"Wren!" Her voice echoed off the steps outside the castle as she stumbled out the door behind Cold Hammer and the guards.
"Stop," her husband threw his arm out to catch her before she passed him. The soldiers were spreading out in a formation, shields and sword up, archers at the ready, looking around. She frowned and peered past them, towards the single body laying prone on the steps. "It's gone. Again."
"The king," she whispered and tried to get past him but he kept her at the door, barring her path. The cursed orc was gone, even from here she could see the bloody tracks it left behind as it fled, but Wren's body was still on the ground, below the window they'd fallen from, shattered bits of glass sprinkled around him. She could feel horror filling her whole body and she didn't know if it was because the orc had survived the fall and run, or because of Wren lying there, unmoving.
"It didn't run into the city." Cold Hammer's voice was low, "Maybe it needed time to heal. It still feels pain."
"Is the king alive?"
"Move, move, let me through!" She heard the shout behind her and scrambled to the side of the doorway as Khash pushed past them. He hadn't been upstairs when Cold Hammer and Wren had come to her aid. He rushed past them, hair in disarray, his robes crooked, but he didn't stop until he reached Wren and she latched onto Cold Hammer's arm, squeezing as she waited for news. A crowd was gathering in the courtyard, pointing and whispering and she saw him turn his head towards them.
"What are they saying?" She asked.
He tilted his head, listening, before he said, "They saw the creature. They see Wren but they are uncertain if they should be afraid because the king's guard is here."
Wren's curse was mostly rumor. They wouldn't know by sight that this creature on the castle steps was their king. Only those who got close enough to see his eyes turn gold, or the soldiers who helped him, were the ones that truly knew the answers.
Then Cold Hammer growled and she looked up at him, "They're wondering if orcs did this. They're damn king did this." She leaned into him but she saw arms lifting to point fingers his way, saw the scowls marring their faces. This was bad for everyone.
Whatever happened, the secret of the cursed orc was out. The people had seen it now.
"His heart still beats." She heard Khash's words on a sigh of relief as he lifted his head from Wren's chest. She was startled to see that in the brief moments she'd looked away, he'd begun to lose his fur and change shape. He wasn't conscious, yet his human body returned. No sooner did she think that when he started coughing and jerked to a sitting position.
He was bare for all to see and he seemed a little shaky, but he was whole. He struggled to speak, voice raw, "Is it caught?"
"No, my king." Erinne pushed forward past Cold Hammer, "But I think it was injured, it left bloody tracks as it went."
"The pain won't stop it for long." Khash murmured as he waved his hand through the air. A fine, linen robe appeared from thin air and he offered it to Wren who shrugged it on and belted it closed before he allowed Khash to help him to his feet.
Voice still hoarse, he said, "Get a party, hunt it down."
"Yes, sir."
. . . .
Erinne rubbed Cold Hammer's large hand in both of hers. His other hand was on her knee, his teeth tightly clenched, barely holding in a snarl. Wren still wore nothing but the robe Khash had provided, pacing the room.
"I almost lost you both."
"We're fine." She murmured and followed his gaze to Andol who was sleeping on a chair.
Cold Hammer snorted and then his eyes cut to her belly and he amended, "All three of you." Rage twisted on his face and she felt slight pressure on her knee before he jerked his chin towards Wren. "This is your fault."
Erinne sighed. It was the umpteenth time she'd heard those words fall from his lips and she wondered how many more times he'd say it. Probably until he got a true reaction from the king. He was furious and she should have been, but she was exhausted. She no longer had the strength on this day to be angry with him, she was just grateful she and her son lived, that the child inside her still grew.
"If your orcs had never come here this would have never happened."
"You've always been nothing but a nocked arrow. One wrong move and the arrow springs forward, killing whoever is in it's path." He increased the pressure on her knee as he glared across the room, "My family almost lost their lives today."
"I saved your family today."
"No, you unleashed one beast to fight another. Both could have easily—"
"Please," she plead quietly and Cold Hammer scowled at her and looked away. She looked at Wren and he didn't further the argument. Thank you. She couldn't listen to them bicker anymore. She would be more than happy to curl up on the chaise and fall asleep with her arms around Andol, knowing he was secure and safely tucked next to her and the baby in her womb.
She continued rubbing Cold Hammer's hand in a somewhat methodical manner, easing the tension, keeping him from clenching his fists so much. The silence didn't last long before he muttered, "You should pray to your gods that we find a way to kill this monster, because if my wife or son fall in harm's way again, I will hold you responsible and I will—"
Wren interrupted him, "You already hold me responsible. You've made that quite clear."
