Page 111 of Hunt Me

“What will suffice?”

“By my calculations, I am still owed 10,000 gold coins as a reward for handing you over.”

Matilda hummed.

“I thought you would say that,” she replied, motioning for another guard who produced an additional smaller chest. “It’s all there.”

“We must take our leave,” Luka announced, finally sheathing his dagger.

He returned to his grieving queen and wrapped an arm around her trembling body, escorting her out of the tavern.

“May I have a final parting word?” Belzar inquired. The couple paused, and Luka glanced over his shoulder.

“You may, but choose your parting words wisely, orc.”

“Matilda Helsing, you may wear jewels, dress in the finest wears, and sit on the throne, but you will never have the people’s respect. You will be remembered as a traitor who turned her back on her people to lay with the enemy for power and wealth. I will always remember you as the begging slut who took cock up the ass for a bowl of stew and a place to slumber. You are a traitorous whore!”

Belzar’s harsh words and lies nearly ripped her heart out of her chest. She looked back on all those moments when Belzar smiled in her face and portrayed kindness. She knew there were strings attached—that he’d hoped for more, but his entitlement wasn’t her problem.

Instead of lashing out, she simply said, “The people of Night Falls turned their backs on me first.”

Anger roiled within Luka, and his vision glared a bright red. He wanted to sever the orc’s head from his shoulders and toss it in the street for the wild dogs to fight over and consume, but he had promised his beloved that he’d keep his composure. He didn’t want to stress her or their child, so he tamped down his anger and helped her into the waiting carriage. He nodded at one of the guards, and the carriage crawled through the dark streets of Night Falls toward their castle.

Matilda closed her eyes and leaned back against the padded seat when she heard the screams and cries of citizens, alerting that the tavern was on fire. She hummed loudly as she caressed her belly, hoping to drown out the panicked shouts.

“Did you have to burn him alive in his tavern?”

“Aye,” Luka responded grimly.

“I’ll have you know he was lying. The orc had a death wish, and you granted it.”

He smirked and said, “I’ve been known for my benevolence.”

“Your imagination runs wild,” Matilda teased gently.

“Hm.” They rode silently for several minutes when he asked, “How are you faring, my Queen?”

“I’m deeply saddened and wonder when this anguish will cease.”

Luka sighed and crossed the aisle to sit beside her. She leaned into his embrace without hesitation. He held her hand and fiddled with a ruby ring on her middle finger.

“It gets better with time. I promise.”

“Unlike you, I don’t have a few centuries.”

The thought of his human queen’s eventual demise struck him like lightning and silenced him for the remainder of the trip. His anxiety reached an all-time high when they passed the castle walls.

“Who do these carriages belong to?” Matilda asked, concealing the frantic edge in her tone.

“The Houses of Gustafson, Mirren, and Brennan. How delightful.”

***

Luka entered the castle and found his advisor waiting anxiously in the grand foyer. “What is the meaning—”

His words were cut off when Ezra raised his hands in surrender.

“Relax. Mutiny is not afoot; however, your allies requested a meeting, and given the circumstances of the recent coup, I thought it was fitting to oblige them.”