Page 2 of Obeying the Orc
“Well, it sounds as though he was so grieved after his wife’s death that he felt the need to run. The need to be alone. It’s a perfectly good reason for his actions.” Though I didn’t know Knot Thazurok, I could empathize with his plight. Sometimes I wished I had the means to leave Black Dragon Island and the pain I’d endured here far behind.
Wide, judgmental eyes stared back at me. “Child, there is never a good reason to turn your back on the gods. Never.”
Not even if your parents disown you?
Not even if your husband dies a mere year after you get married?
Not even if you find yourself stranded in a mining town located on a faraway island with only a few gold pieces left to your name?
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from uttering a response I would likely regret. I was a guest in Mrs. Foxthorne’s house. Whatever the old woman had to say about sirens, absent priests, or anything else, I had best keep my differing opinions to myself. If not for the Foxthornes’ kindness in taking me in after Logan’s untimely death, I didn’t know what fate would have befallen me.
As we cleared the table and cleaned the kitchen, Mrs. Foxthorne gently suggested we take another stroll after breakfast tomorrow. She frequently suggested we take walks in the mornings, and though she hadn’t yet divulged the reason why, I’d already begun to suspect she was trying to play matchmaker, judging by how many unmarried males to whom she tended to introduce me.
Perhaps she glimpsed the suspicion in my eyes because she cleared her throat and gently said, “The drunkards will still be asleep, but the decent gods-fearing males will be awake, perhaps on their way to claim a prosperous mine. The best thing you can do is get married sooner than later, child. While you’re still young. While you can still bear children. Be sure to wear a pretty dress too. Your temple best.”
I blinked hard to dispel my tears as I dried the dishes. My throat burned and emotion tightened in my chest.
I only wanted one man. Logan.
But he was gone.
Buried near the shack we’d briefly called home, on a claim that hadn’t produced one flake of gold.
Though the claim was currently for sale, no one had shown any interest in it yet. I supposed whatever money I made off the eventual sale wouldn’t be enough to survive on for long, let alone pay for my passage back to the Northern Isles.
It pained me that finding a husband was my only option of moving forward. I occasionally entertained the idea of sending a letter to my parents with the news of Logan’s death, requesting the funds to travel home and reconcile with my family. But each time the thought entered my mind, all the cruel things my parents had said to me came rushing back.
“You’re no daughter of mine.”My father’s words.
“Get out of my sight, Natalee. I never wish to see you again. Thank the gods your older sisters have more sense than you. At least they have made us proud. But you—you are nothing.”My mother’s words.
All because I’d married without their blessing. To make matters worse, Logan’s father had had a falling out with my father years before our elopement, something related to a business deal gone wrong. Logan and I had believed our families would put aside their differences and support us after the announcement of our marriage, but Logan’s parents had treated him just as coldly as mine had treated me.
Fate stepped in when Logan’s older brother offered to pay for our passage to Black Dragon Island. He also gave Logan enough money to buy a claim. Not long after, we’d set sail on theSilver Sentinel, foolishly believing all would be well and we would strike it rich somewhere on Black Dragon Island.
But Logan’s claim proved worthless, and after he died an agonizing death from a serpent bite, I couldn’t very well live in a shack in the mountains all by myself. I might be stubborn and proud, but I didn’t have a death wish. Even if I’d managed to grow enough food to sustain myself, I wasn’t very skilled at trapping animals, nor was I capable of defending myself against the huge beasts that roamed the mountain.
After the kitchen was set to rights, I feigned a headache and went to my bedroom. Normally, I stayed up with Mrs. Foxthorne and helped her quilt in the sitting room by the roaring fire, but tonight I longed for solitude.
I prepared for bed and then stood at my bedroom window that faced the street. Darkness had fallen. I peered up at the stars and crescent-shaped moon. Was Logan up in the starfields—the realm of departed souls and of the gods—looking down on me at this very moment? I liked to think he was. And I liked to think he would understand when I married again, only months after his passing.
Yes, I decided I would allow Mrs. Foxthorne to continue introducing me to as many eligible gentlemen in town as she wished. Human. Orc. Fae. Even minotaur. As long as the male possessed a kindly deposition and was a hard worker, I was open to the idea of marriage.
A long, contemplative sigh escaped me. With the small ratio of women to males in Faircross, I would probably have all manner of marriage proposals to contend with in the near future.
As much as I wanted the chance to get to know a male well before we wed, any courtship would need to be short. This wasn’t polite society in the Northern Isles. There would be no glittering balls in the city or chaperoned carriage rides in the countryside. No stolen kisses on the large front porch of my family’s summer home while the forest chirpers screeched around us on a cool summer night.
I went to my bedside, fell to my knees, and bowed my head in prayer.
After a whispered prayer for Logan’s soul, I sat in silence as the piano music floated in the open window. I was certain this was the third time this evening that I’d heardBlushing Fairy Maidenplaying, but I didn’t mind. The music brought me comfort and was one of the reasons I often kept my window open, even when the night air grew so chilled that I had to bundle up under the quilts.
I took a deep breath and bowed my head further.
Please gods, lead me down the right path, whether it’s to a husband or back to the Northern Isles. Please gods, show me a sign.
CHAPTER2
KNOT
