Page 46 of The Savage Vow
They passed sealed chambers and collapsed corridors without slowing. Nargol’s feet carried her toward a slender alcove hidden behind a fallen pillar. Her hands shook as she and Makhel stood staring at the object of this mission.
There, nestled within stone panels echoed with ancient wards, lay the decree.
The parchment was brittle with age, its edges darkened, yet the ink remained bold. Orcish runes proclaimed the words Nargol had memorized since childhood.
The Cydassi shall rule by strength and service. Only those who defeat them in honor may take the throne.
She stood in front of it in disbelief. She’d never seen it before and had always heard stories of it.
But now that she knew this document truly existed, she had to protect it.
She reached out a shaky hand and traced the edging of the delicate paper. She read the writings of the ancestors. It was in a language that was scarcely spoken or transcribed any longer.
Nargol sucked in a breath. She hadn’t read High Orcish since her youth. The script was jagged and deliberate. Each symbol was carved with purpose rather than beauty.
“What does it say?” Makhel asked after Nargol remained silent. She leaned over Nargol’s shoulder to look at the ancient scroll.
Nargol had almost forgotten Makhel was standing beside her.
“And then the strangers came. They came not from the mountains nor the deep forests, but from beyond the reach of imagination. They were small of frame and brief of solars. Their bodies soft where ours were forged hard, but their spirits burned bright, untested and unclaimed.” Nargol paused and glanced over at Makhel whose eyes had grown round. The room was silent except for the sounds of their deep breaths.
“Holy feck,” Makhel breathed. She motioned to the scroll. “What else does it say?”
Nargol read again, her heart slamming against her chest. This had not been taught to her during her schooling. Had her teachers even known of this part of the document? She swallowed hard and continued.
“We decree this: Let the humans be welcomed upon the soil of Aghon. Let them drink from our rivers and shelter beneath our skies. Those who would bind the humans, starve them, ordeny them choice stand in defiance of Nogora’s sacrifice. For she gave her heart so thatalllife might endure—not so that one people may rise upon the backs of another.” Nargol sniffed and continued skimming the parchment.
Another passage caught her eye.
Hruunak ven, nigh makh tor’ven. Ul’ka zhurak nogh. Na’keth ul ash ragu de ul obo.
Humans and orc will live side by side, not as master and chattel. Neighbors beneath the same sky.
This was not vague. It was not symbolic, but a direct command. Someone had taken the words meant to guide their people and twisted them. The ancestors had foreseen this. They were warning against it.
And now Hagu and Grat would try to erase the proof of the ancestors’ commands that humans be accepted as equals. She thought of Orlena’s contract, and a blind fury settled in her chest. She would help free her mate.
“This should have taken us days to find,” Makhel whispered, breaking through Nargol’s thoughts.
“Or longer,” Nargol said softly.
Again, Makhel was right. The ruins were no small structure. With only the two of them, it would have taken them weeks, if not months to find it. Instead, she’d found it almost immediately. How had she known where to find it?
Nogora.
The goddess had led her to find what they needed. That was the only explanation she would accept.
“We can’t give this to them,” Makhel said.
“No, we can’t, but we also can’t refuse.” Nargol glanced over at Makhel, an idea forming.
“What are you thinking? I can see it in your eyes.” Makhel folded her arms.
Nargol smiled. “What if we didn’t give them this one, but somehow another one?”
“A fake?”
“Kraz,” Nargol whispered. But how the feck would they be able to get a duplicate that looked exactly like this one? This was too important. Her father would need to know about this.
