The Orc and the Innkeeper (Elderberry Falls, #1)

by Cora Crane

Mariah was a dream I never allowed myself to have, a wish upon a star that I extinguished with my own hands.

He’s just so fucking…competent. Watching a smart man confidently in his element does something to my insides that should be illegal.

It’s a strange kind of magic, this: the power of sincere words spoken by someone you never thought capable of them.

“When you love someone,” I say softly, looking up toward Thorak, “that love has the power to overcome any history, to heal any wound.”

Love is a risk, babe. A leap of faith. No one can ever know for sure how it’ll turn out. But if you don’t jump, you’ll never fly.”