Page 24 of Claimed By the Orc Emperor

“Are you okay?” I ask, watching the sweat drip from his brow.

He nods, wiping his face. “Yeah. I hike often, remember?” He points down to his boots. “Luckily I had these on when I crossed the barrier. They’re broken in, so this trek doesn’t bother me.”

I nod. Around the empire, he walks around either barefoot like the rest of us, or in the soft shoes Larshka fashioned for him with magic.

With my hand on his shoulders, I lead him into the space between the trees that is hidden from all those that may venture here. Rainn looks at me quizzically, but I urge him on, telling him, “It is safe, I swear it.”

“I trust you,” he says with a grin, then ducks under a low hanging branch. I push the branch aside with ease and pass through the tight confines.

Most do not know of this location because of how tightly the branches grow together. They would assume it is just a bramble of trees, nothing to see and nothing to explore.

But I am not most.

After we pass through the initial tight passage, we find ourselves on another path, though this one is littered with roots. The trees around us tower high, higher than those directly around my palace. I love this area because the trees make me feel small and put my life into perspective.

Rainn looks up at the trees, like sentries standing guard over us. Their canopies block out the heat, cooling the sweat that accumulated on our skin.

“Holy fuck, Axum. This place is?—”

His words are cut off when he trips over a tall root, almost falling face first onto the ground. Only my hand on his bag keeps him from hurting himself. “Careful, sweet Rainn.”

When he is back on his feet, he dusts himself off and grins. “I’m good. Thank you.”

“We’re almost there. Would you like me to carry you?”

His laughter is high and sweet, a melody that washes over me and makes my heart leap. “I swear I’m not always so clumsy. I can manage.”

I lead him a little further into the cover of tall trees until I hear the babbling of a brook.

Rainn looks at me with wide eyes. “What’s that?’

“Come and see.” I push aside a curtain of hanging reeds and wave him through.

When he steps past them, a soft gasp reaches my ears. “Axum. This is amazing. How did you find this place?”

He turns to look at me and I am struck speechless. I never knew the true meaning of sun-kissed until I saw Rainn’s skin as he stepped into a shaft of light. His brown skin, glistening with beads of sweat, almost glows, the sun reflecting back what true beauty is.

Rainn ducks his head, a blush high on his cheeks. “What?”

“I…you are gorgeous.”

His smile lights something inside me. “Thank you. But this…this is breathtaking.”

“It is almost as beautiful as you.”

He glows more with flaming cheeks as he looks around my secret space. I try to see it through his eyes, as a new surrounding.

The stream that flows through this hidden glen gurgles softly, drifting lazily over the rocks along the bed. Surrounding the stream are black and blue Buqicona flowers, their large bulbs hanging lazily.

Rainn spins around, beaming radiantly. “How did you find this place?”

I smile as I pull the blanket from his bag and unfurl it on the ground. “When I was in my eighteenth year, my sire wanted me to learn how to hunt Vilope. I did not want to be on a hunt, so when his guards brought me in this direction, I ran away. I wanted somewhere I could not be found and saw the small break in the woods. The deeper I came through, the more beauty I found. When I saw the hanging reeds, I pushed through and found this marvelous place. I come once every few months just to sit and think, if I have the time.”

“It’s amazing.”

“You are the first person I have brought here,” I confess softly, helping him to lower himself to the blanket.

He leans against me, settling between my legs. “Thank you. It’s really beautiful.”

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