Rise of the Warrior of Everfen

Chapter 43: I Am Doom

Erinne sat up, shock still flooding her veins. Cold Hammer laid beside her, eyes open, staring at the top of the tent. Her mind raced and she heard a faint echo of the old orc's words, "You will lose your son." Those words stole her breath away and wrought terror through her mind. How was she supposed to tell her mate? She couldn't tell him, if he knew, it'd kill him. It was killing her. What did that mean? He was going to die? Their baby boy was going to die?

"Are you okay?" She asked asked Cold Hammer gently, voice thick and raw.

He sat up slowly, staring at the fire. She couldn't quite see his face now, but his body told a strong tale, every movement jerky and withheld. "We should have let it be. We should not have touched that forsaken flower."

She turned to look at him but he was shoving to his feet. She frowned as he paced across the tent and then turned back, distressed. "I will be the doom of our family."

"What?"

"You heard what they said! With one swing of my hammer, I'll..." He closed his mouth, growling low in his throat before abruptly roaring. She stared at him, wide eyed as he covered his face.

"No," she shook her head and stood up. "No, you will not." She grabbed him. "Look at me. You said it yourself, it does not always mean what we think it means."

"The last time they told me that, I killed your entire family, caused you to be a slave."

"We can't change the past, but we can change who we are and you have." Even as she said it, her parents' words came to mind, that he was not yet done with his human killing days. One hand freed him and slipped to her stomach instinctively. The last time he'd killed her family. He wouldn't kill this family. Things were different now. "None of it matters, what they said doesn't matter, you know why? Because as long as we have each other, everything will be okay. As long as I have you, I can get through anything." She believed it but at the same time she wondered, if the orc's words meant their son was going to die, could she survive that? After everything she'd been through, she thought it might be the one thing that would truly be her undoing.

Cold Hammer sighed heavily at those words. "I hope you are right." He sighed again. "Let's just go to sleep. We'll think more on it in the morning."

. . . .

They spent the next day quietly praying on the mountain side, as was tradition for new couples, and Cold Hammer not once talked to her about the night before. When she tried, he found an excuse to talk about it later, or answered a separate question that had nothing to do with any of it. He was purposefully avoiding it and he spent most of the day with a dark look about him. It was unsettling. She didn't know what to do. They were just barely getting reacquainted and now a new wall rose up between them.

It was a lonely day without him keeping her company. He was with her, but his mind was not, and she couldn't say that she tried hard to convince him otherwise. Everything she'd experienced with the loostqa flower hung heavy in the air around her as well. It was a lot to take in. She'd somehow journeyed between his orc Ancestor's Everfen, and her people's heaven. Both had warned her of a future she didn't want.

Hadn't she fought hard enough already? Why was she prophesied? The Orc Killer. Warrior of Everfen...destined to save them all? For what? To lose her son? To have her family doomed and have her children fight in the same damn war.

There's hope. Those words stung bittersweet at the edges of her heart. One day there would be an everlasting peace, but the Ancestor's made it clear, it wouldn't be for her. That was all she wanted. To live with her family at peace.

The day passed slowly, but she managed to get Cold Hammer to hunt with her and they prepared to leave the next morning. He still refused to speak about the loostqa flower visions and his frustration filled the air around them. They'd been promised peace for a time, but they weren't starting their union off with much peace. She wished she'd never touched the loostqa flower.