Studying me, his head cocking to the side, I started at his feet, carefully brushing the white cloth over his wide, blunt toes.
My heart was thrumming like a hummingbird’s, vibrating beneath my breast. He was both fragile and fierce, so breakable, to me, yet I knew the strength he possessed, how easy it would be for him to crush me beneath his fist, to break me.
Could he still sense me? Sense our bond? Would it make a difference?
Grunting, he jerked away at first touch.
“I’m sorry,” lifting my gaze quickly before it dipped, I smiled apologetically, brushing my fingertips over the wetness left behind, “but you’re covered in filth. How am I supposed to greet you properly when you’re wearing a coat of dirt armor?”
My poor attempt at a tease was lost on him, as he, one might appear, was lost to me.
Snapping his teeth, he jerked his foot back, a low snarl rumbling up, so I backed away, giving him a moment. Cupping water in my hands, I doused the area directly underneath him, coming back, over and over, until the slant in the floor, leading to a small series of crevices along the wall that dipped into a wider cavern—about the size of my arm, going on for who knows how long—somewhere down below, rinsed away clean, carrying everything away to who knew where.
That finished, I let out a breath of relief when the soapy suds washed most of the grime lining the floor away. A smell remained, naturally, muted with a hint of the deep, woodsy smelling soap, but it was bearable.
A loud snuffling sound came from Troll, and I knew he was scenting the air. He didn’t seem displeased by it, titling his nose and angling his head towards my scalp, dipping low and straining against his restraints when I bent to my task again. Cloth brushing over the tops of his feet once more, testing out my welcome, he merely stared down at me, scowling but not hissing or snarling, so I took that as a good sign.
Balancing on the balls of my feet, I crept a little closer, brushing my fingertips over the freshly washed patches of skin, dark grey flesh peeking out beneath. “How long has it been, hmm? Since you’ve had a good scrub?” Never looking up, I kept at my work, rinsing out the cloth, trading it in for a new one when the last one was too discolored to contemplate, working my way ups to his knees.
Easy does it now, that’s right. My hopes for my plan soared. This really could work.
“Time goes by different here,” I mused, “and with Calder keeping funny hours, and all that’s going on, I have trouble. He’s a silly little fella, don’t you think? Wanting to stay up all night and sleep all day. Sound like someone you know?” I was sure to keep my voice low and soothing, not wanting to startle him. “Has it really been so many weeks since I’ve seen you? Two? Three? I’ve lost count.”
Chuffing, he hissed and pulled away, his back slamming into the wall. It was what I’d been worried might happen. Sighing heavily, my face pinched in a grimace. Sweet, obviously, wasn’t going to do it.
Scooting forward a little more, looping the leather bracelet/necklace over my neck, I murmured, “You remember, don’t you? Remember what happened?” I didn’t want to bring him around like this, but I needed him close, hoping I got the reaction I was looking for.
The second the necklace touched my skin, he hissed. I’d felt it too, the muted connection, the loss, just not, as I suspected, the way he did, being on the receiving end.
Whispering something in an odd tongue, he crouched down, arms pulling, and buried his face in my hair. His words got louder, more persistent, his thighs bracketing my crouched form.
Dropping the cloth, I pressed my hands, one on each thigh, and squeezed, massaging them up and down the wide lengths.
This was my chance, and I doubted I’d get another.
Hissing between clenched lips, he flexed, a deep growl bubbling in his throat. I didn’t want to waste any time, we’d done that enough, and he was already wasting away to nothing, both physically and mentally, so I did it again, and again, until he was sucking in deep lung-fuls of air, erection jutting out, long and thick, straining towards me.
“Mine.”
A slow smile tipped my lips. “You want me, handsome?” This could work. This will work.
Taking advantage of his momentary distraction, I reached a trembling hand out, brushing my fingertips caressingly across his neck. Though his muscles strained, he allowed the touch, bellowing his displeasure when I pulled back, strolled casually to the basin, and wrung out a new cloth.
Easing back, I washed his neck, nuzzling the clean skin before he could protest. He froze, breath catching when my teeth nipped playfully, and I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, careful of his wounds.
He melted at first, purring from somewhere deep in his chest, eyes closing slowly in bliss, but when he saw me reaching to take my necklace off, felt it grazing his bald head, he balked.
Thrusting his chest out, I fell back, landing hard on my bottom on the cold, damp cave floor. Pulling against his chains, he roared in my face, rage filling his eyes. “NO! MINE!”
Alright, so... not so lost that he has no idea what’s going on.
Scared as I was—terrified—I lunged at him, wrapping an arm around him tight as I forced the necklace over his head. Right as it fell, he clamped his teeth down on my shoulder, snarling as his teeth dug in deep, tearing.
Eyes gone wide, nails digging into his back, I screamed in agony, but I wouldn’t let go, not until I knew the necklace wasn’t going anywhere. I had to know if it worked.
With a harsh grunt, he dropped heavily a moment later, all the fight going out of him, blinking up at me absently as I stumbled back, gripping the bleeding, torn flesh of my shoulder, clamping my fingers around it, tight as I could, as bright red seeped through.
