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Capricorn was more than just a witch, though. At least to me. She was also my mate—well, potential mate, if she would have me. The dhara seeds Capricorn ingested were proof of both. They would have been detestable for any other being.
Encountering not only a true witch but my mate in this bar, of all places, was a gift from the goddess that I did not dare question. Boudica treated Capricorn as if she were an outsider. A human.
Capricorn was neither. Not that I had any problems with humans, so long as they kept the peace.
In my experience, they were loud and brutish savages, who liked to kill what didn’t fit into their standards. And they had the gall to call us monsters.
We had our own stories on Orc Mountain. Cautionary tales that elders still recount to the younglings at bedtime. Behave, or the slayers would catch you.
Elves? They were easily accepted by the human fray, as was clear because many flung themselves crotch first onto the nearest elf they could find, female, male, it did not matter.
Did it matter that the elves would just as soon destroy a human as they would fuck them? No, because they were shiny and their damned glamour was intoxicating to the short-lived humans.
But the orc-kin are the ones that are vilified.
Humans. Weak-minded worms.
Boudica was a formidable warrior woman. Though she looked human, she was kin to the dryads. Her tribe descended from the Huntress. Divinity blessed her bloodline and spirit.
Capricorn…I could not place her lineage, but she was a witch. Even if she were human, that would not matter at all. Human, halfling, or otherwise, she was mine, and I would keep her no matter what she was.
Perhaps she kept her origins a secret because she hid from a threat? The notion that she would be a target of any evil intent infuriated me. I would destroy any who would harm her. Her enemies were my enemies now.
“How long do these hunts take?” Capricorn asked.
“You didn’t come down with the supplies you already needed? ” Boudica asked at the same time.
I did not like that Boudica spoke over Capricorn, but at least her interruption diverted what otherwise would have been Rothgar’s ill-veiled innuendos. “We hunt in shifts, as winter is the best for certain game. Rothgar and Jalen are my chosen blood brothers. Our clutch is on rotation these next few weeks to hunt and renew the mountain’s storehouses.”
Capricorn’s fine eyebrows lifted on her forehead. “How many are in your clutch?”
“A fair dozen, give or take,” Jalen answered.
“Only a dozen to replenish an entire mountain in only a few weeks’ time?” She asked. “How is that possible? And what if someone got hurt?”
The way her eyes rounded in concern warmed my hearts. She would be a fine mate and partner, and I would not allow her to be troubled. “Our caches do not dwindle down to empty. These hunts are as much for tradition as they are for genuine need.”
“Yeah, and usually so they can be baptized in blood and magic for a few weeks. We have a similar ritual to keep our boundaries strong on the island,” Bo said as she picked at the last of her food, brushing the crumbs from her hands. “Are you about done, Cap?”
Anger kindled in my chest once more toward the vexing female, only tempered by a grudging respect knowing that she was protecting her friend. She had a prior claim and possibly has Capricorn’s loyalty, something I had yet to earn. This would not be the time to pick a needless battle.
Capricorn spied her now-empty plate, which had been full only moments before. “No, you know what? I think I’ll stay.” A look passed between them, one that ended in a knowing smile from Boudica.
Capricorn blushed a charming shade of burnished copper that warmed her cheeks. She would be glorious when she lost herself in pleasure, her blue hair a tangle of silk splayed atop luxurious pillows.
Hope swelled within me.
Without prompting, a server came over and swapped out the empty plate with another one laden with appetizers.
“Tia thought you might still need something,” the pixie said before flitting away.
I must have looked confused because Capricorn leaned toward me and said, “Tia is the owner.”
“You must be a regular if she knows you this well,” I said. Tia had just secured lifetime patronage.
“You can say that. She loves to feed me, and I love to eat. So, match made in heaven.”
“I should say so. I do love seeing a woman enjoying her food,” I said.
