Page 50 of Romancing the Orc

“I’m not seeing much progress here,” Elton says, his voice prissy and uptight. He reads over my shoulder. “‘The door of…’ The door of what?”

“We were just working on that,” I lie and tap at a page of the journal with the end of my pen. “It’s something like ‘wants’or ‘desires.’” I don’t know why I’m hiding the real word from him—except for the fact that he’s the megalomaniacal asshole who kidnapped me, that is—but it feels really important that he doesn’t get the actual name of the door. If he’s studied Faerie as much as he says he has, knowing the real name might make him remember something that will allow him to solve the puzzle before we do.

I want to give him as little information as possible,I write.

“Wants,” Brokk echoes, shooting me a meaningful glance and nodding. “Yes, I think it’s that. The door of wants.”

I write it down, then move over to the paper we’re using to pass notes.I don’t know how much he knows. If we lie too much, he might be able to tell.

Then we test it, Brokk writes in High Fae.Mistranslate a few minor words.

Magic shivers through the air. I can’t see it, but Grey must have shifted, because an invisible furry hand wraps over mine, moving my pen.This is Grey. Stop worrying about the translation and focus on what’s important. We need to get out of here.

The translation is important. It’s what’s keeping us alive, Brokk writes back.If you don’t have a way out, shut up and leave us alone.

I twitch my hand to get Grey to let go, then write,If you’re on the shadow roads right now, why can’t we use them to escape?

Grey grips my hand again, moving the pen.The shadow roads here stop at the walls of the room.

Is that normal?Brokk asks.

I’ve never seen it before. It’s powerful magic.

We sit for several seconds, each lost in thought. Then Elton makes a frustrated tsk.

Grey takes control of my hand.I’ll obtain one of their weapons. Be ready, orc. Then his grip slides away, the feeling of his presence disappearing.

We need to find the door, Brokk writes.

Maybe if we work on the inscription together?I jot down the words of the carving, translating it from the ancient version of High Fae into the newer one Brokk knows.

The Door of Dreams will transport you to where your heart most desires.

Yet heed my warning, eager traveler. Do not assume to know where you will land. For the Door of Dreams follows the dictates of your heart, even if they are hidden from you.

You cannot fool the Door of Dreams.

You cannot cajole it.

And most especially, you cannot walk back through it.

This trip is in only one direction. Make certain you can live with the consequences.

He stares at the paper for several long moments, his eyes burning with intensity. Then he meets my gaze and gives the tiniest shake of his head.

Dammit!

Where the hell is this door?

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Brokk

The cat sith disappeared from my side before I could argue. It will do little good to have one of the human weapons when there are seven others in the room. Grey is a formidable fighter, as am I, but human guns are far too deadly.

Especially when they threaten my mate.

Worse, we lack an escape route. Even with the full inscription written out, I can’t figure out where the Door of Dreams is.

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