Kaius the Fierce by Cara Wylde
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Goroth the Devourer was kept in the back, in a shed. When Kaius stepped out of the room, all the orcs he met on the corridors, on the stairs, and down in the large living room stopped to pat him on the back. He walked with firm steps and kept his spine straight, even though Grace could see he was in pain. But it was important for his orcs to see that he was back on his feet and that not only had they not lost their captain, but he was stronger than ever.
Outside of the house, there weren’t many orcs, as most of them were out in the fields, checking the extent of the damage and rounding up bodies to bury, or up the mountain, still dealing with the remains of the horde they’d destroyed. Sasha was nowhere to be seen, and Grace let out a sigh of relief. It was better for her to be with the mage than to be around and witness whatever was coming next. She followed Kaius closely as they crossed the back yard.
In the shed, Goroth was guarded by Dharg the Giant. Thrak was also there, sharpening his sword. His second in command had stuck close to the house, in case his captain needed him. Both Thrak and Dharg shot up to their feet when Kaius and Grace entered.
“Captain,” the Giant acknowledged him respectfully.
Thrak was all business. “We captured him alive, as you asked.” He motioned towards the prisoner, who was tied up to a wooden pole now, with the same enchanted chains. He looked worse than a few hours ago, which meant that Ulgan hadn’t had time to heal him out of the goodness of his heart. Grace was sure that once the mage had seen his ruined herb garden, the last thing on his mind had been to keep the one who’d caused all that destruction alive.
Goroth’s dark-green skin was all ashen now, and to Grace’s surprise, even his black hair had turned slightly ashen. He sat with his one eye closed and his chin resting on his heaving chest. It was hard for him to breathe.
“Release him.”
Thrak blinked and didn’t react right away. The Giant seemed even more confused than he was.
“What?”
“You heard me. Release him. The magic has poisoned his body so deeply that he can’t even move. He isn’t a threat to anyone.”
Thrak shook his head as he did as he was ordered. Grace took a step back and looked around for something she could use as a weapon. Then her eyes fell on the long sword Kaius had hung from his belt, and she forced herself to breathe evenly and relax. She had to trust him. Plus, the Giant and the Butcher were there, and they were heavily armed, too. She had to start seeing Goroth for who he was, not for what his frightening name made him seem to be. He was a disgraced orc captain. He’d lost a battle he’d started, and in their world, there was no bigger sin than that. Even if he got out of here alive, no orc would ever respect him again. He had no horde to rule over, so he’d be an outcast. Grace had no idea what happened to orc outcasts.
“Get up,” Kaius said to Goroth when the chains were off. “Get up and face me.”
Goroth let out a heavy sigh. He first took his time to touch his wounds, – the ones he could reach. He rubbed at his arms and wrists, trying to get the blood flowing. With a grunt, he pushed himself to his feet and slowly raised his gaze to meet his rival’s. He grinned, but then he saw the long sword, too, and nodded in understanding and a sort of sinister acceptance.
“Was there something you wanted to say to me before you kill me, Kaius the Fierce?”
“No. I’ve said enough. In the past. You never listened.”
Goroth shot a glance at Grace. She fought the urge to look away from his mangled face. He revealed his bloodied teeth and gums.
“As if anyone should ever listen to a weak captain.”
“I feel like there’s something you want to say to me.” Kaius moved his hand to the hilt of his sword. “Go ahead. Take advantage of the minutes you have left.”
“Yes, there was... there was something... Let me remember. I’m sorry, all this poison is making my mind foggy.”
Grace couldn’t believe that even in the horrible situation he was in, even knowing that he was going to die, Goroth could mock them. Not that she’d expected him to beg for his life, but maybe simply being silent and humble would’ve helped his case.
“Ah yes!” Goroth fixed Kaius with a cold gaze. The fact that he only had one eye now made him look even scarier. A cruel grin played on his lips. “Since no one cares to tell you the truth, I’ll do you a favor and open your eyes for you. Your mistake was to take a human bride. Humans make us weak. Especially their females. And to make matters worse, this one,” he tipped his chin towards Grace, “came with a human child. They made you soft, Kaius the Fierce. They made you unworthy of your name. You should renounce it and ask them to call you Kaius the Soft instead. Because now you care about humans more than you care about your own.”
