Page 28 of Shackled to the Orc

KHAN

Iwake before the dawn, my woman in my arms, the searing pain in my arm and leg reduced to a dull ache. My eyes adjust to the darkness, and I can see my seed covering her body. All I wanted last night was to thrust myself into her, to bind her to me for eternity.

I could not. Not until the sky is endless above me. Not until there are no walls keeping us in.

I extract myself from her gently, and she mumbles in her sleep. She is all that is good in this world. I open the door softly, closing it gently behind me so I do not wake her

I go to the dorms first, moving silently, but I can see Garvin blinking awake. He sleeps like a cat, that one, and he watches me as I go to empty beds and grab blankets. He earned a private room, but turned it into a distillery, preferring to sleep with the rank and file.

He closes his eyes again, as I stride out to the training grounds. The two men are lying in each other’s arms for warmth. I throw the blankets at them, and they wake, fear in their eyes, before grabbing them gratefully.

I reach out with both arms, and they take my hands. I lift them to their feet. “You did well yesterday. Today you rest with the other gladiators who will fight. You are one of us now, and tomorrow you will be reborn.”

They’re scared. I can smell it. But there’s a new resilience in them.

I hope it’s enough. I can never get used to it. Training young gladiators, who enter the ring and never walk back out.

I glance up the hill. The breakfast cart is trundling down the hill. A day before a fight, I request the chefs for an extra meal for my men, to load up on strength and recover. The day of the fight, everyone has their own choices. Some eat a huge meal, and gladiators are given extra rations at their request, some down plates of pancakes covered in honey and cream, others biting off huge chunks of cheeses and bread. Their philosophy is that if they come out on the wrong end of things in the ring, they damn well better enjoy their morning. I eat light, and I don’t touch a drop of alcohol the night before. I’ve seen too many men dull their fear in drink.

“What are your names?”

The bald one glances up, nervous to give the wrong answer. “You fight today. You live or die with your name.”

“Felix.”

The one with the broken teeth runs his tongue over the gaps. “Ethan.”

We enter the dining hall as servants bring in the food and light the oil lamps. Some gladiators pull their blankets over their heads, hiding their eyes from the light. Garvin’s already up and stretching, doing his morning routine of pushups and bodyweight squats.

“Get some food, get some rest, then report to the medical bay.”

The breakfast cart is laden with plates of egg, bacon, and bread, and Felix and Ethan rush to it, exhausted, grabbing huge wooden plates and crawling into bed, where they are so tired they can barely chew. I trained them hard. Today they will rest, and tomorrow, they will face the Gods’ judgment.

I take a wooden plate and load it with scrambled eggs, easily digested protein, and sit at the long wooden table. Garvin finishes his exercise and joins me, pouring a carafe of coffee which he supplements with his flask, taking nothing but an end of bread.

“You’re not limping as much,” he states.

I reach my left arm out sideways, flexing the muscle. The pain is still there, but my flexibility is improved. “Maya. She gave me a potion last night to reduce swelling. Something for the pain as well.”

“I never thought you’d take a woman. She’s good for you, that one.”

I lean in. “I need you to get something for me at the market.”

“Whatever you need.”

“Baneroot paste.”

His eyebrows raise. “Mate, just pull out. That shit numbs you until you can’t feel it. I had a women insist I coat my cock with it, she was loving it, but it took me two hours just to bust.”

He sees the look in my eyes and takes a big sip of his coffee. “Alright, I get it, you’re not interested in my love life. But if I’m going to get this for you, I’ve got one condition.”

“Name it.”

“You finally listen to my story about those two noblewomen who watched me fight back in my prime, when I owned that fucking ring. Their husbands had no idea they were sneaking off to the gladiators’ stable after… Oy! And part of the deal, you have to at least look interested.”

I suppress a sigh and take a huge bite of scrambled eggs as he goes into excruciating detail.”

“And when I was done, mate, all I wanted to do was sleep, I swear to you, they told me they’d have me killed if I didn’t go another round. Can you imagine that?”

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