Page 37 of Bound to the Orc Hunter

“It’s a ride that will carry you all the way up and around.” I point, tracing the arc of the wheel with my finger. “You’ll be able to see for miles, and it’s lots of fun.”

“What must we do in exchange?”

“You must promise to give rides to the water nymphs and the pixies and whoever else might ask you for one.”

She gives a high whistle, and the gnomes all tumble over to her to huddle like a patch of mushrooms. Furious whispering ensues.

“Do you think they’ll go for it?” I whisper to Branikk.

“Yes. Who wouldn’t want to enjoy your amazing creation?”

Warmth fills me at his words. I worried the Ferris wheel was just like all of my magic so far, kind of pointless since it’s not a “useful” thing.

But why is something that brings people joy considered useless? Things that bring happiness and entertainment make people’s lives better. Isn’t that something to celebrate? That wasthe reason I was first attracted to the carnival: the sound of children’s laughter, the look of wonder on their little faces, the happy families having a fun night out.

The kind of childhood I never had.

But Branikk understands the Ferris wheel’s purpose and doesn’t think less of it. I really,reallylike that about him.

The huddle of gnomes breaks apart, and the leader does a front roll that brings her right to my feet. “The gnomes agree.”

The water nymphs cry out with glee, and the gnomes cheer, too.

She stretches up a hand. “I am Pebble.”

“I’m Grace.” I grin and shake her hand. “Let me show you how the ride works.”

When we get to the edge of the first rock, I stop and eye the two-foot gap. This is one of the easier jumps for me, but I’m almost six-feet tall, unlike my tiny companions. “Uh, can you get across?”

Instead of answering me directly, Pebble calls her troupe to her, and they form a pyramid, with her at the very top. Then they each stretch out a hand in unison, and the rock moves, flowing up over the gap to make a little bridge.

“So your earth magic can manipulate both rocks and dirt?”

“Of course.” She looks at me as if I asked the stupidest question ever, her little face all scrunched up.

Branikk gives a muffled grunt of amusement, and I have to bite my lip to keep from laughing.

Pebble dives off the top of the pyramid and does a front handspring right in the middle of the bridge that catapults her all the way to the other slab of granite. The rest follow her, each doing something fancy, not a single one of them simply walking across, unless you count the one who walks on his hands as simple, which I sure don’t.

Branikk and I walk across, and by the time I reach the next gap, they’ve already got another bridge made. In no time at all, we’re standing at the base of the Ferris wheel.

Their little heads tip back, their toadstool caps somehow not falling off, as they all look up at the hundred-foot wheel and go, “Ohhhhh!”

Another grin tugs at the corners of my mouth. They’re hella cute.

When we get to the controls, three of them have to stand one of top of the other’s shoulders in order for the top gnome to reach the buttons and levers. It’s Pebble.

“I’m not sure how safe it is to use either of these.” I point to the buttons for the music and lights. “The music’s really loud, and the light will show for miles at night.”

Branikk says, “It might be best to leave those off.”

“But don’t worry. You don’t need them to run the ride, and it’s kind of nicer without them.”

Yesterday had certainly been one of the most peaceful evenings I’d had in a long time, when I’d ridden with Branikk. My fingers ghost over my new bracelet. Before it happened, I never would have expected that a guy like him would have the patience to spend quiet time with me while I digested all the day’s epiphanies, but he’d been great.

I show the gnomes how to turn the ride off and on. “Once you start it, these cars are going to move, so you can’t be standing between them or you’ll get hit.” I point to the gnomes crowded into the aisle between the two bottom cars.

Pebble twists her upper body to shoo her people back, and the middle gnome clamps his hands around her ankles as the tower of them sways with her movements.

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