“I’m sorry,” I murmured, trying to breathe slowly through the crushing weight the power of the necklace presented, as well as the pain of my wound, the real pressure and great sense of loss a bond breaking would represent, slamming me hard. “But I had no choice.” There was a lot of blood, I realized, feeling a little woozy, but it wasn’t anything I felt I couldn’t manage.
Moaning pitifully as he squatted down into a tight ball, legs drawn up, arms held high, head low, he groaned what I thought might be my name.
We both kept like that for a while, as he rocked himself unsteadily, time standing still.
When what felt like hours had passed, a small grunt escaped, followed by a whisper, then another. Eyes scrunched tight, my lips trembled. He was chanting my name.
“I love you, you know.” It came out more abrupt than I’d intended, but the room felt a little lopsided, spinning just a bit. Troll’s head snapped up, and I nodded. “Know you do too.” Plopping back down on my rump, I closed my eyes, curling my legs up to tug them underneath me. “You may not like me now, or even remember me, but you will.”
“Mine,” was all he grunted, confusion fighting with lucidity as the necklace worked its magic.
“Yes, yours,” I agreed, “and you need to come back to us.” Cracking my eyes open, peeking down, I winced as I peeled my hand away, promptly pressing it back. “Couldn’t you have bitten me somewhere with a little more meat, huh? I think I see bone.” Another joke gone flat, but my vision was going spotty, so I let it pass. “You can’t be broken,” I mumbled. “You didn’t break the bond, not really,” I lifted my chin to his new adornment, “Vidi’s magic made it seem that way, but you didn’t, not really.” My hand lifted weakly and I muttered, “This whole animal-man-beast stuff is a little over the top, don’t you think? I, uh, I mean dramatic, are we, hmm? Maybe you could come back to me so I can tell you how useless you are, and you can tell me how much of a round, spotted, frizzy haired nag I am, huh? How big my butt is, how annoying and blathering I can be? How daft?”
His scowl pulled into a frown, but a small sense of recognition leapt across his face. Forcing myself to stare straight at him, gaze boring into his, something glimmered in his eyes as our eyes clashed.
“Come back to me, you stubborn asshole,
I love you. Hear that? I said I love you. After everything, you’re overbearing ways, the trickery, the servitude, your lack of trust, your attitude, your taste in baubles,” I pushed a chuckle I didn’t feel past my lips, goading Troll back to the surface, back to me.
Speaking of lips, they felt tingly, almost numb. Was that a bad sign? I wasn’t sure, but I was determined, and nothing was going to stop me, tingling lips be damned.
“Now,” trying to lift my hand, it flopped to my side uselessly—I just couldn’t lift it anymore—words slurring slightly, “quit being stubborn, you lazy jack ass, and say it back.”
A long moment passed and I shook my head. I’m hurt bad. It finally clicked, the shock of it wearing off, and I started crawling towards the exit. I need help.
“Be back,” I mumbled, face planting a few times as something wet slicked my palms, “don’t go nowhere... ‘kay? ‘Kay.”
“N-n-nuuuggggeee-t.”
I fell again but couldn’t get back up this time. Rolling over as the room spun, my chest stuttering a little, as if under heavy weight, I stared dazedly at the ceiling.
There was a bellow, followed by another, and then Ketik came charging in. Blinking up at him slowly, owlishly, arms splayed, upside down, I muttered, “What took you so long?”
“Bleedin’ hell,” Ketik breathed, and then barked harsh sound, a shocked shout, as he ducked down, his thick hand pressing down by my neck.
Grimacing, I gritted my teeth, a hazy film washing over me. Oh, that hurts. Jerking my head to the side as I heard feet shuffle. The fuzzy outline of Quaz cradling Calder gently, safe on the other side of the barrier, made me smile.
“Dinna know what ye’re smilin’ about,” Ketik muttered. “Bleedin’ like a stuck pig.”
“That a bad thing?” My humor, badly timed and lacking as it might be, wasn’t failing me. That was something.
Ketik’s eyes blazed as he glowered down at me. “Dunno, ye like livin’?”
Grunting as I tried to take a deep breath, I shot back, “As much as I like breathin’.”
A short bark of laughter crept up his throat and he shook his head at me.
“Hear that, Troll?” I taunted, lifting my head up a little as Ketik ripped open the top of my shirt, growling at the sight of my wound. “You have to come back to me, otherwise, Ketik or Quaz might claim me. See?” I nodded towards my exposed upper chest. “He’s already checking my wares.”
“Dinna touch her!” Troll roared and the walls shook. My head fell back, satisfaction filling me, and I grinned.
“Ye mad, woman?” Ketik grumbled, prodding at my wound. “Tryin’ ta get me killed?”
“Trying to get my bonded back.” Lowering my voice, I hissed as he jammed his fat thumbs into a tender spot. “Shut up and play along.”
