Page 22 of Orc's Pride

I fold my arms around my midsection. His tone is rather harsh sounding, but his words are what catch my attention. There’s an underlying emotion under there that I can’t help but focus on—something that could be easily dismissed if I hadn’t been paying attention.

It’s almost like he’s pleading with me to give him something, anything, to convince him that I’m not here out of wanting to hurt the people at this base.

But what do I say? I want to protect Malik… but if I don’t say anything, no one is going to let me leave.

“Look,” Pitha drops the bundle he’d been holding onto the couch. “Even if I do let you go, how are you going to get back towhere you’re going? The nearest human settlement is an entire day’s walk away. And that’sifyou don’t run into any trouble along the way.”

“I’m not going to the human settlement.”

That seems to catch his attention. Shit.

“Then where are you going?”

I bite the inside of my cheek, contemplating my next words carefully. Should I be honest? Is it safe for me? Safe for Malik?

I don’t know. I really don’t.

“Dana.”

I rub my face. “I’m going to another orc settlement. That’s all you need to know.”

“Whose?”

No matter what I say to him, he’s going to keep prying. Maybe if I make it sound like I’m being protected, it’ll give him motive to let me go. It’s rare that orc clans rally against each other when they have bigger things to focus their bloodlust on—namely dark elves.

“Old Malik. He was the Chieftain of—”

A hand grabs my arm, roughly yanking my hand away from my face. “The Burning Sun clan. I knowexactlywho that is.”

I swallow thickly. Fuck, have I made the wrong choice?

His confused expression tells me something that I can’t quite put my finger on.

“How do you know Old Malik?”

His grip on my arm hurts and becomes almost bruising when I refuse to answer him. I’m not giving him any more ammunition to use against me. If he wants more answers, he’s going to have to beat it out of me or something.

I’m not putting Malik or any other clan in any more danger by spilling their secret operations.

“Answer me.” He snarls.

“No.” I snap back.

He stares me down, using his intimidating presence to try and wear me down. Lucky for me, I’ve had plenty of practice with imposing men and their superiority complexes.

Pitha lets go of my arm and shakes his head. He turns on his heel and walks back over to the couch, grabbing the bundle and heading over to the dining table with it. He tosses it down onto the wood surface and looks over his shoulder at me with a barely concealed annoyed stare.

“Come over here and eat.”

11

Pitha

“I’m not eating that.”

For some reason, her rejection hits me deeply. A part of me angers at her not wanting the food I provide for her—some baser instinct that I refuse to put a name to. It takes everything in me to force myself not to react outwardly and show her how much those words have affected me.

“Fine, then you can starve.”