Page 100 of The Orc's Captive Bride
“About what happens next.”
She sat up, suddenly alert. “You mean with the research?”
“I mean with everything.” He walked over to the window and stared out at the sleeping city. “You found the answer Lasseran was looking for. The knowledge he needs to complete his ritual.”
“Yes. But I also found how to stop him.”
“He doesn’t know that.”
“Which is why we don’t tell him.”
“Thea.” He turned to face her. “You don’t understand. The moment Lasseran knows you’ve translated the text, he’ll take the knowledge from you. By force if necessary.”
“I won’t tell him anything.”
“You think he’ll give you a choice?” he asked harshly. “He has ways of extracting information. Magic. Torture. Methods you can’t imagine.”
She paled, but her chin came up. “Then I’ll resist.”
“You can’t.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do.” He moved back to the bed and sat down next to her. “Thea, I’ve seen what he does to people who defy him. I’ve been the one ordered to break them when his magic fails. And everyone breaks eventually. Everyone.”
Her hands trembled, but she quickly clasped them together. “Then what do you suggest?”
This was it. The moment he severed the last cord binding him to Lasseran.
“We leave,” he said. “Tonight. Before he summons you again.”
She stared at him. “Leave? Leave the city?”
“Yes.”
“But—” She gestured helplessly. “The research. The texts. I need more time.”
“You’ll have it. Just not here.”
“Where?”
“Norhaven.”
She blinked at him. “The orc kingdom.”
“Yes. It’s the only place Lasseran’s reach is limited. The only place where we might have a chance.”
“A chance to do what?”
“To finish your research, and find a way to reverse the ritual. Stop him before he completes the final theft.”
She was quiet for a long moment, and he could see her mind working, turning over the implications.
“If we run,” she said slowly, “Lasseran will know something is wrong.”
“Yes.”
“He’ll send people after us.”
