His voice was low and deep, a vibrating baritone, amplified by the skull helmet.
Audrey’s shock turned to disbelief. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. She was that rattled, completely thrown off balance.
“Look at her, she can’t even speak. She looks like a fish moving her lips like that.”
He started walking toward the door.
“Let me see the other tributes.”
“Please, captain,” Monica stammered. “I chose Audrey with care. Just give her a moment to–”
Morgath ignored her and made to move past Audrey.
She had to gather her courage now. She couldn’t let him walk out of this room. Before she could overthink it, she planted her feet firmly on the floor and placed a strong hand on his massive chest. She pushed him back slightly.
Morgath the Skullreaper stopped and looked at her as if he saw her for the first time.
The hollow eye sockets of the horrendous skull seemed endless. His dark eyes stared out from behind the yellowed bone, cold and unreadable. The curved horns loomed above her,and she could feel the weight of his gaze, the power radiating from him.
“Fine.” He took a step back and crossed his arms over his chest. “What is your name again?”
“Audrey,” she said.
“Audrey, prove to me that you’re worthy to be my bride.”
At this, she was once again at a loss. She looked at Monica for help, but Monica gave her an apologetic look, shrugged, and backed out of the room, closing the door behind her.
Audrey was alone with Morgath.
“What…mm… what kind of proof do you need?”
“I need a bride who is compliant, beautiful, and feminine,” he said, looking at her as if she was none of that. “My orcs need to believe that I fell for you. I’ll tell you straight up that I would never fall for a human woman, but my bride and I need to sell that story.” He looked her up and down. “You are not feminine at all. What’s with your hair? Why is it so short?”
Audrey touched her almost shoulder-length hair self-consciously.
“Orcs never keep their hair short,” Morgath continued. “The longer the hair, the more authority they have. It’s a show of strength.”
“I will not stand for it if you call me ugly.” Audrey scowled at him.
“You’re not ugly, you just don’t fit what I had in mind. You’re not convincing.”
“Right, then. What do I need to do to convince you?”
“Strip.”
“Strip?” she repeated. “Right here, right now? Of everything?”
“Yes,” he said. “So I can see if your body, at least, make you look like a woman, not a red-headed, freckled boy.”
He was trying to humiliate her. The dress she was wearing was revealing enough. But she bit her lip and decided to just doit. She had managed to keep him in this room so far, now she needed to make him choose her. She despised him so much for being so awful and brutish, but she pushed the thought aside. She had come too far to fail now.
Audrey started removing her dress slowly and languidly. She knew jackshit about seduction. She pulled the dress down over her hips and let it pool at her feet, then reached behind her back and unhooked her bra. She let it fall to the floor.
Her mind was racing. She couldn’t believe she was stripping in front of a stranger. Normally, she’d have slapped him over his smug face, turned, and left. She was not the kind of woman who took shit from men. But this time, she had no choice. Now that she had him within her grasp, she couldn’t let him slip between her fingers.
She hooked her thumbs into her panties, rolled them down her legs, and stepped out of them, standing completely naked before him.
Audrey forced herself to look up at him, even though her skin was flushed with embarrassment. She was surprised to see that his eyes had gone even darker behind his mask.
