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But… wait.Thatmeant this was the sameSimonHalthorrhad spoken of, too.TheSimonwho was theEnforcer, he’d said.TheSimonwho had made that rule, and broken apartUlfarr’spack, permanently.
Andalso —Louisa’sstomach clenched — this was theSimonUlfarrhad brought up, just the night before.Wolfis dead, he’d said, with such grief in his wild eyes.Simonkill him, break him, shame him before all the clan.
Andblinking at thisSimon, it occurred toLouisathat he was the only orc she’d met so far who was even bigger thanUlfarr.Hewas impossibly tall, his chest and shoulders broad and powerful, and covered all over with vicious-looking scars.Healso had several shining weapons hanging from his belt, and that might have been one glinting in his neat black braid, too.Andhad he used one of those weapons to…killUlfarr’swolf?Toshame him before all the clan?
“Er, hello,”Louisamade herself say, far too late, pasting a smile to her mouth. “It’s, er, good to see you again,Simon.Andnice to meet you all, too.”
She’dmanaged a nod towardMaria, and then the two children.Earninga curious smile from the smaller orc inSimon’sarms, and a suspicious nod from the older one, who might have been twelve years old.WhilethisMariaflashedLouisaa swift, stunning grin, and even reached forward to shake her hand.
“It’sso good to see you again,Louisa,” she said warmly. “I’mnot sure if you remember me, but we’ve met a few times.BackwhenIwas theDuchessofWarmisham.”
What?Louisa’smouth dropped open, her eyes gaping at thisMaria’sface.Becauseyes, theDuchessofWarmishamhad been a young, beautifully dressed woman with golden skin and dark hair, and she’d always seemed deeply unhappy — and no wonder, becauseDukeWarmishamwas yet another horrid warmongering lord, and also the father ofLordKaspar, that vile cretinLouisahad gotten entangled with afterLordScall.Andyes, she had heard rumours of something gone wrong withWarmisham’swife, hadn’t she?Andsomething about her running off a few years ago, never to be seen again…
Louisa’soverwhelmed brain was still taking far too long to digest this, to make sense of it.Howthe hell had theDuchessofWarmishamended up atOrcMountain?Andmated to this hugeSimon?Withtwo sons?
“Well,”Louisafinally said toward the duchess —Maria— with an attempt at a smile. “Ioffer you my deepest congratulations on escaping your ghastly toad of a husband.Andgaining such a lovely family, too.”
Mariagrinned back, and squeezed her older son a little closer. “Itwas a much-needed improvement,” she said wryly. “Andwe’re all so gladKillikhas finally found a mate too, aren’t we,Simon?”
Thematething again.Louisacouldn’t hide her wince, and opened her mouth to counter that point — but then froze at the look on thisSimon’sface.Becausehe hadn’t answeredMaria’squestion, and instead, he was frowning atLouisa, his heavy brows furrowing as his glinting eyes flicked up and down her form.Asif… as if he wasjudgingher.
Louisashot a chagrined glance downwards, following his eyes — and again found the alarming sight of her shabby, filthy ensemble. “Er,Ihope you’ll forgive my appearance, this all happened quite suddenly today,” she said. “AndIwas just tellingJuleandRosa,Iwon’t be staying long, either.”
Simon’seyes shifted as she spoke, but he kept looking at her like that, almost as if he was angry with her.Whilebeside him,Marialooked confused, and a little alarmed, too — until finallyJulecleared her throat, and stepped forward between them.
“Ifyou haven’t already,Simon, we ought to send forKillikat once,”Julesaid. “HeandUlfarrwill want to hear about their son’s injury, andI’msureKillikwill want to welcomeLouisahere, and show her around the mountain, too.”
Louisacouldn’t help a grateful look atJule, but then her eyes caught onSimonagain, on his grim, forbidding face. “Er, but that’s certainly not necessary,” she said quickly. “I’doriginally meant to camp elsewhere anyway, orIcould even just sleep out here with the horses…”
JuleandRosaboth instantly balked at this,Julewaving her hands, andRosaloudly protesting that she could do no such thing.ButLouisa’seyes stayed fixed onSimon, because he clearly didn’t want her here, and she didn’t want to cause trouble, either.Especiallyif it might involveKillikandUlfarr, orSune, and…
“No, woman,”Simoncut in now, in a deep, accented voice. “Youought to stay untilKillikcomes home.Weshall speak with you again then.”
Oh.Therewas another instant’s awkward silence, in whichMariacast another confused look atSimon’sface, andJuleandRosaexchanged uneasy glances.UntilbesideLouisa,Rosapulled herself taller, and cleared her throat. “Well, theEnforcerhas spoken!” she said, a little too brightly. “Soyou’ll stay the night, at least, right?”
Theredidn’t seem to be any point in arguing, and finallyLouisatwitched a nod, and said a strangled thank-you.Andsoon she found herself being herded off betweenJuleandRosatowardOrcMountain, leaving the others behind.AndwhenLouisashot a furtive glance backwards,Mariastill looked just as confused as she felt, whileSimonkept frowning beside her.
“What’swithSimon?”Rosademanded, once they were hopefully out of his earshot. “It’snot at all like him to be so rude!You’dthink he’d be pleased to have his kin-brother’s new woman come to visit!”
She’dshotLouisaan affronted look, dragging her a little faster toward the rising stone wall of the mountain before them, while onLouisa’sother side,Julegave a too-casual wave of her hand. “I’msure it’s nothing,” she said, though she didn’t quite meetLouisa’seyes. “Now,Louisa, what would you like to do first?Wouldyou like to rest?Orhave a meal, or a hot bath?Orcheck in onSune, or take a tour of the mountain?”
Butas she’d spoken, she’d ledLouisatoward what appeared to be a corner, or maybe a crack, in the mountain’s sheer stone wall before them.Andsuddenly they were… inside.
InsideOrcMountain.
Louisagasped, blinking at the sight around her, as genuine shock flashed through her chest.Becauseit wasn’t — small, or dark, or cramped, or musty, or any of the things she’d expected.Andinstead, she was standing in a broad, beautifully carved stone corridor, with a series of flickering lamps lining the stone walls, and large, brightly coloured rugs covering the flat stone floor.
“Uh,” she said, still gaping around at it, and then atJuleandRosa, and then up at the corridor ahead.Whichseemed to break off into more rooms, and more corridors, as if it truly was a home.Ahome, here, under a mountain.KillikandUlfarr’shome.Thehome that had apparently broughtUlfarrsuch pain and grief — and clearly at least one enemy — even as he was still bound here, held here for his sins.
AndLouisawas here now too, fully trapped in this, whetherKillikapproved of it or not.Andsuddenly, there wasKillik’sown voice, jostling up intoLouisa’swhirling, whipping thoughts.
Shallyou stand tall with the shamedWolfof theSkai.Showme.Provethis to me…
AndthenSune’swords, too.Stay.Settleyourself, and wait forKillikandUlfarrto come for you.Makeour mountain your home…
SoLouisaswallowed hard, drew in breath, squared her shoulders. “Well, sinceI’mhere,Imight as well do — all of it,” she said. “Andsee and learn as much asIcan.Ifyou don’t mind?”
ButbothJuleandRosagrinned at her, as if this was exactly what they’d been hoping for. “Oh, we don’t mind at all,”Rosareplied, with a devious-sounding cackle. “Nowcome along, sister, and enjoy the all-new, all-empoweringOrcMountainNewMateExperience!”
