Captured by the Orc King (The Perished Woods Book 3) by Tracy Lauren

Author:Tracy Lauren [Lauren, Tracy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-02-14T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 17

Thorn

The foliage is thick, the ground untrodden. An obtuse and dimwitted orc trudges alongside me, loudly crunching leaves and branches beneath his booted feet. If he cares an ounce about stealth or silence, he hides it well

“What you say is out here, my lord?” he asks in a slack-jawed sort of way, his heavy brow furrowed—signaling the slow turning of cogs in his mind.

We leave behind the ash-white trunks of the trees that speck themselves across the land of man and cross a line, known well to me. A line of blackened trunks, marking the start to the Perished Woods.

The air is different here. I feel it on my face. Cooler. Scent memory makes my nose twitch. Wretched as it is, there is something so comforting about this wood, something that feels like home. The realization makes me chuckle quietly to myself. What irony. That this place I’ve tried so hard to escape can bring me peace.

The medallion’s coiling tendrils worm their way into my mind, strengthening their hold with each passing minute. But I have yet to lose my grip on my plan. The coolness here helps. A shiver rolls over me as the sweat clinging to my back chills beneath the canopy’s shade. The call for the castle is still there, but it ebbs a bit as I breathe in damp forest air.

The orc soldier has his attention on the terrain as he barrels over and through it—vision tunneled at his feet. He never looks up, never searches for signs of danger. It’s a shock to me that he has survived as long as he has—both in my army and in the Perished Woods before that.

I grimace at the creature, at his long face and sunken cheeks. He’s got a piece missing from his nose and he’s adorned it heavily with silver rings—highlighting the scar. He trips over a fallen log and curses it, his maneuvers so painfully clumsily.

“How have you fared?” I ask, mildly curious. “In this war?”

“I do pretty good, I’d say. Lots of pussy to be had. Didn’t know there was so much pussy to war. Thought it was all about the fighting and the death.”

I grunt.

“There’s lots of death too, of course.” He smiles—a tight-mouthed, round, little puckering showcasing needle-like teeth in the shade of mustard, and as he does, he gives his necklace a shake. Small bones and rotting ears. Makes me feel better about my plan.

“What we doing out here?” he asks again, looking up for the first time, squinting his eyes in perplexity.

“It is the Queen of Envercress who has decided we come.” My new voice is jarring, even to my own ears. Somehow it makes me feel changed.

“Ah, she’s a powerful one. Can’t blame you for following her.”

I tighten at this fool’s suggestion. I don’t follow anyone. I lead. And I go about leading this one deeper into the cursed woods.

“Little trek around the perimeter? Preparing for the attack on the castle?” Impertinence from a simple fool. Very simple, as a matter of fact.

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