Page 8 of The Orc and the Innkeeper

Mariah was a dream I never allowed myself to have, a wish upon a star that I extinguished with my own hands.

Our eyes locked across the room. Surprise flashed across her face, quickly replaced by a guarded expression. I couldn’t blame her. The last time we’d been this close, I’d been a heartless brute, spewing venom with every word.

I approached her for directions to Robert and she was politer than she needed to be. Our interaction was brief, and if it had been anyone else, it would’ve been forgettable.

But nothing about Mariah has ever been forgettable to me.

I walked into the cafe in a daze, and haven’t been able to shake it ever since.

Now, steam from my freshly brewed cup of elderflower tea curls upwards, cutting through the tension that’s settled over the table like a thick fog. Robert Kingsley’s eyes—sharp as the blade of a ceremonial dagger—narrow slightly, scrutinizing me with an intensity that could carve stone.

“So your human fiancée,” he says. “Does she help with Orc’s Anvil Brewing?”

The lie that slipped out earlier now coils around me like a serpent, squeezing tighter with every breath. Mariah’s presence in the cafe is a constant hum in the background, her proximity a reminder of the tangled web I’ve inadvertently woven.

“Not directly,” I respond, trying to walk things back already. “We orcs take great pride in our craft.”

Robert’s brows furrow, and I can tell I’ve given him the wrong answer. Why fabricate a human fiancée if she’s not even going to be filling this role he so clearly wants her in?

I remind myself that Robert Kingsley is the only distributor that I’ve found who would even consider bringing our ales to human lands. I need this deal to go through if I’m going to expand the business the way I’ve envisioned.

“She gives me great counsel, though,” I continued. “She’s not technically an employee of the brewery—” Since she doesn’t exist. “—But I don’t make any business decisions without her weigh-in.”

There, that should satisfy him.

“Very well.” Robert stands abruptly, the legs of his chair scraping across the wooden floor like claws on bark. “I look forward to meeting her. Dinner tomorrow evening, then?”

My stomach bottoms out.

“Tomorrow?” The word chokes me, lodging itself in my throat like a bad omen.

“Indeed.” He extends a hand, and I grasp it, ignoring his vice-like grip. “It will be enlightening to see how an orc navigates a human relationship.”

With a final nod, he strides away, leaving me to grapple with the enormity of my blunder. The silence left in his wake rings louder than any spoken word, and I sit there, motionless, the warmth of the tea now a cold comfort.

“Damnation,” I growl to myself, my eyes scanning the room for an escape that isn’t there. The walls of the Moonflower Inn close in on me, adorned with enchanted wind chimes that tinkle merrily, mocking my distress.

I push to my feet, the chair groaning in protest, my mind a tempest of strategies to wriggle out of the lie I’ve spun. I coulduse MagicMatch; swipe right until I find someone willing to play the part.

But no, it’s too risky. Too false.

“A human, huh? That’s a surprise.” Mariah’s voice cuts through the fog of my thoughts, a sharp blade of familiarity.

I straighten up to my full height, turning to face her. She stands there, arms crossed under her chest, her emerald eyes locked onto mine with an intensity that feels like a physical force.

“Mariah,” I say, my voice rough around the edges. “Look, I?—”

“Save it,” she snaps, cutting me off. She moves closer, the scent of her lavender perfume wrapping around me. It’s disarming, that smell, reminiscent of the wildflowers that grow on the outskirts of Elderberry Falls, where our two worlds blend into one. “I know that was a lie.”

She leans in, and I brace myself, expecting a storm of accusations or a scathing rebuke. Her hair falls in waves, a cascade of chestnut that brushes against my arm, stirring something ancient and protective within me.

“I’ll be your fiancée.”

The words hang between us, a lifeline thrown into the turbulent sea of my conscience. I blink, unsure if the magic of the inn is playing tricks on my ears.

“You...what?” I stammer, caught completely off guard.

Her gaze never wavers, her determination etched in the set of her jaw and the steel in her stance. “You heard me, Thorak. I’ll pretend to be your human fiancée.”

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