Fated To The Orc King

Chapter 17

▪️B A L D U R▪️

"Kill it!" I ordered the Orc soldier.

The long steel blade sliced through the air and severed the goblin's head before it even knew what was going on. 

Green sticky blood stained the ground and the corpse was then dragged away to join the rest in the burning pile. Wrinkling my nose, my frown deepened as I watched the dark smoke waft up into the sky.

It had been over a week now since I entered this damned forest!

"And nothing to fucking show for it!" I cursed under my breath while marching past our tents to head down to the lake.

When one of the returning Orc parties had arrived at the castle, blowing the horn to signal the sighting of fae, I had not expected to be in the Black Forest for this long. But unfortunately, I could not deny the evidence that there had been fae roaming around the area and though their magic had been weak, there were clear signs that they were growing stronger.

In one particular area we had stumbled upon, the trees had been cleared with the use of enchantments, and the markings on the scorched ground were clearly fae.

The goblins we had killed claimed that Alaric had been the cause of the great tremor. Even though those disgusting creatures were known for their lies, I was not so arrogant as not to err on the side of caution.

I had a kingdom to protect after all.

If Alaric had indeed managed to tap into magic that somehow allowed him to cause such a disturbance in the forest, I needed to find him as soon as possible!

"Fucking hell!" I muttered.

I had sent letters via raven to Khagra, keeping him updated of what was going on and left specific instructions not to let anyone know about the likelihood that the fae's magic might be returning. The last thing I needed was causing a panic throughout the castle and the kingdom on a whole.

Either way, we had defeated the fae once before, we could do it again.

Although, if I could prevent war from returning to the Isle of Wrobel, I would do everything in my power to stop it. After many years of nonstop conflict, my ancestors had managed eradicate the fae, the survivors scattering about the large island, living among themselves.

I often wondered why the Orcs had not hunted down and killed every last fae. But like myself, the Orc King at the time did not believe in condemning an entire species for the crimes enforced by their leaders. Though, had my father been alive back then, as King, he would have ordered ever fae; man, woman, and child to be killed.

Tilting my head up towards the sky, I let out a deep sigh while watching the sunset, admiring the various colours that littered across the firmament.

My mind then drifted to Izara, as it often had during the day.

Khagra had been keeping me up to date on her progress, letting me know about all her accomplishments while I had been away. I felt a small pang in my chest, hating that I was missing those moments with her, wanting nothing more than to be at her side while she crossed the various milestones.

I was jealous of Khagra, for he got to bask in her presence every day.

At the thought, I found myself chuckling softly, thinking about how different my opinion was of Izara as compared to when we first met. Even though it had been weeks since I fully acknowledged my attraction towards her, the intensity of the emotions I had developed for her never ceased to surprise me.

Now that I was not focused on hating her, I really could see the amazing person she was.

There was no doubt in my mind that Izara would make a beautiful Amphitere rider. Given the connection she seemed to have with nature and wildlife, I just knew that once she bonded with an Amphitere, there would be no separating them.