Page 37 of Marked By Feral Monsters
Orcs think humans are the violent ones?
Slowly, I reply, "Yes… I'm safe with them."
Ulack nods, but doesn't look happy. He picks me up and cuddles me in his arms, seated by the boulder. We're silent for a while, long enough to let the sun set a little lower in the sky, drying our skin and hair. The rush of the waterfall is soothing, but I don't fall asleep. Ulack reaches out and picks up my basket of berries, holding it out to me. I take a few and eat them. He tiltsthe basket and swallows the rest in one full gulp. I laugh, and he smiles down at me.
"I understand if you must go home," he eventually says.
Where else would I go?I want to ask. I've never felt like I belonged in my village, but I couldn't go live with the orcs, either. "What are your people like?" I ask.
"They are fierce warriors. They hunt humans and eat them like snacks, using their bones to pick their teeth." I tense in his arms before a deep rumble comes from his chest, shaking me in his arms.
I slap his pecs. "You're not funny."
Ulack's laugh turns to a heavy sigh. "The forest is unforgiving. Every animal has its predators. We have ours; you have yours. The humans fear what is bigger and stronger than they are. This is understandable. I will not say that humans need not fear the orcs. Humans have done a lot of damage to our people. They are annoying little gnats that don't leave us alone when we simply want to walk through the woods in search of our own game. But humans are not game to us. Occasionally, we will snarl and stomp our feet, sending the humans running, but generally, we leave them be."
He adds cautiously, "And I can assure you, my people would leave you be. You would be safe if you wanted to come home with me."
I don't dare answer. I'm barely breathing, tense again in his arms. He doesn't force me to talk, and after a few more minutes, I force myself to crawl out of his lap. I use his knee as leverage and swing down, my bare feet landing on the dirt.
He looks sad as he watches me walk over to my shift. I shake the dirt off it before pulling it on.
Ulack says nothing; he doesn't move. I don't know how to tell him goodbye. I don't want this to be goodbye. But what am I todo? Leave the village, on a whim, for a monstrous green giant I've been taught my whole life would kill me in an instant?
He hasn't. In fact, aside from the scratches on my back from the tree bark, he's been incredibly gentle.
The longer I stand here and watch the emotions pass over his face, the more I know, deep down, that everything I've ever been told about orcs is a lie.
But it doesn't change the fact that I'm human. How could I possibly go live with him?
I choke on the words—to tell him I'll never forget him, that I don't want to leave, that he's the best thing that's ever happened to me. That after a few short hours, I know I'll never be the same again.
Instead, he offers a small, sad smile and nods his head once.
"Goodbye, Eden."
Cruelly, he doesn't get up to leave. He just sits there, leaning against the boulder, forcing me to do the hard thing. To walk away.
The water down below soothed the sore ache between my legs. The feeling returns—a phantom ache, now, of missing him—as I turn and walk away. I quickly swipe the tear from under my eye and keep walking. Each step takes effort.
Once I break past the clearing, into the woods, beneath the canopy of trees, I rush down the trail and head south toward my village. Rushing, almost as if my legs might turn back if I let them. I practically ran the first few miles. Then, when the terrain becomes more familiar, the earth and leaves more patted down from the guard's patrol, my steps slow.
It's close to dark now. I've been swallowing down the tears for the last hour, and my heart yanks north, back to Ulack. I barely know him. And he's anorc.
But I feel like I've lost something important. Someone. My heart hurts.
Eventually, I reach the edge of our village. The guards on patrol ignore me as I wander into camp. Skyler spots me first. She waves and rushes over.
"Oh my god, I was so worried! Kella and Tika were supposed to cross paths with you on the new trail. They got back hours ago and said they never saw you. Are you okay? You didn't run into any trouble, did you?"
Skyler looks me over, hands patting my arms, checking to be sure I'm in one piece. I shake my head, unable to respond.
A moment later, Devis joins us, a sneer of disgust on his face. "Where is your basket? You've been gone all day, so where is all the food?"
Shame colors my cheeks. I look down at the ground because I have no good excuse. I was selfish today. Deeply selfish.
Devis scoffs. "Useless girl. No food. And did you lose the basket, too?"
"I'm sure there's a perfectly good explanation," Skyler intercedes. But I don't deserve her kindness. I failed today.
