“They’re exiled,” I said. “But still proud and armed. They’re used to leading their own fate. And now they’re guests here.”
“Guests with axes,” Caleb muttered.
Keegan nodded. “Among other things.”
“Yes.” I nodded. “And they’re guests who don’t know how long they’re staying. They probably just want to go home.”
The Wilds stirred faintly around us as if in agreement.
“I think she’s watching to see if we fracture.” I glanced at Nova. “Or if the orcs do.”
Nova’s eyes held mine as she pressed her lips together into a fine line before glancing toward the sound of the orcs.
“We know she created scarcity and pushed them toward desperation. That part was hers.” I folded my arms over my chest. “She wanted them weak and willing to do anything she says.”
“But you redirected them,” Ardetia said softly.
“We did.” I thought back to Gideon, Stella, Nova, and everyone else. “We gave them an option. We came in peace.”
But I knew that if tension broke out now or if the orcs pushed against the perimeter or our Wards mistakenly pushed back, it might look like Stonewick was rejecting them.
And the Priestess wouldn’t need to touch a single stone. The orcs would feel tricked. The shifters would react, and an imbalance, causing a massive opportunity for the Priestess to dabble, would arise.
“She thrives on imbalance,” Nova said quietly. “Not necessarily on direct interference.”
“Exactly,” I said, learning more about my maternal grandmother every single day.
Caleb looked toward the ridge. “They’re testing the boundary because they feel caged.”
“I think so,” I said. “And if the boundary reacts too harshly, it confirms their fear.”
Keegan’s hand found mine, and I squeezed it back.
“You think she’s counting on impatience,” he said more than asked.
“I think she understands pride,” I replied. “And will twist it to her advantage.”
Another horn sounded, but it didn’t sound like the attack horns I remembered from before.
“They want to go home,” Caleb said. “That’s all they’ve wanted.”
“It’s hard to pretend this is their home, even if temporary,” I agreed.
I could relate. I understood that ache and the pull back to what was familiar. I’d felt it when I’d first arrived at the cottage.
“She doesn’t need them in Shadowick,” I said quietly. “She just needs them unsettled for now.”
Nova tilted her head slightly.
“And what are the odds,” she asked gently, “that this unrest stays simply as unrest?”
I didn’t answer because that was the question.
The orcs weren’t merely pawns.
They were displaced warriors with dwindling patience, but the Priestess had created the conditions for their displacement, and until we could figure out how to restore their lands, they were here.
Keegan squeezed my hand once. “We talk first.”
