Page 7 of Till Orc Do Us Part
He shrugs, pleased. “I like when people laugh. Even big green ones.”
I push a fresh sheet of vellum toward him. “Here. Draw your map.”
“Really?”
“Yes. But stay here. Do not touch anything else.”
“Okay!” He scrambles back into the chair, feet swinging. I hand him one of my drafting pens—too large for his hand, but he holds it proudly.
He hums as he draws. A winding pier, lopsided boats, sea creatures smiling beneath waves.
I watch in silence, a strange warmth coiling through my ribs.
No meetings. No spreadsheets. No weighted stares.
Just a boy and his adventure.
“Do sea monsters have names too?” I ask.
“Of course,” he says without looking up. “They’re nicer when you know their names.”
I nod once, as if this is a truth I have always known.
Outside, the wind shifts. Somewhere, faint gull cries echo.
Inside, I sit across from Jamie Moore—enemy’s son, tiny architect—and let the moment breathe.
CHAPTER 3
ROWAN
Islam the Gilded Page’s door harder than necessary. The bell above it shrieks in protest, but I’m too wired to care.
Jamie’s late.
Mrs. Vargas from the bakery swore she saw him heading back from the community center. That was nearly half an hour ago. The bookstore’s quiet now—closed sign flipped, new shipment unpacked, a whole tray of sea-salt brownies cooling untouched on the back counter. But my kid? Nowhere in sight.
“Dammit, Jamie,” I mutter, grabbing my jacket.
I cross the street, boots crunching grit on the faded asphalt. The boardwalk glows faint in the distance, a watercolor blur against the dusk. No small feet there. No boy-shaped silhouette racing home.
That’s when I spot the Vellum Ventures trailer.
Temporary, sterile, glaringly out of place—like a fancy wine bar plunked down in the middle of an old fishermen’s pub. The door’s cracked open. Light spills out in a soft, unwelcome square.
And there, through the window—two figures.
One small. One massive.
My stomach drops.
I storm up the metal steps, pulse thrumming. Before I can knock, a small voice floats through the gap.
“Do sea monsters have names too?”
Jamie.
I shove the door wide.
