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I climbed the staircase to the top and final level, finding a bedroom with an enormous bed neatly made up with thick blankets. Semi-clear panels overhead let in muted sunlight. If I laid on that surface at night, would I be able to see the stars?
“You’re going to do all you can to avoid laying on that surface,” I told myself. “Laying there will mean sleeping with Jaus, and that could lead to him doing things that could make you beg for more.” There had to be another bed here somewhere.
A large group of mounted voxes flew overhead, the sweep of their wings creating a heavy whoosh, and from the shrieks coming from the seaside of the kingdom, they still waged a battle with the dresalods.
Worry for Jaus clouded my mind, but I shoved the feeling away. I barely knew him. I didn’t care for him in that way. It was only my sense of self-preservation gripping my heart, insisting I needed him in order to survive here.
Because I wanted a distraction and I was nosy, I strode over to a large wardrobe and tugged the panels opened, revealing neat rows of clothing, everything from formal tunics with patch medals to simple things like pants and soft shirts. The green tunics would look amazing on Jaus with his greenish-golden skin. And I could only imagine how the pants would hug his thighs and his—
What was I thinking? No matter what he wore, he’d remain an orc. Not despised by my people necessarily, because we needed their protection, but not welcome inside the fortress walls for a social visit.
The thought hit me in the chest like a fist, though I wasn’t sure why. Orcs had never given any indication they wished to be welcome in our village.
The bureau drawers held stacks of loincloths made of various materials, though the colors only ranged from tan to brown and gray. Simple things he could wrap around his waist and tuck between his legs to cover his groin. Each had sheaths to hold small weapons. But then, he was a warrior. What else would he wear when he trained? Thick clothing could trip you up and once tripped, it would be over.
The only item on the top of the smooth wooden surface was a simple woven bracelet, too small for Jaus’s thick wrist. The intricate braid included pale blue stone beads, and they glinted in the muted sunlight. From the way the weave twisted, I suspected it was old, at least five or more years.
And the slice along each end told me it had been cut from the wearer’s wrist.
“Who do you belong to?” I asked it, suspecting its ownership would remain a mystery.
I left his bedroom and took the stairs down to the lowest level, finding a kitchen and dining area, plus a big office with a desk fit for an orc commander. Like with his living area and bedroom, each room was spotlessly clean, and I wondered who’d made sure not a speck of dust or dirt could be found on any surface.
Without outer windows, it was quiet in the kitchen. I raided the cool box and quickly ate the cheese and coarse bread I found at the table, my chin barely reaching the surface when I sat in one of the four chairs. I’d have to sit on a pillow next time or I’d feel comically small.
Belly subdued, I leaned back in the chair and fretted.
“I’m worried about Jaus just like I would be for anyone battling scary creatures,” I said. “This has nothing to do with him in particular.”
I left the kitchen and went up one level to the living area, sitting on the sofa for what felt like hours, covering my ears to block out the terrifying sounds outside. My breathing echoed in my head, and the rapid drum of my pulse made me ache to find my way to the edge of the city where I could run into the forest forever.
Actually . . .
Rising, I grabbed my bag and scurried over to the door and pressed my ear against it, listening but hearing nothing. I shifted the bar to the side and cracked the panel a fraction. Still silence. Opening the door wider, I hurried down the hall to the outer door, unbarring it as well.
When I opened it a hair and heard nothing, I scooted out through the narrow opening and pressed my back against the tower wall.
The world had gone crazy.
Mounted voxes soared overhead, darting toward the sea. Cries of anger and pain whipped me from every direction, punctuated by ear-piercing shrieks that must be the dresalods.
Dropping my bag, I inched over to the edge of the deck and gripped the half wall so hard, the stone dug into my palms. From here and beyond the high wall, I could see a strip of sandy shore where it met the sea.
Creatures as tall as an orc, with six legs with spiked claws at the tips, scrambled toward orcs slicing out at them with enormous weapons. The creatures’ broad, thick shells were flat across their backs, and their larger enormous front claws clicked as they snatched up orcs and flung them into the sea where their brethren waited to drag them down beneath the churning waves.
Orcs attacked them on foot and from the backs of voxes, killing one after another, but they kept coming, a never-ending army from the sea.
I’d never seen anything as bloody and devastating as this battle.
Grunts and cries of pain rang out, the sounds ripping through me like the sharpest stone. Jaus was out there somewhere, struggling to fight off the dresalods. Doing all he could to survive.
Or he could be dead already.
The thought made my heart seize. I pinched my eyes closed, but all I could see was him lying on the sand, blood pouring from numerous wounds, an enormous dresalod ripping him apart with its claws.
“Going somewhere, tiny mate?” Jaus asked from behind me.
Gasping, I spun.
