Summoning the Orc (The Kingverse Orcs #2)

Chapter Thirty-Three

Rok

“This is a terrible idea,” Enka hissed to Krusk, but the male shushed him.

I rolled my eyes as I grabbed a large satchel, opening the carved box that I’d sealed behind my bed. The loud gasp behind me told me the males had spotted what was inside.

My horde.

Dragon gold was the most precious metal to come by, but I was the proud owner of a treasure trove of it. I filled my satchel, adding the crystal and two gold rings that my mother had left at the top of the pile for me—before turning and narrowing my eyes. I’d left a sizeable portion in the box. The three males were gathered behind me, picking through my weapons to find what would suit them.

“If you agree to join me,” I told them with narrowed eyes, “this is yours.” I gestured to the gold left in the box and their jaws dropped.

“ That much ?” Krusk asked, and I nodded, knowing that it was more gold than these males would earn in dozens of battles, but they needed it more than I did in this plane, and if they could help me to find the warlocks in their hidden stronghold, they would have more than earned their keep.

Savla shook his head, the usually quiet male narrowing his gaze at me. “Why is it so important that you return to wherever you came from?”

My frustration was welling, but I shoved it back, knowing I would need them on my side. They deserved an answer. “I need to return to my mate.”

Three pairs of eyes widened with surprise, their backs straightening with interest. “Your mate?” Krusk asked, leaning forward. “You’ve found her?”

I nodded, my heart aching at the thought of her alone and not knowing where I’d gone. “She summoned me to her plane, but I was sent back by a witch,” I explained, my lip curling at the word witch .

They all hissed as well and Enka went so far as to spit to the side, warding off dark magic. “Then why would you seek out the warlocks?” Krusk asked, shaking his head. “You can’t trust them.”

I heaved a weary breath, nodding. “I know, but I have no way back. If I give them enough gold, I’m certain they can open a portal for me to return to her,” I said, scrubbing my palm across my face. “I have no other options.”

Enka glanced at his older brothers before looking back to me. “I… I know someone who can help you,” he started and Krusk barked out a reprimand, stopping him from speaking.

I grabbed Enka by the leather straps he’d taken from my collection, tugging him closer toward me. His brothers looked on with worry, but they didn’t bother to stop me. “Who?” I demanded, but Enka looked at Krusk for permission.

The male sighed, gritting his teeth as he said, “It’s a witch on the edge of your woods. She appeared many months ago. She’s very powerful. I’ve seen the magic she can do and it’s terrifying but…” he trailed off, shaking his head. “She was taken. Yesterday.”

“By who?” I barked, releasing Enka and facing Krusk instead.

“By the warlocks,” he sighed. “We saw it happen but couldn’t stop them. We heard them telling her that they were going to use her as a vessel to bear their leader’s son.” Krusk shrugged, his brow furrowed. “We tried to follow, but we lost her scent.”

“Your nose is way more sensitive than ours,” Enka interrupted, eagerness filling his expression. “She told us that she could find our mates. I don’t think she was lying, Chief Rok. She’s done miracles. I’ve seen them myself. If anyone can help us, it’s her.”

My gaze narrowed on him. “Us?” I asked, my eyebrow raising.

The male had the decency to look abashed, ducking his head. “I thought that if we rescued her, she could help us locate our mates as well.”

“Are you doing this for selfish reasons?” I questioned him, “Or do you actually think she can send me back?”

He nodded at once. “She can help you. She’s opened portals with nothing more than some basic ingredients. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. The warlocks are nothing compared to her. It’s why they’ve taken her,” he said, his voice confident and strong.

I pondered it for a moment before turning to Krusk. “I can’t take chances with this. If we rescue her and the warlocks turn against us, no amount of gold would convince them to help me. I need to be certain,” I reasoned.

He nodded, squeezing his younger brother’s shoulder. “He isn’t exaggerating. She’s stronger than they are. It took a dozen warlocks to subdue her,” he explained.

“Good,” I grunted, gesturing to the gold. “Then take this with you. You can pay her to find your mates after she sends me back to mine.”

They hesitated for only a moment before Krusk took the chest with shaking hands, starting three piles of gold coins. I left them to it, moving to my weapons. I slid my axe into the straps across my back, having removed the suit I’d been wearing, preferring the leather straps and pants that I wore for battle.

I added knives and tied multiple satchels to my back as well. I looked around my cave, a hint of melancholy echoing in my chest as I bade it farewell. I’d been raised here and it would always have a huge place in my heart.

I ran my hand over the carvings that my parents had made. I’d packed my mother’s comb, and I was going to gift it to my mate as soon as I saw her. While returning to my home hadn’t been ideal—I’d have preferred to bring my mate with me to show her where I came from—I was glad to be able to say goodbye to my old home along with my parents.

I’d taken flowers to my mother’s grave and laid my best knife on my father’s. I paid my respects as best as I could, releasing the long-held belief that I’d be buried with them. The universe had chosen something different for me, and I wouldn’t mourn the loss more than I celebrated the gain.

My mate would be my future and we would honor my parents’ memories and traditions in the way we loved each other and our younglings. The thought sent a pang of loss through my chest and I had to stop what I was doing to brace myself against the wall of my old home. Squeezing my eyes shut, I swallowed hard.

I couldn’t falter now. I needed to return to her. She was waiting for me. Even now, she could be carrying our youngling. The thought sent an icy shard of terror down my spine. Something I’d never been familiar with until I’d realized that I had something to lose.

