Page 58 of Till Orc Do Us Part
And I’m not sure if I want to strangle him.
Or kiss him again.
Or both.
The poetry night lingers long after the final applause fades.
Lanterns sway in the warm salt breeze. Conversations hum in pockets along the boardwalk—low and bright, thick with memory.
I move through it all like a tide-worn ghost—gathering stray flyers, folding chairs, half-empty pastry boxes—anything to keep my hands busy, my mind quiet.
But there’s no quiet left in me.
Not after watching him readthat.
Not after the way Jamie looked up at him like a lighthouse had grown legs and walked straight into his life.
Not after the way my heart… well. No use lying to myself anymore.
I catch sight of Drokhaz near the end of the boardwalk, standing half in shadow. He’s helping Jamie tug a stubborn folding chair back into its stack.
I wipe my palms on my jeans and cross to them.
“Hey,” I say softly.
Jamie grins. “Did you hear him read my story, Mom? He made it soundcool!”
“I heard,” I say, voice catching.
Jamie darts off toward Liara’s glowing magelight jar with a final bounce.
And then it’s just me and him.
For a beat, neither of us speaks.
I find my voice. “Thank you.”
His gaze is steady beneath the lamplight. “For what?”
“For showing up,” I say. “For reading. For…” My throat tightens. “For seeing what this place really is.”
A faint smile tugs one corner of his mouth.
“I’m just the delivery orc,” he says quietly.
The words land deeper than they should—soft, self-mocking, and full of everything we aren’t saying.
I huff a laugh, shaky. “That so?”
He meets my gaze. “I delivered what mattered. The words were never mine.”
“No,” I say softly. “But you gave them weight.”
Another beat of silence.
Then I clear my throat. “I should… finish up.”
He inclines his head, slow and deliberate. “I’ll see you soon.”
