Page 35 of The Orc and the Innkeeper

It’s time to open myself up to magic—and take a leap of faith.

17

THORAK

The crystal clear water of Mermaid’s Lagoon shimmers as Finn and I sit on the grassy bank. Colorful fish dart beneath the surface and in the distance, the melodic songs of merfolk sunning themselves on the rocks drift over on the warm breeze.

Finn and I have been meeting up here for lunch once a week over the past couple of years. As we both got busier in our work lives—him with the law firm, me with the brewery start-up—we realized we needed to carve out regular time to maintain our friendship.

I take a swig of my Orc’s Anvil oak barrel stout and pass him a bottle. “How are the negotiations between the trolls and the goblins going?” I ask him.

There’s been a land ownership dispute happening at the edge of town. Once upon a time, these things would’ve been settled in a winner-takes-all battle to the death.

These days, litigators are involved.

Finn winces, putting his beer down. “A bloody nightmare. I’m running on fumes. Butyouseem extra tense today, even for you. What’s eating you?”

It’s remarkable how well he reads me. Most people take one look at me and just see a stoic, brutish monster but Finn can suss out every small change in my demeanor.

I sigh. “The deal with the investor and distributor, Robert, still isn’t done. You saw what went down with my parents last night, right in front of him.”

At that, Finn takes a big gulp of his drink. “Yeah that was…brutal.”

I nod. “I think Mariah and I got him back on board, but he’s taking his time making a decision.”

I actually ran into Robert in town on my way over here, head down in a map of Elderberry Falls and looking, weirdly, every bit the excited tourist. He told me he’d be at the inn tonight for Ecco’s next performance and I agreed to meet him there.

“And…Mariah?” Finn asks, a knowing look in his eye.

Finn didn’t go to high school with us; he moved to Elderberry Falls after law school. He didn’t see how horrible I was to her, although he’s heard plenty from me about it over the years. And he knows how much I’ve been beating myself up over it ever since.

“Things are, uh, progressing.”

I can’t hold back my grin as thoughts of last night with Mariah flood my mind. The way it felt to hold her thighs open with my tusks, the sweet taste of her arousal on my tongue, the breathy moans she made as I pleasured her...

Finn arches an eyebrow. “Progressing, huh? Do tell. You two finally kiss and make up?”

I clear my throat, trying to play it cool. But my cheeks heat, probably deepening my skin into a telltale darker shade of green. “You could say that. We, um, reconnected recently.”

“Reconnected?” Finn punches me in the arm, a wide grin spreading across his face.

“She needs time,” I tell him. “Space. To figure out how she’s feeling about all of this. I’m giving it to her.”

I meant what I told Mariah this morning. I would wait for her until the end of time.

“Anyway,” I continue onward, trying to shake thoughts of Mariah out of my head, “I’m meeting Robert at the inn tonight to see Ecco perform. You should join us.”

Finn glances away, fidgeting with a blade of grass. “Ah, I would but I have...other plans tonight. Perhaps another time.”

I raise an eyebrow. Finn never turns down a chance to socialize.

“Other plans, huh? Everything alright?” I probe gently, watching his face.

“Of course, just a prior engagement I need to attend to,” he says breezily. But he still won’t quite meet my eyes.

This caginess means one of two things when it comes to Finn. He either has a work thing going on at the law firm that he can’t discuss.

Or he’s seeing someone that he doesn’t want to tell me about.

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