Page 61 of The Orc's Captive Bride
More silence, before he heard her move closer.
Don’t touch me. Please don’t touch me. If you touch me right now I’ll?—
Her hand settled lightly on his arm, and his control cracked.
He spun around, backing her against the corridor wall with enough force to make her gasp. His hands bracketed her head, caging her.
“You should be afraid of me,” he growled. “I’m a weapon, Thea. That’s all I’ve ever been, all I was raised to be. And today I nearly turned that weapon against the man I’ve served my entire life because of you.”
She didn’t flinch. Didn’t cower.
Instead she looked up at him with those soft grey eyes and said, “Good.”
“Good?”
“Yes. Good.” Her chin lifted. “Because serving him is destroying you. And I’d rather see you break free than watch you break yourself trying to be what he wants.”
“You don’t understand?—”
“Then explain it to me.”
“There’s nothing to explain. I am what I am.”
“You’re a person, not a weapon.”
“You’re wrong.”
“Prove it.” She didn’t move away from the wall. Didn’t try to escape. “Tell me about your past. Tell me how you became this. Make me understand.”
“Why?”
“Because I want to know you. All of you. Not just the parts you think are acceptable.”
He stared at her, searching for the lie, but he found only genuine concern.
It undid him.
He stepped back, putting distance between them. His hands dropped to his sides, clenched into fists.
“We were raised to be perfect warriors who would never question orders.” His jaw tightened. “The training was… thorough.”
“Thorough how?”
“Pain teaches obedience faster than kindness, and fear is more reliable than trust.” He met her eyes. “They broke us, and then they rebuilt us into what they wanted.”
“How old were you?”
“Young enough that I have no memory of anything else. Younger is better because there is nothing to corrupt the conditioning.” His voice remained steady through sheer force of will. “By the time I was ten, I would have killed anyone they pointed me at without hesitation. By fifteen, I was leading missions. By twenty, I was Lasseran’s most trusted operative.”
“Trusted,” she repeated. “Or useful?”
“Both. Neither. I don’t know anymore.” He dragged a hand through his hair. “All I know is that for thirty-five years, I have served the throne without question. I’ve done terrible things in the name of that service. Hurt people. Killed people. Never hesitated. Never doubted.”
“Until now.”
“Until now.”
She pushed away from the wall and moved closer. Not touching him, but closing the distance between them.
