Page 3 of The Savage Vow
He leaned on the windowsill and paused. He glanced over his shoulder at her and gave a nod.
“I know. Magoza is strong and can handle herself, but Amuleta is not,” he murmured. “Magoza will not allow anything to happen to her.”
“Amuleta is strong. She has Xagok’s blood running through her veins,” Nargol countered quietly. “But just not with a weapon.”
Nargol was impressed with Amuleta. The woman who was half orc and half human was destined to be with her sister. Nargol couldn’t imagine Amuleta with any other woman. The goddess Nogora had blessed her to find her fated mate.
“This I know also, and that is what worries me,” Tulak said.
Amuleta’s father, Xagok Sesh, had been a great orc. He’d risen to the ranks of commander before Magoza. He was the chieftain’s right hand. He’d died in Tulak’s arms after a battle. The two males had been close. Tulak still mourned his friend.
“I promised her father that I will always protect her, and that I will do.” He turned to her and blew out a deep sigh. He made his way back to the large table and stared down at it. He rested his hands on it and studied the stone weights and their placements.
Nargol waited for him to speak again. It was easy to see the chieftain was deep in thought.
“Magoza will be declared the heir at the next moon,” he announced. “The trials proved what we already knew.”
A flicker of pride filled her chest. Magoza had to fight to prove herself worthy to lead orcs once their father stepped down. It had not been easy for her, but she’d persevered. Magoza had fought harder than any contender in the trials. Battle after battle until she had been the only one left standing. The fact that she had claimed a half-breed mate in front of the world without apology had only cemented her strength in Nargol’s eyes.
“My sister earned it,” she said.
“That she did.” Tulak’s voice softened. “Magoza was born to lead. From the moment I first held her as a babe, I knew she would follow my lead. She will be good for all orcs.”
He stood tall and motioned to the table. Her gaze landed on the area he pointed to, and she already knew what he was about to say.
“You’re sending me into the Ogola clan.” She pressed her lips together. This was not unlike any other job she’d done before. Nargol had a way about her where she could blend in anywhere. “You want me to confirm that it was Cardu who had sent those orcs?”
“I want to know if he is a traitor,” Tulak growled. “Or a pawn.”
“And if he is neither?”
“Then someone else is pulling the strings, using orcs from his clan,” Tulak said. His large fist slammed onto the table, and some of the weights toppled over. “And whoever was bold enough to strike me and my family during the trials will feel my wrath.”
Silence stretched between them. She agreed. Whoever was bold enough to attack her family needed to pay. She would be in the front lines beside her sister and parents if war came. They needed to show their strength against this unknown enemy. There was always someone wanting to take the throne from her family. Each foe had failed in the past, and whoever this was, would, too.
“Another uprising could fracture the clans,” Nargol said.
Appearing weak was not what they needed. Orcs only wanted the strongest leading them, and if it was deemed that the Cydassi family was no longer a strong power, then their family regime would fall. There had been a Cydassi on the throne for centuries.
“And if that happened, war would be sure to break out,” he snapped.
A civil war was not something they wanted. Not now. Not when they had other problems. The first being getting orcs to accept Magoza’s choice in her mate. Orcs were very traditional and believed in the ways of the old where orcs should only mate with other orcs.
Half-breeds were not included.
But Nargol would take down any person who tried to snatch her sister’s happiness away from her.
“I will go,ranhos.” She bowed her head in acceptance of the mission she was being assigned to. It didn’t need to be said for her to come back with answers. She would not fail. If she had to tear through the entire Ogola clan to find the answers, she would.
“You will observe. Listen. Dig until you find the truth,” her father said.
She glanced up sharply.
He cocked his head and studied her. “We have to be delicate with this. I want you to return to me with names.”
“Names you shall have.” Nargol slammed her fist to her chest.
Tulak came and stood in front of her. He rested his hand on her shoulder. His eyes softened as he took her in.
