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CHAPTER13
ROSA
As the day began to wind down, I heard murmurings from the other orcs in our group. I couldn't catch every word they said -- their dialect was still rough on my ears -- but I knew they were talking about me. And why wouldn't they? I was a lone human female in a village full of orcs. Many of them had probably never even seen a human in real life.
They said nothing to my face about it, to my credit, but I felt their judgmental stares. Heard their hushed whispers. When Melis came to fetch me, she gave them a withering glare that rivaled the fires of Hell itself.
"Where are we going?" I asked as we walked along the dusty path back to the main circle of huts. I didn't tell her what good timing she'd had, or how I'd stuck out like a sore thumb all day. Still, I'd put in just as much work as the others, and it felt good to be finally doing something.
"The King wishes to have a communal dinner tonight. Every orc will be in attendance." Her eyes swept over my tired, dirty form. "But first we'll have to get you cleaned up and changed."
My stomach roiled again at the thought of seeing the king again. But this time would be different. We were not secret lovers alone in his bed chambers. His entire tribe would be there, and what was I among dozens of battle-hardened orcs?
Would he show me the same passion, the same kindness he had in private? Or would he treat me as just another conquest in the company of his kin? A breeze rustled through the sparse trees and I shivered, pulling the furs closer. I couldn't afford to have any expectations. I couldn't afford to get involved or to have any sort of feelings for the orc king, and yet...
The idea of him dismissing me out of hand like that...it hurt.
Much more than it should.
We didn't return to the upper city that evening. Melis had already prepared a change of clothes and a rough washbasin in a separate hut for me. It was primitive compared to the lavish spa-like atmosphere of the palace, but I gratefully wiped off the grime of the day and brushed my hair back into a ponytail. Melis dressed me in a rich brown dress that spilled over my curves and left little to the imagination. So different from the layers of fur and hide used for working, I marveled at the softness of the fabric and the little chill that ran through me when I caught sight of myself in the mirror. As the copper clasp of a fur-lined cloak settled into place around my shoulders, the sound was too eerie. Too final.
A horn blew in the distance, long and low. Melis smiled and tapped my shoulder, interrupting my thoughts. "It's time."
She led me through the camp toward the ring of huts at the center. A giant bonfire burned and crackled, flickering toward the reddening sky in the last hours of twilight. Melis took a seat by the fire and gestured for me to do the same. I sat and took in the scene. Dozens of orcs, more than I'd ever seen before, gathered for the evening's feast. The men wore beads in their braids and bared their scarred, muscular chests. Some of them wore armor, and others wore layers of fur or hide. The women dressed similarly but with more decoration -- tattoos, piercings, and lavish necklaces fashioned from bones or shiny bits of metal.
The majority of the orcs towered over me, both in raw strength and stature. Even the young orcs had a hefty build to them and I knew they would grow up to be fierce warriors.
As I sat and watched the orcs gather, I felt their eyes on me. I knew I stood out, no matter how much I tried to shrink away and disappear. I was a human, a stranger in a strange land, and if not for the king, I'd likely be dead by now.
The King. The thought of him resurfaced my emotions once again. I closed my eyes and remembered his hands on my skin. The way he'd kissed me. How my body had responded to his rough calloused touch. I shivered, and not from the cold. That strange, heady heat washed over me once more, prickling at my skin from head to toe. My vision blurred for a fraction of a second before returning to normal, almost enough time to brush it off as a coincidence. But when the orc king emerged from a hut and made his way toward the circle, I knew it was something more.
There it was again, the moment I laid eyes on him. The same feeling of neediness, or harsh, headydesirethat drove us to fuck like animals the first night we'd met. I dug my fingers into the grass and tried to ground myself, even as my heart raced into double time.
What was happening to me? I thought at the time it was just the height of passion, or perhaps a delirious, sleep-addled mind, but I was fully conscious here. And fully in public. I was no stranger to hunger, growing up as I had, but this was something different than just hunger for food. It was like I wasstarving, and only one thing could soothe the ache.
Him.
Closing my eyes, I doubled over and shuddered, letting out a long breath. I dug my nails into my legs and grimaced as the feelings washed over me. Was he doing this on purpose? Was this some kind of magic? I looked to Melis, desperate for answers, but she was gone.
I kept my gaze low and avoided the king as much as I could. I could get through this. I had to. I was enough of an outcast here without making a scene. So I pushed out those thoughts, gathered up every bit of determination, and focused on one thing and one thing only: getting through the night.
The food, rich and plentiful, assaulted my senses from every angle. Succulent meats that practically fell off the bone. Roasted veggies and tubers cooked with spices. And bread so fresh and warm it practically melted in my mouth. I wasn't used to eating this much at once, but I found it hard not to clean my plate.
I took a seat away from the circle and noticed that the king paid me no mind. He didn't seem to see me at all, but I knew he had to at least be aware of my presence. Had to be able to smell my scent on the wind, even from a distance. Did that mean he'd dismissed me? Was I nothing more than a fling to him?
The thought hurt, but it was probably for the best. After all, I was nothing but his prisoner. A defenseless human in a pack of orcs with no way to get home. The least I could do was not cause any trouble.
At least, that's what I told myself. But with every bite, the wild hunger grew and festered. As the feast wound down and orcs began to leave, I couldn't take it anymore. If the king didn't want anything to do with me, then so be it. I rose to my feet and my vision swam. My gut lurched and a rush of vertigo sent me stumbling. Shaking my head, I grabbed onto a nearby tree trunk and rested there for a moment to catch my breath.
It had to be the fire. I was just overheated, that's all. With all the furs and layers the orcs insisted on wearing, it was no wonder I might get lightheaded. That had to be it.
No one watched me as I wandered away from the feast. No one called out my name or tried to stop me. It was oddly liberating. For the first time since I'd woken up in the orc camp, I felt like I was really and truly alone. I wrapped my cloak tighter around my shoulders and breathed in the cold, crisp air, willing my senses to still themselves. Maybe it wasn't the brightest idea, but I wandered away from the huts and deeper into the forest, looking for a moment's solitude to collect myself.
That's all I needed. Just some time. Some quiet. To think. To reflect. To rest.
But the lightheadedness, the strange tug at my gut didn't let up. I should have gone to find Melis or one of the healers. I should have done a lot of things. But as the darkness grew on the edges of my vision and the ground rushed up toward me far too fast, I wondered if anyone would know where I'd gone.
