The sack was ripped from your head.
Firelight blinded you first. Then came the laughter.
You hit the stone floor on your knees, shoved forward by the orc behind you. A vast hall stretched overhead—black stone, roaring hearths, warriors crowded around heavy tables.
And seated above them all was the largest orc you’d ever seen.
The raider bowed.
“A gift from across the sea, Chief.”
The Chief’s dark eyes settled on you.
“A human who wasn’t born knowing her place,”
he murmured.
Your stomach twisted.
You’d learned enough since the ship landed.
Karrowmoor belonged to orcs.
Humans worked here on bonds, and every bond had a term.
Servants if they were useful. The salt works if they were not.
And the rest—
“Don’t look so frightened.”
A lean, black-haired orc lounging near the Chief smiled.
“I’m Kharst. Humans meant for service come through my houses. I teach them what’s expected before they’re placed with their masters.”
Your gaze darted toward the third orc.
He was enormous. Broad, weathered, and silent.
“Borlach,”
he grunted.
“Field crews.”
Your blood went cold.
Kharst’s smile sharpened.
“The crews outside the walls need hands too.”
“No.”
The word escaped before you could stop it.
Silence swallowed the hall.
Kharst’s brows rose.
Borlach stared.
But the Chief—
The Chief smiled.
He rose from his throne and descended the steps slowly, stopping close enough that you had to crane your neck to meet his gaze.
“You’ve got some fight in you, little foreigner.”
His enormous hand caught your chin, turning your face one way, then the other as though inspecting something he’d already decided belonged to him. He let go the moment you pulled away.
Behind him, Kharst chuckled.
“So which is it, Chief?”
Vurgan’s thumb brushed your cheek.
“None.”
Relief barely had time to hit before his next words destroyed it.
“I think I’ll keep this one. As my guest.”
His tusked smile widened.
“My little problem.”
A pause.
“For now.”
“Ships sail in autumn. If you want the crossing, you have it.”