“Is that all?” Kaius said through gritted teeth.
Grace didn’t feel particularly offended. So far, Goroth had only spilled out clichés, and he was dead wrong, too. Not even Thrak or Dharg seemed to be impressed by his nonsense.
“I must confess I did tell one little lie when I had your bride and her spawn at my mercy. I told her that I would make her mine when I was done with you.” He looked at Grace. “I’m sorry pretty, but that was a lie. I don’t know why I said that. Maybe to amuse myself. The truth is I would never soil my blood with that of a human’s. I had every intention to kill you and your child when your mate and his horde were in the ground. I was never going to keep you. The last thing I needed was to risk your getting under my skin, because I must admit... you’re a pretty thing, indeed. I’m not calling you pretty for nothing. But you would’ve made me soft, and no amount of warm, wet pussy is worth getting soft for.” He chuckled. “Metaphorically soft. Physically, of course your pussy would make me hard.”
That made Grace gag a little. She shot him a disgusted look, shook her head, and took a step back. She had a feeling about what was coming.
Kaius drew out his sword.
“Enough. I shouldn’t have let you open your filthy mouth. I cannot let you live after you’ve destroyed my lands so many times, instigated violence, and endangered the lives of my bride and my daughter. I cannot let you live after you’ve uttered such vile words.”
Grace’s heart skipped a beat. He’d called Sasha his daughter, and that was everything.
Goroth slumped his shoulders and shook his head as if in terrible disappointment.
“What has become of us? What has become of this race of warriors who only knew blood, death, and victory, and were happy to welcome all or either? We are doomed.”
Kaius took a step forward. “No, we are not doomed. We’re changing, because this is not our world. It is theirs, and if we want to thrive, we need to adapt.”
“I’d rather die than adapt to something that is so far removed from my beliefs, from the traditions I was born and raised into.”
“Then that is your mistake. Your weakness. The saddest part is that your horde had to suffer for it, and now they’re all gone.”
“They did what was right. They followed their captain.”
Kaius nodded. “They died with honor, but that doesn’t mean they had to die. You could have made different choices, choices that could have saved them and helped them prosper in this strange new world we’ve all been exiled to.”
Goroth spat on the ground. “Better dead than living in exile.”
Grace sighed. The orc was repeating himself, and this was going nowhere. She wondered what Kaius hoped to get out of him before he ended his misery. She wondered whether it might be better if she just turned around and walked out of there. Did she need to see this? She glanced at Thrak and the Giant, who stood silently on either side of Goroth, ready in case anything unholy crossed his mind. Thrak caught her gaze. It was only for a second. A quick exchange. But that was enough for Grace to decide that, yes, she had to stay. Kaius hadn’t sent her away, which meant he believed she was strong enough to witness this and not have nightmares later. She had to keep reminding herself that she needed to start acting like an orc bride, not like a scared little human.
“Then you won’t despise me for granting your wish,” Kaius said.
He didn’t wait for Goroth’s next retort. If he waited, they’d just go around in circles for another minute or two, prolonging the inevitable. He squeezed his fist around the hilt of his sword, pulled his arm back to gain momentum, then pushed the blade straight through Goroth’s chest, penetrating his heart. The orc grunted in pain, his eyes widening for a moment before his expression softened and he slumped forward. Kaius placed his other hand firmly on his shoulder and kept him steady as he pulled his sword out. Then, Goroth’s body hit the floor with a heavy thud.
Grace had one hand over her mouth to keep herself from making any noise, and the other over her own heart. She didn’t look away, didn’t close her eyes. When Kaius turned to her, she met his gaze and nodded. Kaius nodded back, then sheathed his sword and looked at Thrak and Dharg.
“Take him back up the mountain and bury him with his horde. He is unworthy of being buried where he fell. This was the last of Goroth the Devourer. We are free from him.”