“To the keep? Do you want to leave the cabin?”
He nodded, not looking at me.
“The hunting has been going great lately. We’ll have to take the meat to the folks at the keep before it spoils. They will smoke, can, and cure it for the winter.” He backed all the way to thedoor. “I’m sorry, sweetheart, but you will have to find another way to deal withthat.” He gestured at my exposed breast. “I can’t take care of it for you again. There is just so much a man can…take.”
Air puffed from his chest with a groan as he left, still not meeting my eyes.
I yanked the tunic back up and over my shoulder, running out of the cabin after him.
“Grat. Wait. I can’t go to the keep.”
He grabbed an ax and propped a log on the chopping block. There was no need to chop wood if he planned for us to leave. We had enough for today already. Yet he swung the ax, splitting the log in two.
“Don’t worry, they’ll love you there,” he grunted, lifting the ax again.
It wasn’t about me being loved. I couldn’t have that many people—whether orcs or humans—know about me. The more people knew, the bigger the chance was that word about my whereabouts would reach Reizon.
“We have plenty of humans at the keep, too, now. Agor, our chief, is even married to one. You look almost like a human too. You’ll fit right in,” Grat reassured me while energetically chopping wood.
If he thought that proximity to humans would help, he was sorely mistaken. With humans living in the keep, I absolutely couldn’t come anywhere near it.
“I can’t go,” I said firmly.
“It’s just for three days. I’ll have to return to the cabin after. But it’s probably best for you to stay at the keep, with the others, instead of coming back here with me.”
Was he trying to get rid of me for good now?
I shook my head resolutely. “I’m staying here.”
He tossed the ax, embedding the blade into the chopping block, then straightened out to his full height and stared down at me.
“I’ll wait here for you,” I said, meeting his eyes straight on.
He drew in a breath, as if ready to argue, then released it in a sigh.
“I keep forgetting that you’re a wild thing, skittish as your kind are,” he muttered, scratching his pointy ear. “It’d be hard for you to face so many strangers at once, wouldn’t it?”
I nodded, grateful for his thoughtfulness. His assumptions were all wrong, but he didn’t know the truth about me to correctly guess my reasons.
“I’ll do the traps while you’re gone,” I promised, relieved that I could stay after all.
“No. No traps,” he cut off firmly. “No hunting. No fishing. Don’t go into the woods at all by yourself. Stay around the cabin, where it’s safe. If any swamp creature comes too close, run inside and lock the doors. I’ll be back early the day after tomorrow.”
“But you said you wanted to stay there for three days.”
“That was when I thought you’d be coming with me. Now that you’re staying, I’m not leaving you alone for that long. I’ll just drop the meat off, take a short rest, then head right back.”
That was good to hear, and not just because I’d get to see him again soon. The less time Grat spent with the others, the less chances he had to speak to anyone about me.
He propped his hands on his hips. His brow furrowed in worry.
“I’ll leave you weapons, just in case,” he said. “A mace is too heavy for you and so is my sword, but I have some lighter daggers. Fuck, I should’ve taught you how to use a bow and arrow.” He shook his head, looking crestfallen at that oversight.
“Don’t worry, Grat.”
I smiled and reached out to touch his arm but stopped myself at the last second. He’d been keeping me at arm’s length this morning. It pained me, but I didn’t want to push his boundaries.
“I’ll be fine,” I said. “I survived in the Wetlands for weeks on my own, remember?”
