AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No. She’s not.”
“She is right here,” I jump in before they can continue. “I’ve already talked to Orcus about it, and he agreed with me. We can’t implement any changes until we’re king and queen, but I promise I’m not lying.”
“The witch isn’t in her room.” Orcus stomps back over to the seat. “Where is she?”
“I’m not sure. We were together in the library earlier. The spell alerted her that I might be in danger and she came to find me.” Which is weird because the protective charm is still buzzing over my skin, more gently than before, and she hasn’t shown up. “Maybe there was trouble back in the magic realm?”
“I should summon Callum.”
“Orcus. We have a medical wing here. Why don’t we go there?”
“Because Avery will only patch you up and I want it fixed.”
Releasing a sigh, I shake my head. “Please go get Avery.” I pull the bloodied piece of his shirt away from my face. It’s soaked through, but the cut really isn’t that bad. “If you don’t go get them, I’ll need all of your shirts and I’m not too keen on other people seeing those abs. They’remine.”
His lips twitch but the scowl is stronger than the smile. “Fine, little flower. I’ll go get them but if you so much as move, I’ll find a way to punish you.”
Considering his form of punishment is pleasure, I’m not so sure he should be threatening me, but I nod and do as he asks. Now isn’t the time to play with him.
Orcus glances at Harald. “Guard her with your life.”
“Don’t tell me what to do,” Harald snaps. “But ya already know I will.”
“I won’t forget your allegiance.” Orcus rushes out of the room. I frown after him, hating how frazzled he is.
Maybe I should’ve let him stop the fight, but then we’d have more problems to deal with and we don’t need that. Besides, it wasn’t horrible.
Harald plops down onto the cushion beside me. “Tell me about the fight.”
“You’re so bloodthirsty,” I tell him with a laugh before launching into the story. Lagertha climbs onto the coffee table and Prometheus settles into my lap. I pet the dragon and weave an epic tale of my absolute failure. Catching the way Harald’s eyes glimmer with excitement, I go into an obnoxious amount of detail about each hit.
“This Orlena, she’s a princess?” Lagertha asks once I finish.
“Yes. The oldest sister, but she’d rather be a warrior than a princess.”
“Then she should do it. In trull society, she’d already be one.”
“I think it’s more complicated than that with the current king,” I tell Lagertha. “But once Orcus is king, that will change.”
“Ya have a mouth full of promises.”
“Thank you.” I beam at Lagertha and pretend like she didn’t insult me.
Her features slam together in confusion, but Avery and Orcus arrive and stop the conversation. The nurse sets to work. Avery clucks at me a few times, mumbling about how I should know better than to pick a fight with an ogre, but the wounds are cleaned and bandaged in a matter of minutes.
“How’s your head?” They cup my face and study me. “Eyes are clear. Any headaches?”
“No.”
“Slurred words?”
“No, she really didn’t hit me that hard.”
Avery harrumphs. “Well, you can take a hit, I’ll give you that. The wounds should close up tonight, but you’ll have a few nasty scabs during the ceremony. If you’re lucky, they’ll be gone by then.”
“I’ll have the witch fix them when she returns.”
Avery’s face falls and they drop their gaze, packing up the supplies. “The witch is a very skilled healer.”