I can’t leave her unprotected.

Moving faster, I hurried through my preparations and walked over to the section of my cave where the three brothers were packing away the rest of the weapons. I narrowed my eyes on the males, heaving a deep breath before coming to a decision.

“I want to gift this cave and land to you,” I told them, and they turned with shock written across their faces. I would have been amused, but I was getting used to seeing that expression on their faces. “When you find your mates, bring them here,” I told them, tipping my chin toward the wall with the carvings of my family and heritage. “I’ll add you to my clan.”

The males went stock-still, staring at me in wonder. “Y-You would accept us?”

“As brothers,” I said with a nod, and a small smile. I could barely muster one without my mate, but I tried for them. “I wish I could stay to teach you more, but my mate welcomed me into her clan and I’ve sworn my fealty to my new chief.”

“A new chief?” Enka asked with wide eyes. “One that’s stronger than you?”

“The other plane doesn’t measure strength in a chief the way we do here,” I explained, shaking my head. “But he’s smarter and more cunning than any orc I’ve met. And he takes care of his clan.”

“I never thought you’d ever bow to a chief,” Krusk said in a low voice.

“He never asked me to bow,” I said with a wan smile. “He’s the kind of male you want to follow. And he protected my mate when she didn’t have me to take care of her. They’re the clan I was missing. And his mate is the perfect matriarch for us.”

The matriarch of a clan was the most important role. Their wisdom and their ability to keep the clan going was why it was a role that needed to be filled. A chief wasn’t a real chief without his mate. The only reason I’d been considered a chief was because no one thought they could challenge me and survive.

The wistful look in the males’ eyes made me regret my words. I didn’t mean to rub in the fact that they were rudderless in this world as well. Hopefully they would find their mates and Krusk would take over as chief with his female at his side.

“I know the basic layout of the warlock stronghold,” I told them, trying to distract them from their sadness. “But nothing concrete. I don’t know anyone who’s been inside.”

Krusk nodded, looking over at Savla. He’d been quiet up until this point, but he took a step forward and moved to the stone table next to him, laying out a parchment. I moved closer, my eyebrows rising as I realized that he’d drawn a detailed sketch of the buildings and circled one in particular.

He pointed at it, tapping it with a claw. “This is where they’ll be keeping her. It has the most guards surrounding it since she’s been taken,” he said in his low growl. “And they won’t expect anyone to be coming for her. They’re focused on keeping her in.”

I nodded, stroking my chin with my fingers as I studied the map he’d drawn. “This is incredible work. You must have been watching them for a long time,” I said to him and he ducked his head, nodding.

“I steal provisions from them when we run low,” he told me, clearing his throat and I felt my neck heat with shame.

These males had gone hungry and I hadn’t known, stocking my horde to the brim. “You’ll never need to steal provisions again,” I told him in a gruff voice. “These lands are rich with game.”

His brow pinched and he gave a nod, but he didn’t say anything in response.

“Thank you, Chief Rok,” Krusk murmured as we continued studying the map.

“We should enter through here,” Savla said, indicating the wall that was on the right of the building he’d circled. “It’ll be the easiest to make a quick escape. Plus, they don’t have as many people there. They spend most of their time in the main hall and the sleeping area.”

I grunted my approval of the plan. “How long have they had her?” I asked, wondering if we had any more time to prepare.

“Yesterday,” Enka piped up, his eyes brimming with worry. “That’s where we were coming back from. We need to get her back,” he insisted.

Savla nodded with vehemence. “I’ve seen what they do to females, Chief Rok. By the time you see them next, they’re nothing but empty husks. We’ve tried rescues in the past but we’ve failed. This time, we have you.” He was gazing at me with the type of hero worship I wasn’t sure I deserved.

“I’ll protect you all as best as I can. I’ll take on anything that comes at us. Krusk will have my back,” I said, eyeing Krusk and watching as he straightened his shoulders with pride. “And I want you both to focus on finding and getting the witch out safely,” I added, turning my gaze to the other two.

They both nodded in agreement.

“Let’s make sure we have everything before we leave. It takes almost three hours to get there and then we’ll need—” I paused as Enka looked like he wanted to speak.

I gestured toward him and he blurted,

“If we take the shortcut we discovered, we can cut down the journey by almost an hour.”

“A shortcut?” I asked, curiosity peaked. “In my lands?”

He nodded with eagerness while Krusk and Savla looked sheepish. “Yes. We’ve been using your lands as a shortcut to get their goods out faster for years,” Enka said with pride.

He grunted as his brother shoved his elbow into his side. Then his eyes widened and he ducked his head, peeking up at me. “Sorry.”

I gave an amused huff before shaking my head. “That’s fine. It’s good that you’re learning the land already. Soon it’ll be yours and you’ll need to know its weaknesses to fortify it against trespassers,” I told them, quirking my eyebrow at them at the last word.

They all ducked their heads again but I wasn’t as upset as I thought I should be. I was too focused on what the future outcome of this rescue would bring.

My Becca.

Just the thought of her was enough to make me want to go charging into the warlock’s land and force the witch to send me back. I reeled back the impulses eating at me and sucked in a deep breath.

“We need to go in when they least expect it,” I told the three males. “I’m hoping we don’t make too much fuss. Just in and out.”

Grunts of agreement were music to my ears. I didn’t need them trying to prove their mettle on this particular journey.