Page 7 of Orc's Forbidden Claim
“Why?” I ask.
“Why? Because he sees us as the key,” she says. “Maybe Rosalind’s plan was a mistake, letting him know we are here. That the Zmaj value us. If he can capture humans, especially the right ones, he would then have leverage.”
“He would rush the war,” Dilacs says. “The lizards would attack. Immediately.”
“Before they’re ready,” she adds.
The simplicity of the move leaves me stunned. I look at Dilacs and he sees it too. There is truth in her words. A truth that rings loud and clear.
“Who then? And how would he know which ones?” I ask, musing the problem over out loud.
“Rosalind,” Gwen says. “She’d be the ideal, but does he know about her?”
“The ones that we left behind, they might have…” Dilacs doesn’t finish when he sees the dawning horror on Gwen’s face. She is pale as a myqath grub and tears swell in her eyes. She grabs my glass and drains it, spluttering as she finishes the burning gut rot liquid.
“We do not know that,” I say, trying to sound reassuring, but the seed is planted.
All of us know that there are no lengths the Shaman and his Maulavi will go to in order to accomplish their dark goals. I grab the skin and refill my glass and Dilacs as well.
“If he has I will…” Dilacs trails off.
“Yes, brother,” I agree. “But we do not know. I don’t think it matters who he grabs. The… Zmaj,” I use their name for themselves as a nod to Gwen’s sensibilities, “know what will happen to them. We have told them. If they grab any of the humans, if they are lucky enough to grab one of their mates they will not hesitate to rush to war. Unprepared. Angry. And what is the way to defeat a Zmaj?”
“Either hit them unprepared or when they are angry,” Dilacs says.
A truth that every Urr’ki knows. I growl in agreement, raising my glass.
“What are we going to do about it?”
The three of us look at each other but no one says anything. No one has the answer.
5
SAYLOR
“Spill? Spill what? What is this place?” I ask, hoping to distract her though I know it won’t work.
She smiles and walks past me, trailing her fingers along the shelves resting on the back wall.
“This is where Sek’su and I would meet to be alone,” she says. “Before I was able to handle… well everything.”
“You could have lost it all,” I say, then, feeling the bitterness of my situation, I add, “You should have.”
She pauses, lowering her head and sighs.
“You’re right,” she agrees, which shocks me. “I should have. I expected to. How it worked out… that was luck. Pure, simple, idiotic luck.”
“You’re the Ice Queen, Wren. Shit rolls off of ice because it is slick.”
She snorts, shaking her head.
“What a thing, isn’t it?” She turns around and takes my hands in hers, squeezing them gently as our eyes bore into one another. “I was ready though. Do you understand that? I was going to give it all up. I had to. I didn’t have a choice.”
“You always have a choice,” I say.
“No,” she says, shaking her head. “It may seem like that but…”
She trails off and I wait for her to continue but I can see her thoughts are far away.