Honor Among Orcs (Orc Saga) by Amalia Dillin Read Free Book Online Page B

along the stone to the wood frame and the emptiness inside it. Empty but for Bolthorn. Her fingers grazed his warm skin, puckered and calloused as his palm. He caught her hand and drew her in, his yellow eyes glinting in the dark. His heart sped beneath her cheek when she pressed it against the hard muscle of his chest. Strong and fast, just like hers, even if his skin was grey-green. Tonight they were much alike, beaten and bloodied for the sake of others. He held her like so much blown glass, unwilling to let go but afraid of his own strength.
    Her shoulder was bare where her dress had been torn and the chill night air sent a shiver down her spine. She breathed deep, taking comfort from the earthiness of his body, but the tears still spilled, splashing hot against cold skin.
    “Shh,” he murmured, though she hadn’t said a word. “You are safe, now.”
    For a time, a fleeting moment. No one could touch her here. No one would see her red eyes, or her swollen face. Not even Bolthorn, while they remained in the dark.
    And in that moment, free within his prison, she wept.

    “Dawn comes, Princess,” he murmured into her hair. The scent of wine and roses filled his nose and her hair tickled his jaw, but he had not dared to move once she slept at last. Nor did he ask what had happened. Her torn gown told him enough and her quiet sobs stuck like arrows deep into his chest.
    He brushed her hair from the smooth skin of her shoulder and she sighed, lifting her face from the curve of his neck. She was so small, fitting across his thighs so easily he had barely noticed her weight. Or perhaps it was the warmth of her body that distracted him.
    She rubbed her face, blinking the sand from her eyes. “Forgive me,” she said. “I didn’t mean to—”
    He pressed a finger to her lips, then froze, straining to see what the darkness had hidden from him. Her mouth was swollen, her lower lip split. He growled under his breath. “He struck you.”
    She ducked her head, her hair falling in a curtain between them. “I—refused him. So he forced the issue. It was foolish.”
    “Brave,” he said. “You should have been born orc, Princess. Your strength is wasted here.”
    “Are orc women free?” she asked, her eyes meeting his. “Will I be free?”
    “Yes,” he promised. For the price she would pay in blood, he would make it so. He was Gothi, and though he did not often make use of his power, he could give her that much in return for her aid. No orc would question her right to it, in all honor. If she followed him that far.
    For a moment, he saw her in the village, her face tattooed with the black marks of his clan and her satin gown traded for supple leather. For a moment, he saw her waiting for him, her eyes warm, welcoming him home after a long hunt. Beautiful and strong. His chest tightened and so did his arm around her waist.
    “I would like that,” she said softly.
    He couldn’t bring himself to admit that the same hard won freedom would prevent her from returning.
    Not yet.

CHAPTER FOUR
     

     
    She left him not long after and Bolthorn turned it all over in his mind, struggling to dampen his rage. It did him no good while he waited behind the glass, and he did not wish Arianna to believe his anger was for her.
    His fingers itched to encircle the man’s throat. How did this Alviss not see what she was worth? Bolthorn snorted. No honor. Just like his king.
    Soon enough, she would be free, if she could only avoid the man a few days more. He hated being trapped this way, unable to stop her suffering. The iron fetters chafed his wrists more with each moment Arianna was gone. He should be with her, looming over her shoulder. No man would dare touch her then. No man would ever touch her again, once they left this place behind.
    And what would she think of that? A life spent in huts instead of castles, cold and bare. He had so little to offer her. No fine silks, no soft beds. Their rough-woven wool would scratch her smooth