An army of orcs, an ambitious young leader with an impossible proposal, and more secrets yet to be revealed. While Orvar and Gyda would love nothing more than to spend time with their newborn girl, the universe has other plans for them, but they are...
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I had to admit that, for orcs, this way of killing—having someone pulled apart by horses—was an unorthodox method, but my men seemed to approve of the gruesome punishment, roaring and growling as they showed me their excitement.
As expected, the humans were less enthusiastic.
Johan's mouth twitched after hearing the news and I saw his Adam's apple jerk up and down as he swallowed. He didn't say a word, but he was angry, I could tell. More furious than he was afraid. For now, at least.
One of his wives fainted. Another screamed hysterically. Others cried and even begged. But were they crying for his fate or for their own? Was it even possible to love this piece of shit? His own son told me he loathed him, knowing the real man behind the mask.
Zachary was visibly shocked by my announcement as well. Nonetheless, he told my men where they would find the horses straight away.
I sent a few of them outside to get the animals and told them to wait for us.
"Who will die first?" Cagan asked in orc's tongue. "The leaders or their followers?"
Yes, who should die first?
I despised all of them, but I hated Gerard and Johan more than anybody else. They were the root of all of this evil. Killing them first meant that they would have it the easiest, while their family members had to live through watching their torture, fearing their own deaths.
For someone like me, knowing Gyda had to watch me die before she was killed herself would be the worst of all, even worse than watching her die before I did. But how was that for a man like Johan? After learning how he'd treated the orcs, his own kind, and even his own son, I believed him to be not only self-centered but also a sadist. So would he care?
All I wanted was for him to suffer the most. He and Gerard. So I decided that for the sake of the others—even though they didn't fucking deserve my compassion—they would die first. Gerard would be next, killed right before and in front of his leader, by the same punishment, so that Johan could watch and see his own terrible fate. I would make sure the man could see Gerard's blood and flesh fly through the air, and I would make sure he knew that his blood and flesh was next.
I answered Cagan's question in the human language so that everybody would understand.
Louder cries and more deafening screams filled my ears, and the begging started to take new shapes.
"No! Please, please, orc!"
"Johan, do something!"
But Johan could not. So the humans kneeled and fell to our feet, clamping onto us as if we were gods and not the monstrous orcs they had detested their entire lives.
"Have mercy on us!" One woman fell in front of me, hands all over my legs.
I kicked her away. "Do not beg like a coward, but pray to your gods, to your Luna. Maybe she can help you in death. The fucking council won't help you anymore."
