Fated To The Orc King

Chapter 4

▪️B A L D U R▪️

There was something almost hypnotic about the way Khagra's large hand looked against Izara's exposed thigh.

His index finger glided along the edge of the black leather holster that held her dagger and I did not miss the way in which he would intentionally touch her thigh. The colour of her skin reminded me of the Veluntina flower that grew high up in the mountains, its petals had an interesting brown-bronze shade that was beautiful when fully bloomed.

My body jolted, appalled at where my thoughts had unexpectedly gone. I was thankful when Khagra's soft, teasing laugh pulled my attention back to the situation at hand.

"Let the human defend herself first before you condemn her. I'm sure Izara has an explanation, don't you, my dear?"

Narrowing my glare at her, I snapped, "Well? Explain yourself!"

I did not miss the way her brown eyes rounded briefly before she seemed to collect her thoughts. In that moment, she stopped struggling against Khagra, her body seeming to relax against his. It was interesting to see the wide range of facial expressions she could convey in such a short amount of time.

With her gaze now focused on me, she spoke, "It belonged to my mother; she died when I was just a baby. I keep the dagger on me at all times since it helps me feel close to her."

"Do you know how to use it?" Khagra asked.

"I do," she replied.

Scoffing, I said, "Really now? You must not know how to use it very well, otherwise your face wouldn't be carved up the way it is."

Khagra's eyes widened as he looked at me from over her head.

I could see from the look on his face that he was stunned by what I had said, but I was never one to mince my words. And yes, I could acknowledge that perhaps it was a bit rude of me to point out her scars. But if Izara planned on living in the castle, she would need to have a thick skin if she was going to survive the candour of my people.

No sooner than the words had left my mouth, I observed the way Izara immediately frowned at me, her anger out in the open for all to see. I had to admit, I was trying to rile her up on purpose, wanting to see how she would react.

In my experience, humans often lied, pretending to be something they were not.

The other handmaidens would have tried to hide their emotions from me, wanting to get on my good side. Not Izara though, which I must confess was intriguing, but at the end of the day, she was still a human and therefore could not trusted.

Before I could give the notion anymore thought, Izara's voice pulled my attention.

"With all due respect, Your Majesty, I was fifteen when I got these scars and I'll admit that I wasn't as good defending myself as I am now. Granted, since it was a fae attack, I can't say that I would escape unscathed now either. There's no shame in admitting one's weakness and if you're going to hold that against me, then you're not the Orc warrior I thought you were."

Khagra grinned, clearly impressed by her response, but I was not buying it, even if her next words surprised me.

"I thought that battle wounds were seen as a badge of honour to the Orcs, the scars serving as a permanent reminder that they had survived. Do you not have any scars yourself, Your Majesty?"

"Of course, I do!"

"Then why are you shaming me for mine?" Izara asked, the valour in her voice rendering me speechless.