The Orc's Consort: Book One

Chapter 17 - Sweet Nothings

Chief Bloodborne

We did not speak on the way back. I could not blame her; she had taken a beating and probably had little to eat or drink. After losing so much blood, I thought she might be dehydrated. I stopped a few times and made her drink from my leather pouch. She was so weak that she could barely hold her eyes open as she drank. Fresh blood began to drip from her head again. The wound must have reopened. The shade of her blood enraged me. I pitied the poor fool who helped those two out the front gates. They would suffer the same fate.

Once we were back at the castle, I carried her through the halls to the infirmary to find one of the healers. To no shock, my men had already returned with the wounded- and dead. I was glad they had made it safely and were receiving care. I carefully laid Brenna down in an empty bed. My eyes shot around the room, looking for someone with free hands to help her. One of our Orruk healers, Roderick, was already closing the distance between us. "Isn't this the Princess? What in the fuck happened to her. I thought she ran off." He looked baffled at her beaten body curled up in the large bed.

"Fucking traitors," I growled. "Two of our own took her against my fucking orders. Others could be involved, so keep it to yourself," trying to keep my voice down. His brow furrowed as he nodded to me, understanding my words. Roderick went to Brenna and examined the most visible injury she had, the wound on the back of her head. The bleeding had slowed but not completely stopped on its own. I feared he would need to burn the flesh to stop her bleeding.

I did not know if I could stand to see her go through more pain. Roderick picked up a blade from the nearby table. My mouth became dry as I tried to swallow. Even hearing her scream might push me to the edge again. I might deck him in the fucking face. My stern countenance became confused as I watched him cut a few strands of her long caramel hair. "What are you doing," I asked, not understanding his plan.

"Well, this wound will not heal on its own, and I would not want to make the scar worse by charring it." I watched as he dug through a drawer and found a needle. He passed it over the flame of a candle to cleanse it before passing the hair through the eye and tying it off. "I am just going to have to throw a couple of stitches in it to hold it closed." He brushed her hair off to the sides to reveal the gash. He used his hands to hold the skin closed and pushed the needle through her scalp. I half expected her to cry out in pain, but Brenna barely flinched as the needle passed through her flesh. I honestly think it was because of exhaustion; she lay there with her eyes closed, wincing here and there.

Once Roderick finished, he tied off the strands and cut away the loose ends. He looked her over but found nothing too concerning, just some scrapes and bruises. Roderick then turned to me. "Brenna will be alright but needs plenty of fluids and rest. I will keep an eye on her overnight. Just until she wakes up from this grog."

I shook my head. There was no fucking way I was letting her out of my sight- not until I found out who else was involved. "No, I will take her with me. I mean no disrespect to you, but the last orc who was supposed to watch her let this happen." I was not about to let her out of my sight again, at least not until I was sure to weed out any others involved in this. I decided that I would feel more comfortable with her staying in my sleeping chambers. She did not need to be waking up to see all these wounded orcs, either. I took her in my arms again and carried her upstairs myself.

***

I took her to my room and placed her on my bed. She was so exhausted that she had not woken during the walk to my room. I watched as she breathed softly in my bed. I carefully covered her with a blanket before going to the fireplace. I threw in some logs before lighting it. I went to her room to get her a clean chemise and some things to help her get washed up. It was getting late, and I was sure she would feel better after a bath. I picked up the nepeta flowers. She had not used them yet. I thought I would draw a hot bath and add them to help with any pain she was having. I also found a servant girl and requested the rest of her things to be brought over in the morning. When I came back, she was looking around from the bed. She gave me a confused expression.