Page 76 of Till Orc Do Us Part

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She is right to doubt me.

I have given her every reason to.

For years, my life was built upon walls—stone and steel, contracts and clauses. Everything is controlled. Everything is calculated.

Emotion was a weakness. Attachment, a flaw.

But now, I glance down at the compass in my palm.

"Find your brave."

Jamie’s words. His trust.

Rowan’s gaze, too soft beneath the mask of her pride.

I thought I fought for legacy.

For the name Vellum carved into glass and stone.

But that is no longer true.

Now I fight for something older. Something deeper.

A life.

One that is not empty rooms and hollow victories.

One where a boy with too-wide eyes calls me green giant without fear.

Where a woman with ink-stained hands teaches me that courage is not in steel, but in staying when every instinct screams to run.

I close my eyes.

And I know.

I am ready to lose everything.

Every contract.

Every title.

Every carefully constructed shield.

If it means keeping this place.

If it means keepingthem.

I press the compass to my chest.

The board may strip my power. The firm may fall to pieces.

But some things are worth bleeding for.

I lift my head to the stars scattered above the dark tide.

And I walk forward—not as Vellum the conqueror.

But as Drokhaz.

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