The Duchess and the Orc: A Monster Fantasy Romance (Orc Sworn) by Finley Fenn

Author:Finley Fenn [Fenn, Finley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-01-11T16:00:00+00:00

23

Maria slept long and deep that night, tucked close into Simon’s powerful form. Safe in the easy thud of his heart, the steady snores from his mouth, the awareness of his half-hard bulk, still hidden deep within her.

And when she finally awoke, blinking into the quiet darkness, there was once again a whispering, solid certainty, settling into her bones. Into her heart.

She was doing this. She would face this. And this time, it wasn’t just for her freedom. It wasn’t for revenge. It was… to seek a better way. To help Simon, in saving the Skai. To show him, and all his kin, that humans could be worth it. That they could be trusted.

So when Simon awoke, and rose to light the lamp, Maria got up too. Following him over to the shelf, where she carefully reached out, and turned around that carving to face them again. The big, smiling, barrel-chested orc. Simon’s father.

“He looks very kind,” she murmured, studying his carved stone face. “What was his name?”

“Sjovarr,” Simon replied, just as quiet. “He was a good father to me.”

Maria jerked a nod, and attempted a smile up at Simon’s face. “Will you tell me about your other carvings? Please?”

And to her vague surprise, Simon actually obliged. Resting his hand carefully atop one carving, and then the next, as he spoke their names, and their importance to him. One bulky orc was a close childhood friend, Arnthorr, who’d been killed in battle. The slim, angry-looking orc was Joarr’s father, who’d apparently raised Simon after his own father’s death. And the tall, haughty, voluptuous woman, staring at them with imperious, half-lidded eyes, was Simon’s mother.

“I no met her, that I remember,” Simon said, his voice very even. “She ran away after I was birthed. But my father said she looked thus. Tall, and proud, and lovely.”

And looking at this woman’s harsh, haughty face — this woman who’d abandoned her own son — Maria felt a horrible, visceral clutch in her gut. Gods, how had Simon borne this with her, when she’d sworn to do the same thing to his own son? No wonder he’d kept her his damned prisoner. No wonder he’d been angry with her. Ashamed of her.

“And how long have you been learning to read?” Maria asked, too quickly. “I noticed all your writing exercises?”

She waved helplessly toward the stack of papers she’d tidied, and Simon’s gaze flicked there too, his shoulder shrugging. “A few moons now,” he said. “Most Skai no learn this as orclings, but now we seek to mend this, with the help of our Ka-esh kin. This shall help us with these new ways we seek, ach?”

Right. Because Skai had only learned to fight as children. And without knowing how to read, how would they ever embrace this new future? These words, whispers, perceptions?

“That’s very wise of you, Simon,” Maria said, belatedly, with another attempt at a smile. “Very clever.”

His glance down toward her was deeply suspicious, his brows knitted tight together. And perhaps Maria

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.