Page 27 of The Orc Warrioress and the Elf Lord

Oh, Haem smite her! Was that Iahir?

It was.

He was on horseback, riding towards the gate, brandishing his sword. “Open the gate on command of the palace,” he cried. “Open the gate now.”

The guards looked up and saw him.

One pointed. “You. Kingkiller.”

Iahir’s expression tightened. He had not been expecting that.

“Dismount and face us, coward,” cried the other guard. “You must answer for your crimes against the High King!”

“Iahir nae Cirlahir, Oathbreaker, Traitor!” yelled the first guard.

Then, all four of the guards on the gate rushed towards him. They swarmed his horse, tugging on his ankles, pulling him this way and that.

Iahir stabbed downward with his sword, but the guards didn’t stop.

Meanwhile, the crowd swarmed the now unguarded gate and the large wooden doors swung outward. The elves rushed out, leaving the city.

Thanks for the distraction, my lord, thought Gathren. She led her horse forward.

Then she saw Iahir pulled off his own horse, down to the ground, where the guards descended on him.

He could be killed or trampled by hooves or any such thing.

She stopped her forward motion, holding her horse’s reins. She stared as the guards brought their swords down on Iahir.

9

THERE WAS NO need to rescue the arrogant elf lord.

She owed him nothing.

All right, yes, he had freed her from Marthlis’s house just a few hours before, but that didn’t really count for anything. He had done that in the most cowardly way possible, forcing her to be tied up in a pantry in the servants portion of the house for hours in the dankness, her arms tied behind her back, before he came and untied her and showed her the best way out of the place.

It wasn’t as if he cared about her, no matter what he had said.

And she did not care about him, fantasies about what his elf cock might look like (or taste like) regardless.

Of course, she had to admit she didn’t really want him to die.

Muttering oaths to the goddess of the underworld under her breath, she let go of the reins of her horse to make her way over to the guards who were stabbing down on Iahir. They were intent on their task. They didn’t see her coming.

So, when she got there, it was easy enough to stab two of them in the back, and they both crumpled in horrified surprise, as if they’d never been stabbed before, and maybe they had not. That left two and they were stunned to see her, and Iahir was too.

“Warrioress!” he said, downright cheery as he got to his feet, swiping his sword up from the ground. He stabbed one of the guards, right in the gut.

The remaining guard looked at the now-open gate and simply took off running.

Iahir was bleeding. A cut on his face, and a bloom of red at his shoulder. He was out of breath, but he was smiling. “I didn’t think I would ever see you again.”

“Likewise,” said Gathren. “What are you doing here? Fleeing the city like a coward?”

“Like a coward or like a wise man who wishes to live to old age?” he said. “Besides, why haven’t you gone back to your army?”

“Well, I suppose I did desert them,” she muttered.