Page 125 of The Orc Chief's Baker
She expected Sythcol to continue arguing. To clench his teeth. To shout. To whirl around in a dramatic huff and storm out of the room with a veiled threat.
Instead, the male’s expression twisted as if he were about to weep. He shrank back, curled in on himself.
And then he fled the room.
Trinia was awash with confusion at the odd reaction. Brovdir’s tension told her he was just as befuddled. Even the males on the opposite end of the hall seemed speechless. The tension was so tangible it was like breathing through stone.
A light touch fluttered at the small of her back and she looked up at Brovdir. His expression had fallen into one of exhaustion. “I need to speak with him.”
“Take your time,” Trinia assured. “I’ll wait here for you.”
Chapter
Thirty-Eight
BROVDIR
Brovdir found Sythcol where he usually was, within Ergoth’s study with scrolls surrounding him and dim candlelight casting deep shadows around his slender frame.
“Leave me.” His voice wavered as he buried his head in his hands.
“No,” Brovdir said. He could not. Should not have in the past either.
Sythcol looked up at him with a sneer. “You alreadywonthis, Brovdir. I’ve lost. I can’t change your mind despite all logic, and I accept that.”
“Don’t want to win.”
“Oh, you don’t?” He sat up, crossed his arms over his chest.
“I want to be partners.”
Sythcol’s eyes widened and then he let out a dry laugh that did not meet his eyes. “Partners? You really think that’s possible now?”
Brovdir’s brows furrowed in confusion.
“Don’t give me that. Youknowyou’ve betrayed me in this,” Sythcol snapped. “You know how hard I’ve been working.Slaving.And now you’re going to undo it just likethat.” He snapped his fingers. “All because some woman wants you to?—”
“Don’t speak of her.”Brovdir growled so low it felt like embers sparking in his guts.
Sythcol gritted his teeth and straightened his back, but said nothing.
“You know it’s not her.” Brovdir worked around the agony in his throat to get the words out. “She showed me, but that’s all. I’ve made my own mind.”
“And with it, you’ve betrayed me. Your partner in this. The one person you are supposed to rely on in this clan. You think she knows the situation better than I do? You think her words hold more weight than mine? I’ve been the lead conjurer for this clan since I was a meresixteen summers. I’ve been making the bulk of your healing tinctures since I was barely eighteen. You see your scars. Half of those were healed bymy magic.”
Fades, had this male really been forced to toil for so long? Sythcol may not have gone to battle, but he had just as many scars as Brovdir and wore them in the blackness of his hands, the wrinkles in his brow, the resignment in his eyes.
All caused by the pressure Ergoth had forced upon him. Pressure that was still building now.
“I’ve workedso hardfor mywhole lifeto keep our kind safe. And now you want to just undoall of it?”
“Not undoing thesafety,” Brovdir said slowly. “Undoing Ergoth’slies.”
Sythcol’s jaw tightened.
“Undoing that vile male’scontrol. He wanted the divide,” Brovdir said. “Hewanted you fearful. To control you. To keep you.”
Sythcol’s eyes went huge at that.
