Page 101 of The Savage Vow
Nargol straightened. She eyed her father, the chamber erupting with approving murmurs. The title sounded damn good to her. With all of the clans working together, they would need someone to head all of the armies. She would accept this with great honor.
“What say you, General Nargol Cydassi?” her father asked.
She looked around the chamber and took in the leaders, her sister, her mother, and knew that the future of Aghon would rest in the hands of the very orcs in this room.
For centuries, their people had been driven from their lands. Forced into wandering. Hunted down by trolls. They would not go back to those days. She stepped forward.
“If trolls cross into our lands again,” she said, her voice steady and strong, “they will not find nomads fleeing but orcs banding together who will defeat them.”
Magoza’s expression hardened as she stood next to Nargol.
“Aghon will not fall,” Magoza vowed.
Nargol growled low just thinking of what their ancestors had gone through.
“If trolls want to meet us on the battlefield, let them come,” she snarled.
The bathwater hadlong since cooled, but for a moment longer, Orlena lingered beside the deep pool built into the floor. She breathed in the faint scent of lavender oil the attendant had left for her. Steam still clung to the high stone ceiling of the bathing chamber. It curled lazily through the carved beams above. She glanced at the pool and sighed. She was a long way from Soza and her tiny bathroom.
She wrapped a soft robe around herself and tied the sash at her waist, stepping into the adjoining chamber.
Every time she entered, the sight of it had her gasping.
Their chamber was larger than the entire house she had lived in. Thick stone walls curved upward to high timber rafters. A wide hearth stood on the far wall, and embers glowed warmly beneath a mantel carved with old Orcish woodwork. Soft rugs from the southern trade route covered the polished floor, their woven patterns rich with reds and golds.
And the bed.
The bed alone was larger than the one she’d slept in alone for so long. It was comical to think of how she and Nargol had fit in her small one. Orlena laughed quietly to herself as she padded across the room. She stood by the massive bed that came to her waist. There was a footstool next to it to help her climb in.
Everything still felt surreal. She half expected to wake up back in Soza having dreamed all of this.
If that were to happen, she’d find some way for her to go back to a permanent sleep because she never wanted to wake up from this.
What felt unreal the most was that the one place she had always wanted to visit, she now called home.
Angarth Keep.
This was her home with Nargol.
She walked to the open window where the evening wind slipped through, carrying in the cool scent of the surrounding forest. From where she stood she could see the lights of Udenia that stretched across the valley like scattered stars.
For so long she had believed that leaving Soza was a dream. Something that she would achieve in the distant future.
Looking out, she could see that the world was more than she had ever dreamed it to be. She gazed off into the distance, pastthe stretch of the town. She had so much she wanted to discover. So many places to visit.
A smile appeared on her lips as she brushed her hair. Her thoughts drifted back to that morning. She had spent it walking through the gardens with Amuleta. The gardens of Angarth Keep were becoming one of her favorite places to visit. Terraced stone paths wound between flowing trees and flower beds cultivated by the keep’s caretakers. Vines climbed carved pillars. Fountains trickled gently into shallow basins where birds gathered to drink.
It all seemed so magical.
Amuleta had met her there after breakfast. Orlena had grown fond of the young woman quickly. Through she was half orc, half human, there was a softness to Amuleta that reminded Orlena of herself. She was kind, was quick to laugh, and had a curiosity about the world just like she did.
They had walked slowly beneath blooming branches and just talked. Amuleta had spoken about her upcoming bonding ceremony with Magoza. It was easy to see how much Amuleta was in love with Nargol’s elder sister. She had asked Orlena questions about human customs. Having grown up in a primarily orc town, she was eager to learn about things she may have missed out on. Orlena used the time to also ask her questions about the orc traditions. Some she was aware of, but living in a village like Soza, she hadn’t known some.
They shared a bond. They both came from different backgrounds, but it didn’t keep them from finding common ground. Orlena considered Amuleta a friend who had teased her gently before they’d parted ways.
“You realize, after our bonding ceremonies, we will officially be sisters.” A grin had spread across Amuleta’s beautiful face.
The thought had sent a warm flutter of nerves through Orlena’s chest.
