Page 52 of The Savage Vow
The orcs were walking now. Slowly. They remained far enough back that she could almost pretend it was a coincidence.
Almost.
Her heart hammered harder.
Her journey home was not long. It never was. Tonight, every step she took felt as if she were going nowhere. The shadowsdeepened as the light faded, doorways appeared even darker than normal, and the silence of the village had her skin crawling.
A small animal burst from an alley and darted across her path.
Orlena yelped.
She jumped back a few inches, her hand flying to her chest. Her breaths were coming rapid.
“Goddess above,” she murmured. Her laughter afterward sounded thin and false even to her own ears. “Get a hold of yourself.”
Her pulse refused to slow down. She continued on her same path she always took home. These were the same streets Nargol and taken beside her. Her presence had been a steady warmth at Orlena’s side. The memory only caused her fear to peak.
She picked up her pace.
Her breaths came faster and shallower. She risked another glance back.
They were still there.
The distance between them hadn’t shortened. It was quite obvious that these orcs were following her.
Her chest tightened painfully. She fought the urge to run. It would only mark her as prey. She had lived among orcs long enough to know that.
Ahead, laughter cut through the air. A group of humans emerged from a side street. Orlena recognized them from her neighborhood. Relief flooded her so quickly that her knees buckled.
“Jenny! Mya! Rose!” Orlena called out. She hurried to catch up to them.
They turned and offered warm, welcoming smiles.
“Orlena! Are you okay?” Rose asked as Orlena joined their small group.
“I’m fine. Just ready to get home. It’s been a long day.” Orlena chuckled nervously. She tagged along with them and felt much better that she wasn’t alone.
“You shouldn’t be by yourself,” Jenny gently scolded her. She entwined her arm with Orlena’s. She lived in a little house on the same street as Orlena. They’d shared plenty of meals together over the past few solars. “There are plenty of us who work in the same area where you don’t have to walk alone.”
“It’s just sometimes I work late. I wouldn’t want to hold anyone up from going home,” Orlena said. It was true. She carried a heavy workload that required her to stay late and arrive early so she could meet the demands of her boss. “It’s normally fine when I walk home?—”
She stopped, a shudder rippling through her.
“You’re practically shaking. What’s wrong?” Jenny asked.
The group turned their focus to Orlena whose cheeks grew warm. She bit her lip and dropped her voice.
“There were…some orcs. I thought they were following me,” she admitted. She hated how her voice shook.
The women glanced behind them carefully before she could warn them not to.
“There’s no one back there,” Mya said. She offered a smile. “Maybe they were just going the same way.”
Orlena forced herself to look back. The street behind them was empty. Had they gone away? Slipped into the shadows where none of them could see them? Or had she just imagined the danger that hadn’t been there? Had the orcs just been heading in the same direction before turning off to go to their destination?
Orlena continued on with the other women. They reached the human settlement. The familiar aromas and voices eased some of the tension she carried. She glanced back every few minutes to ensure the orcs hadn’t reappeared.
They hadn’t.
