“This is insane!” she said. “Tell us everything!”
“Did they hurt you?” Audrey asked. “Are you okay?”
Owen laughed and shook his head.
“Hurt us? Nah. They scared us a bit. That Brumis chick is a tough cookie, isn’t she? But they gave us food, wine, beer. They’ve been treating us really well.”
Shauna nodded. “One of the other females, Zulka is her name? She came often with news about you. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Audrey said. “But I need to sit down.”
They arranged themselves around the fire, settling onto the floor in a loose circle.
She told them about the orc dagger and how the magic had infected her just by holding it because it hadn’t settled yet. Next time, she’d think twice before stealing keys and unlocking doors that were locked for a very good reason. She described the three days she spent unconscious while Morgath sat beside her and held her hand. She told them about Jorrad, who’d escaped and attacked her, and how Morgath had killed him to protect her. She recounted his speech to the horde and her own declaration in front of everyone.
Finally, she told them about her decision to stay.
When she finished, Shauna and Natalie hugged her tightly from both sides.
“Are you sure this is what you want?” Shauna asked. “To stay? Here, with him?”
Audrey felt heat rise to her cheeks. She ducked her head and let out a shaky laugh.
“I think so,” she said. “I know it’s all messed up, but I might be falling in love with him?”
She covered her face with her hand, laughing harder. The sound was a bit hysterical, but it felt good to say the words out loud. To admit what she’d been trying to deny for weeks.
Tyler leaned forward and put his hand on her knee.
“He killed that bastard for you,” he said. “So, I get it. We get it, Audrey. We’re happy that you found peace, even if it’s in the most unexpected of places.”
Cole nodded in agreement. “After these past few days, we realized not all orcs are that bad. Only a few of them, and we kind of got rid of them, didn’t we?”
The group fell quiet for a moment, then they moved together, pulling each other into a tangle of arms and bodies. They hugged and held on.
“Promise me you’ll take care of each other,” Audrey said, her voice muffled against Tyler’s shoulder.
“We promise,” Natalie said.
“And give up orc hunting,” Audrey added. “Find safer ways to make a living.”
“We will,” Owen said.
“And visit me once in a while,” Audrey said. “Don’t let this be the end of our friendship.”
“Never,” Shauna said. “We’ll come see you.”
They held each other for a long moment, their voices overlapping as they made their promises. When they finally pulled apart, Audrey felt lighter than she had in years. The weight of revenge had lifted from her shoulders, replaced by something she’d never expected to find.
Hope.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Audrey sat on Morgath’s lap in front of the roaring fireplace, her head resting against his broad chest as he rubbed her back in slow circles. The warmth from the fire spread through the room and wrapped around them both like a blanket. She closed her eyes and listened to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.
Today had been a lot. She’d said goodbye to her friends and watched them leave, knowing they would be safe, but feeling the loss of them all the same. It felt like the end of one chapter and the beginning of another, like her entire life had split cleanly into before and after.
Jorrad’s body had been burned outside of town in a hasty ceremony that not all the orcs had wanted to attend. In the end, most of them had chosen to distance themselves from him and what he’d done during the war. Many of them had even approached Audrey afterward, shy and awkward as they told her how sorry they were. They said they admired her strength, and that it had been right for her to seek revenge. Morgath had been correct. The horde respected her now, and she could feel the shift in how they looked at her.
