Page 157 of The Orc's Captive Bride
“Because Lasseran is wrong. Everything he promised. Everything he taught. It was all lies built on blood and suffering.” His voice was rough, but certain. “The Five Kingdoms need balance. They need healing. And you’re the only one who can provide it.”
Tears pricked her eyes. “I don’t deserve you.”
“You deserve everything. And I’ll spend the rest of my life proving it to you.”
She kissed him softly, pouring all of her love into the connection. When she pulled back, she saw the question in his eyes.
“Do you miss your old world?” he asked softly.
She thought about her old life. Her apartment. Her university office. Her carefully organized research.
It all seemed so distant. Like a dream she’d once had.
“No,” she said, surprised at how true it felt. “I had work. Colleagues. Academic pursuits. But no family. No close friends.”
“You weren’t happy.”
“I wasn’t unhappy.” She settled back against his chest. “I loved my research. My work. But it never felt like living. More like… observing life from the outside.”
“And now?”
“Now I’m terrified. Confused. Completely out of my depth.” She laughed softly. “And more alive than I’ve ever been.”
His arms tightened around her protectively.
“You’ll never observe from the outside again. You’re part of this world now. Part of me.”
“Promise?”
“Always.”
This is right,she thought.This is where I belong.
Not in the sterile halls of academia. Not in the safe, predictable routine of her old life. But here in this wild, dangerous, magnificent world with this fierce, damaged, beautiful male who’d claimed her heart.
“Tell me about the Five Kingdoms,” she said. “The way they should be. The way Lasseran promised before he corrupted everything.”
He made a thoughtful noise.
“I don’t know if they were ever truly united. The history Lasseran taught was… selective. But he promised that the kingdoms would live harmoniously under his rule. Of course what he really wanted was control with every kingdom bowing to his will.”
“Power corrupts.”
“It does. But that doesn’t mean the original vision was wrong. Just… poorly executed.”
She turned the idea over in her mind.
A truly united Five Kingdoms. Not through conquest and subjugation. But through cooperation. Mutual respect.
Balance.
“That’s what we’re fighting for,” she said. “Not just to stop Lasseran. But to create something better.”
“Yes.”
“And you believe it’s possible?”
“I have to. Otherwise, what’s the point?” His hand stroked through her hair. “Besides, I’ve seen what’s possible. Ulric and Jessamin. Egon and Lyric. Humans and orcs working together. Building something new.”
