Then again, he was clearly not an orc.My gaze landed on the delicate hollow at the base of his smooth, pale throat.I lingered there for a moment, then forced myself to look away, swallowing hard.
I shoved some twigs and bundles aside to clear room on a table.“Put it down.”
Archie walked around the table so I was at his back—as if the soft white throat wasn’t vulnerable enough—then placed the tray down with a slight wiggle in his rump.Over his shoulder, he tossed the words, “Anything else I can do for you?”
“Eat.”
He turned and glanced pointedly at my crotch before meeting my eyes.“Pardon me?”
The caves were full of herbs and potions.Poisonousherbs and potions.And the sharp smell of pepper could mask any of them.“You heard me.Eat.”
But if my command surprised the human, he didn’t show it.
He smiled, a secret light in his eyes.He took up a tuber and brought it to his lips, then tenderly bit off a piece like he was eating from my hand.His gaze flicked up to meet mine as he chewed it with his blunt human teeth.I felt the heat of that look throughout my entire body.
His lips shone with grease.I couldn’t tear my eyes away.
“Delicious,” he murmured.
The sound of orcish voices carried from elsewhere in the caves, reminding me that any sense of us being alone together was nothing but an illusion.I grabbed my eating knife from my belt, speared a few morsels from various parts of the plate, then aimed the tip at that tender hollow in the human’s throat.“Eat,” I repeated.
With an easy shrug, he took a bit of goat between his fingers, slipped the meat from the knife, and ate it…all the while staring me unflinchingly in the eye.“Anything else you’d like me to do?”he asked lightly as his gaze fell to my lips.“Perhaps I should breathe your air.”
Something inside me shivered and I choked down a fierce knot of need.“Drink,” I growled as I poured a cup from an earthenware jug, then placed it into his hand.The human accepted the cup and tilted it back, savoring every last drop with a contented sigh.
I couldn’t stop myself from admiring the way his throat moved as he swallowed, how his eyes had suddenly mellowed with pleasure, and that faint, knowing smile when he caught me staring.
It was too much.This human unsettled me like no one ever had.His attitude, his scent, the uncanny sense that he knew what I was thinking—it was almost as if I was bewitched.
“That’s all,” I said, as firmly as I could manage, my voice brittle with tension.“Now, leave me.”
Archie paused, treating me to one more lingering look before he finally obeyed.
Alone, I stood in the emptiness of the cluttered room.My breath came in shallow gasps, as though I’d just scaled a precarious bluff in search of stormsilver.But the precipice I now found myself upon was twice as steep…and far more dangerous.
6
ARCHIE
I got a real kick out of riling up the new shaman.And why not?He was unexpectedly young and strong and…dare I say it?Even handsome.In his own way.For an orc.
I supposed I wouldn’t have thought so, back in Wildwood.But the majority of the faces I saw nowadays were green.
Maybe the color was starting to grow on me.
Or maybe it was the hint of decency I sensed beneath his brusque exterior when he had me unchained.Probably just wishful thinking on my part…but at the very least, I suspected there was tolerance.
Couldn’t say the same for Gargle.
I’ve never understood why some bullies feel the need to pick on the underdogs.There’s a saying in Wildwood: it’s like squashing bugs in a basket.You’d think a big, strong orc wouldn’t get off on poking and prodding an unarmed slave.But cruelty is its own reward, and Gargle was especially fond of rewarding himself.I’d have to be sure to keep out of his way.
Unfortunately, the only part of the caves I’d memorized yet were the passages surrounding Taruut’s chambers.The old man couldn’t walk—and for the majority of my convalescence, neither could I.Caves are nothing like buildings, with square walls and level floors and everything the size you’d expect.Caves were built by nature, not people.Broad tunnels squeezed down to nothing.They twisted and turned and looped back on themselves.They might lead to a delightfully hot, if somewhat stinky, bath.Or they might end in a sharp drop into the earth too deep for the lantern beam to reach.
Still, hoping to keep out of the honor guards’ way, I made sure my lantern was shuttered.Only the thinnest shaft of light peeked through to ensure I didn’t tumble down a bottomless pit.I was putting some distance between the guards and me when I came upon a passageway I’d never taken before, and the moment I came to the far end, I knew I was somewheredifferent.My skin prickled and the small hairs at the back of my neck stood on end.I’d never put much stock in so-called magic…but the chamber at the end of the passage definitely felt like a place of power.A slick-looking golden sheen coated the walls.It shimmered like honey in the faint glow of the lantern.Preserved things were pressed into its surface—leaves, roots, animal bones—all frozen in time.
“It’s amber,” said a lisping voice, and I whirled around, the single light beam dancing wildly.Crespash stood in the tunnel, blocking my way out.And while he might’ve looked slight and scrawny compared to the huge, bulky orcs, now that the two of us were alone, he was clearly more than a match for me.
I suspected my normal weapon—flirtation—wouldn’t do me much good against the goblin.I did my best to look wide-eyed and innocent, though I wasn’t sure if that would impress a creature with eyes that took up half his head.
