Page 97 of The Orc Chief's Baker
Her voice was deadly quiet as she said, “You’ve followed orders your whole life, Brovdir, so I understand how difficult it must be to change. But you are achiefnow. There’s absolutelynoexcuse for allowing something like this to be kept secret when evenyoucan see how wrong it is.”
She moved around him and went to the door. The need to cage his arms around her and force her to remain at his side was blinding.
But so too was the fear of what forcing her to stay would do.
She turned back only once to look him in the eyes. Her tears had broken free and were creating tracks down her cheeks.
“I think we need to part ways here, Brovdir. Please, don’t follow me.”
With that, she was out the door, and only the sound of it slamming behind her remained.
His muscles bunched with the need to chase her down. He paced the room to fight his instincts. Forcing her would ruineverything.
She’d ordered him not to follow her.She’d ordered him.
His eyes shifted to her drawing on the floor, and he crossed the room to scoop it up.
She’d drawn a floor plan of his house with two bedrooms.
Had she been considering living here with him?
His chest filled with emotions he had no name for. The imprint thrummed in his veins. His longing to be with her, to keep her, outweighed all logic.
Outweighed all orders.
He shoved her sketch into his waistband and followed after her.
Chapter
Twenty-Nine
TRINIA
Her eyes prickled harshly as she stormed along the paths through the clan. The air was brisk and thick patches of frost lined every branch and leaf. The sting of the icy breeze on her cheeks only hastened her steps and solidified her determination to get away from Brovdir as soon as possible. She’d go...
Go where?
She stopped dead in her tracks and barely managed to resist the shout of fury that welled in her throat.
Two hundred orcs. Twohundredwould be arriving tolivehere in half a moon.Half a moon. Less than fifteen days.
She needed to tell the headman what was coming. He needed to know.
She couldn’t.
She pressed her palm to her head. She knew there was no possible way for her to tell Headman Gerald about what she’d learned and not threaten the peace. He’d belividwhen he discovered the orcs had been keeping this from him and had nointention of telling him anytime soon. He’d view it as a betrayal, and rightly so.
And Headman Gerald’s reaction would benothingcompared to how her fellow villagers would react. Brovdir was right to worry about them leaving. Folks had made glum threats about resettling outside these woods since the warriors had arrived. Most of those threats were empty, but if they found outthousandsof orcs were coming to stay instead of a few dozen?
She pressed her palms into her eyes so hard she saw stars.
Maybe... just maybe, if she brought someone from Rove Wood Clan with her when she broke the news, the headman wouldn’t be so mad. If the villagers heard it from the lips of one of their own, they might receive it better.
She turned on her heel to head back toward the center of the clan. Toward Savili’s house. She remembered the way well enough although she’d only visited a handful of times.
After only a few missed turns, Trinia arrived at her destination and wrapped hard at the door.
There was no answer.
