Page 61 of His Orc Lady
“Willow,” Gorvor says, paging through the notes. “Would you mind explaining what you were doing in that corridor in the middle of the night? Neekar said you were sneaking around, peering around the corner.”
Owen frowns at me, shrugging almost imperceptibly as if to ask what the king is talking about. I can’t tell him, though, not without my cousin’s permission, so I bite my lip and look down at my slippers, guilt building up in my chest.
Gods, this is just another secret I’ve been keeping from Owen, isn’t it? This time, it’s notmine, and I couldn’t give it away, but will he see the truth of it?
Ozork stares at Willow, aghast. “You went there? Why?”
She frowns, her eyes suddenly blazing. “Because you lied to me.”
Ozork blinks, then lowers his head. “Forgive me. So I did.”
I stare at him, wondering what’s going on. This concerns us all, aye, but if Ozork hasn’t received permission from the king to show Willow the Heart, he shouldn’t have mentioned the place at all.
“For gods’ sake,” Gorvor explodes, apparently sharing my feelings. “I will not have a spy in my clan. So, Willow, I would ask you to start talking. I want to know what’s going on.”
She lets out a tremulous exhale, glances up at Owen as if for support, then says, “I know this looks bad, but I want you to know that I would never willingly endanger anyone in your kingdom.”
Gorvorwaves the notes from Willow’s room, his expression fierce. “There are notes here on guard rotations. Storage capacities of our larders. The number of children in our school. There is even a map with all the strategic spaces clearly marked.”
Owen steps forward and points at the paper. “I drew that. That’s mine.”
My heart stutters, and a cold wave of fear washes through me. If he’s serious, if he truly participated in this, then heliedto me. I’d asked him if he was spying on our clan, too, and he’d denied it, I’m sure of it.
But Willow just waves her hand to dismiss his interjection. “Yes, you drew itfor me. My lord…” She turns back to Gorvor, her chin held high. “The notes were going to be part of my report to the Duke of Ultrup. He sent me here to learn about your kingdom—but mostly to uncover the secrets to your success. I’ve written down every possible weakness one could exploit to gain advantage of your clan.”
Ozork’s eyes widen with shock. “Willow!”
But she just grips his hand and continues, as if she wants to get the entire story out. “I talked to Captain Hawke, and he mentioned that all the spaces in the Hill seemed to beconstructed in circles aroundsomething. There’s an empty space right in the middle.” She points at the sketched map. “And that corridor seems to be leading toward it. So when Ozork and I passed it returning from your chambers tonight, I asked him what it was.”
I glance from the map to Owen, who drew it. He’s staring at me, and I know now why he’d been so interested in all the passageways I’ve been showing him. He’s been building a mental map of the Hill, and he must have noticed the way it’s structured.
That doesn’t mean he wants to hurt your clan.
I hang on to the reminder with all I have because I don’t want to believe him capable of deception. Everything we’ve built together is based on trust, and if that crumbles, I don’t know what we’ll have left.
Ozork runs a palm over his face. “I told you it was nothing.”
“Only a storage space, you said.” Willow purses her lips. “I couldn’t get it out of my head. Why would a storage space be the most brightly lit space in the Hill in the middle of the night? So I went to investigate.”
Gorvor is silent for a long moment, studying the papers. His skin turns ashen at whatever is written on those pages, and my stomach drops. I know Gorvor well enough to know he wouldn’t react like this to some minor issues. Whatever Willow uncovered about our clan must be dangerous.
“You said theseweregoing to be a part of your report to the duke,” he says slowly.
Willow’s expression brightens. “That’s right.”
“But…you changed your mind?”
She stands and steps away from Ozork, toward the king. “If you’ll allow me…?”
Gorvor hands her the papers, and she shuffles through them, then draws out several pages written in neat, clean lines.
“This is the beginning of my current report for the duke.” She hands the papers back to Gorvor and takes her seat again.
He scans the notes, expression still severe. Then he surprises me by offering the first page to me. “Here, read this.”
I lift my eyebrows but read the beginning of the report with interest. There are notes on the meals Willow must have eaten since her arrival at the Hill. On the second page Gorvor hands me is a detailed description of Poppy’s seamstress workshop, including all the colors of the silk fabrics Poppy has ordered from the south. That’s followed by the report of her riding expedition with Ozork the other day, which delighted her to no end because of how lovely the nature was.
I can’t help but smile when I realize what Willow has been doing.