A family. And what was she saying, what was she betraying, the hope and longing quivering pathetically through her voice. Because that wasn’t what any of this led to, was it? No. She had to prove this, to pay her penance, to keep her vow…
Too late, she braced herself, perhaps for Kalfr’s mockery, or his judgement — but there was only the heavy rise and fall of his shoulder against hers, a low clearing of his throat. “And I pray, goddess,” he murmured, into the quiet, “that you will hear my brave mate, and grant her all she seeks.”
Oh. Well. Raye’s breath came out in a rush, her eyes snapping open, and she couldn’t help a grateful smile toward Kalfr beside her. Because even if he didn’t mean it, that had been lovely of him to say — and his eyes on hers looked bright too, and a soft, crooked smile pulled at his mouth. As if he’d likedher prayer. As if, again, this had meant something to him.I pray that you will hear my brave mate, and grant her all she seeks.
And for an instant, as Raye kept holding his eyes, she could almost believe he’d meant it. Maybe he really did want to make a family, and a home where they could be happy and safe together. And by sharing this with her, he’d chosen to meet her in it. To trust her.
But then his body stiffened, and his eyes cut away from her, toward the trees. Toward — Orc Mountain. Or rather, toward — the person?
Raye’s heart skipped, because yes, that was a new person. A new orc, tall and lanky, slipping gracefully through the ring of greenery surrounding the altar, and striding straight toward them. And the closer he came, the more familiar he looked. An orc from the mountain. From that Bautul room with the altar…
Joarr. The midwife’s mate. And… Orc Mountain’s Chief Scout. Right?
“Greetings, brother,” Kalfr said, and he gracefully hopped off the altar to meet Joarr, clasping briefly at his hand. “You bring news? From the north?”
Raye froze, and then lurched off the altar to join them. News, from the north. From…
“Ach, brother,” Joarr replied, with a nod. “From our enemy, just this morn.”
Their enemy. Raye stared at Joarr, waiting, while he gave them a grim smile. “Once again, this Sybil has spurned our latest offer,” he flatly continued, “and has gathered more men and bands to her side. She now marches straight toward you, at haste. As if she well knows you are here.”
Raye couldn’t breathe, suddenly, and she gripped at Kalfr’s arm, searched his face. He looked so tired again, suddenly, his face drawn and haggard, and had he known this was coming today? Had he expected this?
“How many men, then?” Kalfr asked, his voice wooden. “And how soon?”
Raye gripped Kalfr’s arm tighter, while Joarr exhaled, and gave them another smile that wasn’t a smile at all…
“Near to two hundred men, all told,” he said. “And I grant you ten more days, before they are upon you.”
45
Ten more days. Two hundred men.
The dread and alarm punched through Raye’s gut, but beside her, Kalfr didn’t look even slightly surprised. Instead, he nodded, and asked Joarr something about advance outriders — something Raye couldn’t at all hear through the buzzing in her ears.
Ten days, until Sybil would be here, at theirbyrgi. Until she tried to kill Kalfr, and likely kill them all, too.
“But — weren’t we supposed to have more time?” Raye’s shrill voice demanded, into the first moment of silence. “We were supposed to have two weeks!”
She was still clutching at Kalfr’s arm, and though he angled a sidelong look toward her, he didn’t reply. While Joarr nodded, his mouth pursed, his claws drumming on the nearby altar. “We hoped she would need to spend more time hunting for you, first,” he replied. “Thisbyrgiis far from the human roads, and it is not easy to find if you are not an orc, ach? But it seems she is now sure you are here, brother. One of her bands of mercenaries must have already scented you here, these past weeks, and we did not catch this.”
Raye glanced down toward that blood-streaked altar, while the dread plummeted deeper in her gut. Of course Sybil’s mercenaries had found Kalfr, because that was exactly what he’d intended them to do. He’d meant to give them a clear scent to follow, so he could offer himself up to hisdeath.
“And Sybil plans to attack us here with her entire army, then?” Raye asked, her voice hollow. “With all two hundred men?”
She couldn’t even imagine it, two hundred strange men stomping through their forest, ruining their garden, trying to set their lovelybyrgion fire. And could they really withstand that? Could they hold out against two hundred men, for days, or weeks, or months?
“Some of the men yet ride ahead in separate bands, mayhap seeking any movement of your scent,” Joarr said, with a nod toward Kalfr. “But ach, beyond this, they all seek to come here. They are well stocked and trained, and it seems this Sybil yet holds but one goal — to capture and kill you by any means possible, and see you suffer in this.”
Raye’s stomach churned harder, but beside her, Kalfr again just looked tired. Resigned.Accepting. As if he wasn’t surprised by any of this. As if he was still planning to walk straight toward his death, in ten days…
Joarr was eyeing Kalfr too, and clapped a hand against his shoulder. “But we will keep watching and tracking them, and keep seeking to parley with them,” he continued. “And you are making your own plans here also, are you not?”
Kalfr nodded, and briefly explained everything they’d decided on these past few days — the siege plans, the food storage, the defensive training — though again, Raye only half-heard it through the ringing in her ears. Ten days. Two hundred men. A goal of capturing and killing Kalfr, by any means possible, and seeing him suffer.
But before them, Joarr was intently listening to Kalfr’s plans, and twitching the occasional thoughtful nod, his eyes distant. “This seems wise, brother,” Joarr said, once Kalfr had finished. “And you can yet retreat to the mountain, if all else fails. I shall speak to our kin, and bring more news soon. Goddess be with you.”
Kalfr gave another reply Raye didn’t hear, and Joarr strode off again, waving farewell as he vanished through the greenery. While both Raye and Kalfr stared in silence after him, Raye’s heart still wildly thumping in her ears.
