Page 39 of The Orc Chief's Baker
Three trades later, Trinia had given up waiting for Brovdir to come back.
She pounded the dough on her counter with a kind of fever that could only be brought on from bone-deep embarrassment and suppressed disappointment. Her chest tightened more and more with each passing day and her patience for dealing with customers had dwindled to the size of a pinprick.
But she couldn’t help it, her mind simplyrefusedto relent.
Where had she gone wrong with him?
He’d liked her, right? He’d seemed delighted when she’d kissed him...
And now he was just... gone. The other warriors came to the trades, but Brovdir never did.
On a heavy sigh, she bowed her head and looked over the mangled lump of beige dough on her counter. The indents were slowly smoothing out as the yeast resisted her pummeling. She wished she could bounce back from embarrassment just as easily.
Now he was the new chief of Rove Wood Clan, and he avoided her like she had the blight.
The door to the bakery banged open.
Yerina stood in the dim light of it.
Trinia wanted to groan as the driving urge to hurl the dough at her sister’s head overwhelmed her. “What do you want?”
“You aren’t seriously still moping, are you?” Yerina flicked her hair back and neglected to close the door behind her as she walked inside.
“If anyone should be accused of moping around, it’syou,” Trinia said with too much force. She was still shocked Yerina hadn’t gone insane trying to snatch Govek away from his new mate.
Her sister smirked. “Idon’t have to mope about anything. I don’t need to win Govek back. Who would want him, anyway? Since he’s fallen in with that strange woman, who’s supposedly from another world, he’s been a completedisaster.No hunting, no craftwork, refusing to becomechiefeven.”
Trinia kept quiet. The rumors surrounding Govek were rampant and no one from Rove Wood Clan would speak on it. Not even her friend Savili had been willing to pass on information.
But one thing was certain, the surly orc who’d once been regarded as dangerous washappy. And the new woman, Miranda, made him that way. No matter the circumstances of how she had come here or how they had found each other, Trinia couldn’t see how Govek being calm and content was a bad thing.
“I have other, much morepowerfulorcs, who have their eyes set on me,” Yerina continued.
“Orc eyes who can’t evenseeyou? You’ve been banned from the trade, remember?” Trinia continued to punch her dough on the counter.
She could feel Yerina’s scowl burning the back of her neck. “The trade isn’t the only place you can meet an orc, you know. Though I suppose youwouldn’t, would you? You’ve never been invited by any orcs anywhere. In fact, Brovdir has been skipping the tradejustto avoid you. Even though he is the new second-in-command.”
“Co-chief,” Trinia corrected Yerina even as her chest stung from the harsh truth of her words.
Her sister rolled her eyes. “Some co-chief. Poor Chief Sythcol has been doing all the work. Not that heneedshelp. That conjurer is the most powerful male in the clan now. They are all under his command.”
The look in Yerina’s eyes made Trinia’s skin feel tight. “Yerina, don’t you dare.”
Yerina snorted. “We’re not talking about me right now, dear sister. We’re talking about you and how you have completely run out of options except to live as a spinster for the rest of your life.”
Trinia clenched her teeth together.Better a spinster than a manipulative bitch.
“Now, with that said, I have a surprise for you.”
“Asurprisefor me?” Trinia snorted and continued to knead, imagining it was her sister’s face she was squishing.
“You need to come now if you want it.”
“I don’t want it.”
“Trinia.”
“Yerina, it’s nearly time forbed.” Though Trinia wouldn’t sleep for a long while yet. She had too much work to do. “Can’t this surprise of yours wait until morning?”
