Page 126 of The Orc's Captive Bride
“State your business!”
He reined Courage to a halt and raised one hand, palm out in the universal gesture of peace.
“I seek King Ulric.” His voice came out steady, betraying none of the terror churning in his gut. “I bring information about Lasseran’s plans.”
Four guards emerged from the shadows, their eyes glowing faintly in the darkness.
Beast vision. They could see him perfectly.
One of the guards stepped forward, massive even by orc standards, authority evident in every movement.
“What clan are you from?”
He forced himself to meet the other male’s eyes. “I have no clan.”
He saw the disgust wash across the guard’s face even as his hand dropped to his sword.
“You belong to Lasseran.”
“I did. Not anymore.”
“Why should we believe you?”
“Because I betrayed Lasseran to bring this information to Ulric. Because I’m risking my life approaching you instead of hiding. Because?—”
“Because he’s with me.”
Thea slid off the horse before he could stop her and stepped forward with her chin raised defiantly. His tiny, fragile human mate was trying to protect him from armed warriors who could snap her in half without effort. Only the knowledge that they wouldn’t hurt her kept him in place.
I’m going to strangle her. If we survive this.
“And who are you?” The guard’s tone was marginally less hostile.
“Dr. Thea Monroe. I’m a linguistic specialist who was brought to Velmora against my will to decode texts about the Beast Curse. I’ve uncovered Lasseran’s plans and proof that the Curse is a corrupted blessing. We need to see King Ulric. Immediately.”
The guard stared at her, then at Khorrek, and then back at her.
“You’re human.”
“Obviously.”
“And you’re traveling with one of Lasseran’s orcs.”
“He defected. We have information vital to stopping Lasseran’s next move.”
“And we should trust you because…?”
“Because I have literally nothing to gain by lying. Lasseran wants me dead. My only chance of survival is convincing King Ulric to help us.” She pushed her glasses up her nose and looked the guard straight in the eye. “So are you going to let us through, or do I need to explain to your king why his guards prevented him from learning about an imminent threat?”
Magnificent.
The guard looked taken aback, clearly not used to a tiny human woman lecturing him.
“The king is at the forward camp near the gate.”
“Then take us there.”
“We can’t just?—”
