Page 62 of The Savage Vow
“Please. I didn’t do anything,” she begged. “Let me go!”
“Quiet,” he snapped.
He hoisted her over his shoulder as if she weighed nothing. The world skewed violently. Her stomach lurched, and he carried her out into the street. The door slammed closed behind them.
No one intervened.
Her cries went ignored.
Faces blurred past as Yambul strode down the road. Some glanced at them then quickly turned away. Shame and fear burned inside her. Tears streamed down her face, and she fought uselessly.
He turned down a narrow alley on the outskirts of the village. She looked around to try to see where they were going. Soon, he exited the alley that led to an open area. It wasn’t guarded like the main entrance of the village. From this spot, one could leave and no one would see them.
Three massive orcs waited astride their shukans. Recognition filled her. They were the same figures she had seen lurking near the shop that night and following her halfway home.
Her blood ran cold.
Yambul dumped her onto a large beast. Rough hands secured her in place. She thrashed around, fighting for her freedom.
“Stop resisting,” Yambul snarled. “Or I will make sure your lover suffers for it.”
Her body went still.
“What have you done to Bula?” she demanded.
“Nothing yet,” he said calmly.
A shiver rippled down her spine at how level his voice became.
“But we are going to learn the truth about this…this Bula. You say she’s a drifter, I say it’s a lie.”
Orlena shook her head fiercely. He chuckled and leaned closer to her. His breath was hot and foul, and she grimaced.
“She,sukga, is a spy.”
The words echoed in Orlena’s mind. She didn’t want to believe it.
“No,” she whispered. “You’re lying.”
But doubt crept in. Bula leaving for days without a single word or reason where she’d gone. Her weapons. All of the secrets in her eyes.
No.
Orlena clung to her faith in Bula with desperate strength. Whatever truths lay hidden, she just could not believe that the orc who had held her so tenderly would deceive her.
Yambul hefted himself onto the animal behind her. He lifted the reins, and the creature surged forward.
The village blurred and grew smaller as they rode. Wind tore at Orlena’s hair, the beast racing faster. Her tears continued to slide down her face, and she held on to the fur beneath her.
She thought of Bula’s promise.I will free you.
Please, she whispered inside her mind. Her heartbeat grew quicker with every stride of the shukan.
Find me.
Before sunrise,the inn was wrapped in a hush. Nargol moved through the dim corridor like a shadow, her boots silent on the worn wooden floor. A single lantern flickered at the far end of the hall, casting long wavering shapes on the walls.
Orlena’s face filled her thoughts. The way her eyes had softened in the candlelight of her home, the warmth of her body against Nargol’s. The memory tightened something deep insideher. Five days without her had been agony. Leaving her again, even for a single morning, scraped raw against the mating bond that hummed in her blood.
