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I pivoted, my hand going to my knife, though I didn’t pull it. That might get me into more trouble than I was eager to take on at the moment. But the last thing I wanted to do was present my back to Eamon, our village mayor.
“There you are, Rhoslyn.” His greasy tone made my skin twitch.
Last night, this man cornered me in an alley and pressed his thick lips against mine. His hands roamed my body until I thrust my knee between his legs. With his barks of anger echoing around me, I rushed home, where I locked the door and leaned against it, trembling with rage and dismay.
Not long ago, he told me I’d soon be his bride.
He said he wouldn’t ask permission, that he’d take me to his home, and no one would stand up for me.
He also told me if I didn’t allow him to do as he pleased, he’d hurt my sister.
“I’m sorry, Eamon. I must return to my home right away.” I held up the root, hoping he wouldn’t see the quake in my hand. “Kael’s mother needs her tea, or her body will ache all night.” I forced a cheerful smile onto my face. “We wouldn’t want to leave an elder in pain, now would we?”
Eamon huffed, and his gaze traveled down my curvy frame. “The women have been chosen.”
Kael bristled, stomping his feet and clutching his weapon. “We should tell the orcs no. We’ve sacrificed our women to them for ten years. It needs to end!”
“If we don’t fulfill our side of the truce, the orcs will withdraw their protection.” Dread coiled tightly around my heart. “We’ll be overrun and consumed by the shayde before we can suck in a deep breath.”
But did the fates help the woman claimed during the hunt?
Kael’s shoulders slumped. He knew we had no choice. “Who must go into the woods tonight?” The fear in his voice told me he prayed one of the chosen wasn’t his only daughter.
No one wished to become the mate of an orc. Why would they?
Our elders spoke of them in hushed whispers, and parents used tales of them to make their young behave. Some said they lived in splendor in a shining kingdom near the sea, while others said they were enormous, hideous beasts who lived in stark, damp caves.
They said that those claimed during the hunt were rutted until they became pregnant with an orcling. Once they gave birth, they’d be rutted again. Over and over until the day they died.
“Calita is the first. Her mother clings to her, but her father will see the deed done.” Eamon’s sly gaze met mine. “The name of the other woman who must leave the safety of the fortress and become the bride to an orc is being notified at this moment.”
“Who is it?” Kael bellowed, his weapons clattering against his side.
The slick smile Eamon sent me made my pulse come to a jarring halt. My mouth went dry, and my throat clogged off with terror.
“No,” I growled, knowing immediately who he meant. “Lyneth plans to wed soon.”
“Lyneth will do as she’s told.” He chuckled, low and nasty. “The orcs won’t care if she loves another when they capture her and claim her on the forest floor. I hear their bodies are largeeverywhere. That they don’t take time to . . . shall we say, ensure a woman is eager to receive their favors.”
Rage poured through me, making my face sting. Dropping my basket, I stomped over to him, sliding my knife from its sheath. If I gutted him this instant, I’d not only avoid lying beneath him on his bed one day soon, but I might also have a chance to save my sister. “I. Said. No!”
He backed up, his lips twisting. “It’s not your decision, woman.”
“It is if I volunteer for the hunt in her place.”
Kael gasped. “No, Rhoslyn. You cannot.”
“Anyone but Lyneth.” I gripped my blade so hard it made my hand ache.
“You have no choice in this matter,” Eamon said.
Oh, but there was always a choice. No one had ever volunteered, but there was nothing in the agreement that said a woman couldn’t. I’d read the passage in the scrolls myself.
I sucked in a bitter breath and shoved it from my pinched lungs. “I volunteer.”
“Are you sure?” Eamon asked. “You may have a better offer to consider.”
“I’d rather gut myself than marryyou,” I bit out.
