Page 77 of The Orc's Innocent Plaything

Swallowing hard, I leaned in, my hand falling to his forearm again.

“Will ye tell me what happened? Or have ye spoken of it already, and I should nag Nan?”

“I dinnae mind. The battle…”

His breath eased out on a sigh, and I realized how weary he was. Nay, not just weariness, butweakness. There was a reason Nan had been anxious to get more of that sea holly. Myra had explained the herb’s restorative properties, and now AvaleenandKragorn could be dosed with it.

“Please.”

Suddenly the small female was at my side, her voice as tiny as the rest of her. She wrung her hands.

“Please,” she whispered again. “Let him rest. I can tell you what you need to know. Do not make him relive it.”

I studied her in surprise. Was she…protecting my brother? From me? I opened my mouth to assure her I would do naught to harm him, when Kragorn interrupted.

“He’s no’ bothering me, Lillian.”

Lillian, eh? But we could both hear how weak he was, and I squeezed his forearm before sitting back.

“Nay, she’s right, brother. I’ll let ye rest now.”

The wee human let out a sigh of relief and I nodded to her once to let her know I appreciated her defense of Kragorn.

“Do ye need aught?” I asked her. “Nan is making more of the sea holly restorative for him, but my Mate can make ye?—”

“Mate?” Kragorn rasped. “Fook me, I have to get better so I can hear the mess ye’ve made of things here.”

I began to chuckle, but the female—Lillian, I reminded myself—limped away, her head bowed, and her hands clasped in front of her.

“Nay,” she whispered in response to my question. “I am his prisoner. You must not be kind to me.”

My brows went up, and I tipped my head to peer down at my brother.

So shewasa prisoner here in Bloodfire Village? The thought was preposterous enough to make me snort, but Kragorn’s lips were set in a firm line, and despite his eye being closed I did not think he was asleep.

And he didn’t contradict the wee female’s claim.

So I was in a thoughtful frame of mind as I patted his arm and pushed myself to my feet.

“I look forward to hearing how ye came to be here, brother. In the meantime, I’ll fetch ye some ale.”

“Ale is not good for illnesses,” Lillian said, her gaze on the floor. “He needs fresh water.”

“Aye, he’ll have that, and sea holly potion as well.” My tone was mild as I tried my charm on her, but she didn’t lookup. “But hewantsale, so I’ll bring him some. And fresh brown bread.”

Behind me, my brother snorted softly, and Lillian peeked up at me, her face half-hidden by the dirty shawl wrapped around her head and shoulders. I could tell from her expression that she didn’t know what to make of me, so I nodded approvingly as I headed for the door.

“Thank ye for caring for him, lass. Keep his big hulk alive, aye?”

Her eyes had gone round now, and she glanced toward the bed. “Aye, of course.”

And in that moment, I saw that samesomethingin her expression as well. There was more here than captor and prisoner, and I, for one, looked forward to hearing the story of how Kragorn and this little human came to be in Bloodfire Village.

But first, I had a welcome feast to organize, a grandmother to nag for details, and a Mate to thoroughly claim.

With Kragorn back, I’d soon be able to pass on the mantle of responsibility and return to my forge. I wanted to settle in with my tools, my metal…and my Myra.

We had a future to begin, and I couldn’t wait.

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