The aftermath of Xylon’s victory is a strange, breathless peace. In the following days, he is a constant, steady presence at my side. He holds my hand as we walk through the stronghold, and the stares of the other Orcs are no longer ones of suspicion, but of a deep, abiding respect. I am not Dina the human, the outsider. I am the Sun-bringer, the one who brought their prince home. The name is a heavy, unfamiliar cloak, but Xylon’s smile when he hears it makes it feel a little lighter.
That evening, he explains what he asked of his father. We sit before the fire in his quarters, the warmth a welcome comfort against the cold mountain night.
“Our mating bond is not like the promises of humans, Dina,” he says, his deep voice serious, his gaze intense. “It is not a contract that can be broken by words or deeds.” He takes my hand, his thumb stroking the simple twine bracelet he gave me, which I have not taken off. “It is a ritual of old magic. We are bound before the eyes of the clan, and our War God. Our souls are woven together. It is for life, and beyond. It can never be unmade.”
Eternity.The word hovers, a concept so vast and terrifying it makes my stomach plummet. A life spent with Xylon is a thing of impossible, heartbreaking beauty. But to be bound forever, my soul tied to his… what if the broken parts of me, the slave’s fear and shame, were to poison him?
The next day, I am summoned by Zora. The clan shaman’s yurt is perched on a high, windy ledge, and the air inside is thick with the competing scents of a hundred different dried herbs and the smoke from a small, glowing brazier.
“The chieftain’s son has chosen you,” she rasps, her ancient, obsidian eyes studying me from the depths of her wrinkled face. She sits cross-legged on a pile of furs, a wolf’s skull resting in her lap. “But the magic must choose you, as well. The bond is a weaving. Two threads becoming one. His thread is strong, a thing of iron and fire. But if your thread is weak, if your spirit is not willing to be woven, the tapestry will unravel, and both souls will be lost.”
Her words are a chilling, mystical warning. She speaks of magic as a living, breathing thing. “Xylon’s soul was scarred by the darkness,” she continues, her voice a low chant. “Your light healed him. The bond will make that connection permanent. His strength will become your shield. And your heart, little one, will become his anchor. It is a great and terrible responsibility.”
I leave the shaman’s yurt with my head spinning.A great and terrible responsibility.All my life, my only responsibility was to obey, to survive. Now, I am being asked to be the anchor for the soul of a prince.
As if sensing my turmoil, a group of Orc women approach me in the great hall. One of them, a tall, powerfully built woman with a warm, open face and kind eyes, steps forward. “I am Helga,” she says, her voice a friendly rumble. “Wife of Korgath, the war captain. Zora has given her blessing. We are to prepare you.”
They lead me to a large, fire-lit room where other women are gathered, their strong, capable hands working with looms and needles. They are weaving, their laughter and conversation a comfortable, easy rhythm. They are making the garments for the ceremony, and they invite me to sit with them.
At first, I am silent, intimidated. But Helga and the others are patient. They ask me about my life, not with morbid curiosity, but with a quiet, empathetic respect. They, in turn, share stories of their own, of their mates, of raising their children, of the traditions of their clan. They show me the heavy, cream-colored wool of the ceremonial tunic, the intricate patterns they are weaving into it—suns for his clan, and, Helga tells me with a wink, a small, stubborn wildflower for me.
I am surrounded by women who are not rivals for scraps, but a community. A sisterhood. I find myself laughing with them, my hands learning the simple, rhythmic motion of spinning thread. And as I sit there, a part of this circle of strength and warmth, the full weight of what is being offered to me finally settles in.
This is not just a marriage. It is not just a promise to Xylon. It is an acceptance into this. Into a family. Into a people. They are not just offering me a home. They are offering me a life, a place to belong, a thread in the tapestry of their clan.
And a cold, sharp flicker of fear pierces through the warmth.
Can I do this?After a lifetime spent as a worthless thing, a piece of property, can I truly become one of them? Can I be the wife of a chieftain’s son, a woman of the Fire Sun Clan? The sheer, crushing weight of their acceptance, of their expectations, is more terrifying than any Dark Elf’s cruelty. Can a broken, human slave ever truly belong in a place like this?
At the peak of my silent, spiraling panic, a horn blows from the watchtower. It is not the horn of return or of celebration. It is a frantic, desperate series of short, sharp blasts. An alarm.
The laughter in the room cuts off. The women leap to their feet, their faces instantly transforming from warmth to a grim, warrior’s focus. The doors to the great hall burst open, and a scout, his armor dented and his face bleeding from a deep gash, stumbles in.
“A war party!” he gasps, his voice raw with exhaustion and terror. “Spotted in the lower passes! Hundreds of them! Dark Elves, mercenaries… and he is leading them. Lord Jildred is at our gates.”
34
XYLON
The scout’s words of terror fall into the stunned silence of the great hall, and the fragile peace we have fought so hard to build shatters into a thousand pieces. Lord Jildred. An army. At our gates. The joy of my homecoming, the triumph of my victory over Grak, the quiet hope of a future with Dina—it all turns to ash in my mouth.
A cold, familiar fury settles over me. It is not the hot, chaotic rage of the Urog, but the icy, deliberate wrath of a warrior and a chieftain’s son whose home is threatened. My father looks at me, his eyes grim, and in that silent, shared glance, the mantle of leadership passes from him to me. I am no longer just the heir. I am the war leader of the Fire Sun Clan.
“To the war room,” I command in a way that cuts through the rising panic. “Korgath, get a full count of our warriors. Send scouts to the high ridges. I want to know the enemy’s numbers, their composition, and their exact position. Move. Now.”
The clan, which had been on the verge of chaos, snaps to attention. Warriors move with a renewed purpose. The great hall transforms from a place of community to a nerve center of war. Maps are unrolled across the high table, captains aresummoned, and the stronghold begins to buzz with the grim, determined energy of a hive preparing to be attacked.
My time as a captive, a thing of shame and agony, now becomes our greatest weapon. I stare down at the map of the mountain passes, but in my mind, I am seeing the tactics room in Lord Jildred’s estate. I see the arrogant sneer on his face as he planned his campaigns.
“He will not attack from the west,” I say to my father and the assembled war captains, my finger tracing a path on the map. “The approach is too direct. Too obvious. Jildred is a sorcerer, not a soldier. He believes his power makes him superior to common tactics, but he is still a slave to his own arrogance. He will see the main gate as a brute’s entrance.”
I tap a narrow, treacherous goat trail on the eastern flank. “He will send a small force here, a feint to draw our attention. His main army, with his mercenaries and his enchanted beasts, will come through the southern pass. He will expect us to mass our forces at the main gate, leaving the south vulnerable. He believes Orcs are simple. That we only understand the direct assault.”
My father nods, his eyes filled with a grim pride. “Your time in the darkness has given you a sharp eye, my son.”
“It has taught me how my enemy thinks,” I counter, my voice cold. “And I will use that knowledge to destroy him.”
The next day is a blur of preparations. The forges glow day and night, the clang of hammers on steel a constant, rhythmic heartbeat. Warriors sharpen their axes, their faces set in grim lines of determination. The very air of the stronghold has changed, charged with the electric hum of impending battle.
