of the entire camp wore me out more than I realized. By the time I reached the King’s bedchambers, I wanted nothing more than to fall into his huge, luxurious bed and fall asleep.
So that’s exactly what I did.
Imagine my shock — no, my horror — when I opened my eyes after a fitful rest to see the very Orc King himself sitting before me.
"You."
I yelped despite myself, jerking upright and scrabbling backward. The blanket, so much thicker and softer than any I'd used before, tangled my limbs and left me exposed.
King Agonak chuckled, a low, dark sound that seemed to emanate from everywhere at once. "Welcome back to the land of the living."
I shivered. Tried to pull the covers tighter around me. By now I was all too aware of the thin shift Krom had given me to change into. It was better than wearing my torn, bloodied clothing but left little to the imagination. Which was the last thing I needed right now.
Or was it?
I gulped and dared look into his eyes. They were dark and dangerous, ready to suck me in and never let go. I held my breath, waiting for him to make a move.
He didn't. Instead, he pulled a chair closer to the bed and settled into it. I relaxed a little at the distance, but not by much.
"What did you say your name was?"
"R-Rosa..." I muttered. An unsettling combination of fear and desire swirled through me with every word. My thighs clenched.
"That's a pretty name. But then, you're a pretty girl."
My skin crawled. If he wanted sex, I wished he would go ahead and get it over with. But that predatorial gaze held more than just animal lust. It was the curiosity behind his eyes that scared me most of all.
It took all my willpower not to look away, to shrink into myself. "What do you want from me?"
"I simply want to talk."
His words were as smooth as silk, but the meaning behind them was anything but. He could have taken me right there on the bed. He could have killed me in my sleep.
So why hadn't he?
"We're talking. What of it?"
Agonak rumbled, a deep sound that vibrated all the way through to the bed. "You realize where you are." It wasn't a question. "Who you're in the presence of."
My tongue shot between my lips and I downcast my eyes at last. "Yes."
"Oh? If you really knew you would not be so careless."
I stared at the floor, wishing I could crawl into the earth and hide forever. Not from him, but from myself.
"Tell me about yourself, Rosa."
Why did he care? What kind of game was he playing? I fisted my hands into the blankets, desperate for a distraction. "I'm just...Rosa. I come from a human village to the west. I got lost while hunting and accidentally triggered a trap. This is all a mistake, if you'd just let me go..."
There was that laugh again. "And what makes you think I'm going to do that? It's been such a long time since we've had a human around. Much less one as pretty as you."
His words traveled straight to my core and I clenched again, praying he wouldn't be able to smell my arousal. "What are you going to do to me?"
He smiled, and it was the most terrifying thing I'd ever seen.