"They almost died today!"
"I realize that, Cold Hammer!" Wren snapped back. "Do you think Erinne means any less to me than she does to you?"
She felt Cold Hammer tense next to her and her own heart skipped a beat at the presumptuous statement and she gaped at Wren.
"She's my wife!" Cold Hammer's voice rose to a roar this time and he let her go as he pushed to his feet, a fighting stance. Andol stirred on the chair he was sleeping in and Erinne scrambled to grab Cold Hammer by the wrist, staying him as he glared at the king. Silence followed those words but Wren was glaring back just as hard.
"Please stop." Erinne whispered. "This helps no one."
She could sense the fury in the air. She had to stop it before Cold Hammer's rage became an insurmountable force of stupidity, a feat she knew his temper was more than capable of. She rose to her feet as he took another step towards Wren, but then she gasped, crumbling back into her chair as she held her stomach. They were both at her side in an instant, kneeling in front of her, asking her what was wrong and she waited, a shaky breath rattling through her chest before she lifted her eyes to them.
"Nothing's wrong, I just wanted you to stop." She told them. Cold Hammer's eyes filled with more fury and he crossed his arms while Wren went still and quiet. "Will you stop arguing now?"
Neither of them committed an answer but they remained silent and she sighed in relief. She didn't get to enjoy a single second of peace, however, as the door opened and a guard came in. He looked frazzled, a small cut on his face, and exhaustion showing in the circles under his eyes.
"Speak." Wren commanded.
"We followed and tracked the beast as far as we could."
"As far as you could?" Cold Hammer demanded.
"We lost it's trail. We don't know how it gave us the slip. We decided to return and go back with more men, but sir..."
"Yes?"
The guard looked considerably contrite. He swallowed and then said, "It's heading towards orc territory."
Wren's jaw dropped, his eyes glinting. "If it makes it to orc territory, we will never stop this war. They will blame me for this."
Cold Hammer laughed so abruptly that it drew everyone's attention, including hers. She stared at him but for the life of her she couldn't figure out why he was laughing. "Of course it's running to orc territory," there was no humor in his voice despite the fact that he was still laughing, "it's going home."
She frowned at him and he stepped away from her, walking closer to Wren, his every step sinister and full of loathing. "What'll it do to orc kind? What will it's bite do to us? Kill us? Make us like it? It's going home to wreak havoc and destroy because that's all it knows now and it's your fault. Of course we will blame you for this, Wren. You've unleashed hell and now it's going to orc territory to do the only thing it knows to do: kill."
Wren glared up at him, "I can't control that beast yet you blame me still."
"That beast shouldn't even be in existence, but you couldn't control your own cursed life and prevent it. You nearly got my mate killed by bringing her here, our unborn child, my son. You are not the man I used to know. The man who would have done anything to keep those around him out of danger. Instead you repeatedly place us in danger, particularly my wife, despite her concerns and pleas for you to let her stay at home where she belongs."
"She belongs here with humans."
Cold Hammer roared, "She is mine!" Erinne actually flinched, holding her hand to her heart as she watched them square off again, anxiety gripping her hard. Wren stood his ground, glaring back, as Cold Hammer slowly added, "By every law in existence, she is my mate, my wife, and here in the human kingdom you cannot legally force her away from me. That means she goes where I go and I'm going home."
"I still need—"
Cold Hammer interrupted Wren, "You can't keep holding your kingship over her head and unfairly ordering her around. I'm taking her home before you get us all killed. If you have any complaints, you may write to my Great Chieftain and ascertain his lawful verdict on if an orc can keep his mate or not, if a husband can keep his wife." He snorted at Wren in an obscene manner before he held out his hand, "Sheobulf, let's go home."
She knew her husband well enough to know he used her orc given name in that moment to intentionally piss off the king. It almost made her smirk, but more than that, she was elated at the thought of returning home. The way Cold Hammer stood his ground, decision made, on taking them home, gave her a strange feeling of relief and freedom. He was throwing her a line that Wren hadn't afforded her, using the power he had as an orc. Orcs belonged to their Great Chieftain. He was daring Wren to break more laws, daring Wren to force her to stay and separate her from her orc husband. If that happened, no doubt Cold Hammer would call upon Lohke and rain the wrath of all the Ancestors down on Thunderfall, but she wouldn't wait and see what King Wren decided.
Erinne had only one choice before her. She picked up her sleeping son, took her husband's hand, and followed him out the door.
***Author's Note: Thanks so much for reading! There will be a new chapter posted every Monday! Stay tuned for more Rise of the Warrior of Everfen***