Page 37 of Shackled to the Orc

“I just know.” He takes in a huge breath. “And I know that Shug will not let you free, not until that boy is born.”

“I can’t have a baby here. I can’t, I can’t, I—” I try to be strong, but the emotions crash down on me, this wave of sadness and the little embers of poisonous hope, beauty and tragedy mixing together in a way that makes my knees weak. I collapse, but he’s there to catch me, holding me against his muscled body, running his hands through my hair, squeezing me against his broad chest. He is unshakable, a foundation to build a future on, but we’re caged together, and I don’t see a way out.

When my tears are all gone, he pulls me onto the bed beside him, and I lean against his shoulder, staring at the walls.

“We act as if nothing has changed. I will rally the men. They will do as I say.”

“What are you planning, Khan?”

“I’m planning to break out.”

“He’s tripled the guards.”

“Nothing can prepare him for what I will do.”

I wish his words calmed me, but all I can picture is the crossbow bolts thudding into his flesh, dropping him as he scales the walls.

“There’s no other choice, Maya. I will not have my son born into captivity. I will not have my woman caged.”

The knock comes at the door again, the same, hesitant one that belongs to Peter.

“What it is?” barks out Khan.

“Shug. He wants to see you, Khan.”

I exchange a glance with him. I need him here with me, right now, more than anything.

He stands up, puts a cloak over his body, and leaves without a word.

There’s nothing to say.

22

KHAN

As I am marched towards the estate, I take stock of the guards. Newcomers, bolstering his forces, armed with crossbows and blades, five for each one there was a week ago. The entire grounds are swarming with men, and each one is a knife digging into me.

I steel myself as I shuffle along, three guards behind me, two in front, crossbows aimed at me, and I know there that my plan is doomed to fail and that I have no other choice.

How many of the gladiators can I rally? They will balk. They can see the odds as plainly as I can. It’s more likely one of the newcomers would betray me to Shug than they would take up arms to fight by my side. I could rally them with fear. Killing dissenters. My mind is racing for every possibility, no matter how dire, but the hopelessness is creeping into my being.

It rankles me that these worms of men, these short, stubby little creatures, can shackle me, march me up to the vast estates. Each step burns me, the tight cuffs biting into my skin as I am forced into the entrance hall of his manor. I look up the stairs to the balcony where Shug meets with his pitfighters.

“No. This way,” grunts one of the guards, cocking his head towards a hallway. I follow, the other guards pointing their crossbows at me from all angles. I can smell their fear, and even with me bound tightly, their hands shake. One twitch of their fingers and those bolts will drive through my heart.

One of the guards pulls open a wooden trap door, revealing a winding staircase. He goes down first, glancing up to make sure I follow, and I am forced down the staircase into the cool dankness of the underbelly of Shug’s estate. Flickering torches make the shadows dance, and a wooden door is unlocked to a room with nothing but a chair and an iron-barred cage. My pulse quickens. Is Shug planning to put me in that cage and transport me somewhere, far from Maya? I lick my fangs. The soldier is unlocking the cage, and I can see it in my mind, diving forward, ripping his neck open, crunching my teeth down and severing his spine…

I could kill one. Two. Maybe three of them, before the bolts end me.

With my hands bound, I can do nothing but enter, forced to duck my head, and the guards lock the cage, unshackle me, and leave. The bars are against my hunched head, and I can do nothing but wait.

The wooden door opens. Shug comes in, alone, pulling the chair to the other side of the room and sitting across from me. The torches flicker, and we both watch each other, each trying to get into the other’s mind.

“Why did you bring me here.” I break the silence, my voice growling, filled with hate. For what he did to Maya, forcing her bound in the arena, I will end him.

“Your next match is an important one, Khan.”

My right leg twinges in pain. I shift my weight, but keep standing, wishing I had the strength to bend the bars of the cage, so that I could be on him. I would taste his blood, listen to his heartbeat pounding in panic then stop forever. I grip the metal bars tight, my forearms flexing beyond my control, my knuckles white as I squeeze, wishing the bar was his throat.

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