Page 38 of Orc's Pride
“Dana, wait—”
I take off running down the bluff.
17
Pitha
“Dana!” I call after her.
She’s quick as she runs down the bluff and through the empty streets, and more than once I stumble over myself trying to keep up with her as I lumber behind her.
She surprises me by arriving back at my house, throwing the door open and disappearing inside without another word to me. I’m left slowing to a stop at the foot of the stairs leading up, panting heavily while pieces of my hair have come undone from the braids and stick to my slick skin.
What happened?
Everything had been fine until…
I lift my hand, flexing the digits in the dying sunlight. Had I… offended her? By touching her so… liberally?
A frown settled on my face. If that were the case, I hadn’t meant to make her feel uncomfortable by my advances. If anything, I thought for sure she’d been responding enthusiastically to me.
Maybe I’d misread her?
Taking the steps one by one, I swing the door shut behind me and stand in the darkened entry way while listening for the sounds of Dana moving inside somewhere. My hearing picks up on her shuffled around in her room before everything goes deathly quiet.
A small stab of pain hits me in the chest. Treading down the hallway, I come to her door and rap my knuckles against it softly.
“Dana?”
There is no answer on the other side of the door—simply cool silence.
It had me frowning.
If I’ve indeed made her feel uncomfortable… I only hope that she eventually comes out so that I can explain myself to her.
Days pass by and I hardly hear from Dana at all.
Her door stays shut from the moment I arise for my early morning patrols as well as when I finally come back home after the sun sets.
Only when my own door is closed and I’ve retired for the night, do I hear hers open and her soft footsteps treading to the kitchen and bathroom. The first night it’d happened, I’d been tempted to get up and confront her.
It took everything in me to stop myself, knowing that if I did that, I’d only scare her back into her hole and would never hope to see her again. Maybe this was my punishment for getting carried away up on the bluff. I’d taken advantage of her when I hadn’t meant to.
That spark in her eyes had lured me in, catching me at a vulnerable time to where I’d thought we were on the same page but we hadn’t been.
The guilt had kept me in bed, letting her wander around free of my presence while she took the time and the space she needed away from me.
It hurt my heart to think that she could be feeling that way.
“Pitha.”
Lifting my head up, I scan my eyes around the room and spot Gor looking at me expectantly. Surrounding me on both sides are my strategists, two of my scouts and an advisor.
Waving my hand, I turn to my advisor, Iman. “We’ve discovered from the captive dark elves that they have no army. That’s why they haven’t been making swift advances on us and have been sending out scouts instead.”
Iman rubbed a hand along his jawline, his brows knitting together in thought. “Interesting… and what of the captives? Where are they now?”
One of my strategists, Dreft, steps forward with his arms tucked behind his back. “They’ve been dealt with. They had no other information to offer us.”