Glaring down at me, his eyes narrowed, so small they looked closed, but for the sharp shards of purple flashing with black. Glancing over his shoulder, he watched Troll’s reaction, the recognition lighting his sibling’s features as he flashed his teeth warningly, eyes beginning to glow that vibrant, raging citrus, proof enough.
“She yers, then, eh?” Hunching towards me, Ketik waited, hands still holding firm.
It hurt so bad, but I bit back the shriek on the tip of my tongue.
Ketik’s gaze slowly made its way back to me, voice dipping low. “An’ ye think this’ll help? Pissin’ him off royally?”
A deep warning growl and snarled, “Mine. Leave her be,” was answer enough.
“Yeah?” Ketik eyed Troll warily, “Tell me, then, what be her name?”
“Mine.” The possessive gleam was there, all right, but so was his beast side, still lingering, strong.
Ketik snorted, clearly baiting him, a flash of hope filling his expression. “Dinna think that’s it... Hmm... What was it now? Mine? Whore? Wench?”
“Mine.”
“Och, no, must not have heard ye right. Wha’ was tha’, sow, did ye say?”
“If I could, I’d kick you,” I gritted out, grunting when he pressed a little harder, flashing me a haughty smirk. “Or poke an eye, something. Dirty goat lover.” I’d mumbled the last bit low, but obviously not low enough.
“Aye,” he called out loud, “but where would he be, then? Nope, wait ‘til his arse kicks it, then I’ll fuck ye!”
Troll roared and made to charge. “No!!” The chains pulled, jerking him back, and he continued to roar, fighting his restraints, chest heaving, nostrils flared, eyes black but sparking with deep orange.
Reaching forward with the last bit of my strength, I wrenched Ketik’s thick, dark grey nipple hard enough I hoped it popped free. “I hate you. Just wanted you to know, you know, if I’m going to die and all.”
Snarling between gritted teeth, he hissed, “Ye called me bloated.”
Rolling my eyes and immediately regretting the gesture, I snorted. “You are.”
“An’ now a goat fucker.”
“If the stinky boot fits...”
With a snap of his jaws, he flashed a row of impressive, white teeth, several of them sharpened to a point. “Wench.”
I wasn’t intimidated in the least. “Ass.”
“Troll-whore.”
“Jealous?” He wasn’t expecting that one, or my smirk. Seconds later a wave of dizziness wracked me and my eyes almost rolled back in my head. “Oh, I think I’m going to be sick.”
“Get off.”
The unmistakable words had us both canting our heads to the side
“She’s mine.” Voice low and barely discernable, rough and gruff, bits of bright, glowing orange flashed through oily black orbs, more orange than I’d seen them in weeks, bearing down on us possessively, and I smiled triumphantly. It was working.
“That answer that for you?” Closing my eyes, I groaned. The pain of the bond severing, and my injury, pure agony.
“Fine. We’ll do it yer way, then, but we aint got much time. Dally longer an’ ye’ll be fer the grave.” Leaning close, breath whispering across my face as my big baby blues widened, Ketik muttered, “This better work, slag,” right before his thick, grey, unwanted lips crashed down over mine.
Salvation
Now, I can’t recall exactly how it all went down, but shortly after Ketik’s poor attempt at a lip lock, there was a loud ripping, wrenching sound, followed by Ketik taking one of Quaz’s flying lessons, followed by cursing and grunts, and then I was being pulled into a strong but slightly cold chest. Thinner than I remembered, but still comforting, and slightly damp, none the less, I sighed as a bony cheek nuzzled mine.
“Nugget,” the deep, gravelly voice muttered, breathing deeply across my temple. Head dipping, he laved my torn flesh, pressing the ripped pieces together gently as I whimpered a protest. The pain instantly went away, a sort of numbing seeping in, but the crushing weight in my head and my heart, and the dizziness, followed by and intense wave of nausea, were ever present.
“Troll?” I mumbled, squinting up at him. When had my vision gotten all blurry?
“Yes, luv?”
“Kiss me.”
“What?” Shock hit his voice, and from what I could tell, his strong, sharp features too, followed by a harsh chuff. Still rough, his voice was much closer to his old self than I could have ever imagined.
Pressing a hand to his chest limply, I explained, “I’m going to pass out, any minute now. If I don’t wake up, I want to know yours were the last that met mine.”
“Not gonna die, Nugget.” His voice was deep and belligerent. Oh, how I’d missed it.
Letting my lids fall heavily, I waited only a moment before cracking an eye open. “I might.”
Shaking his head roughly, he growled softly, “Ye willna.”
My lids fell again. “Why not?”
“Because I said so, that’s why.”
“Mmm. Well, if I do I’m holding it against you.” Squinting again, I let out a noisy huff.
Troll’s chest rumbled with that oh, so familiar rumble, and I longed to stretch my
fingers out and rub across where his heartbeat thumped strongest.
“Want to know something funny?”
“What?” His voice was much closer now, vibrating across my skin as his breath brushed my forehead.
“I was right.”
“An’ how, an’ why, is that, Nugget?”
“We’re much more than a bond.” Snuggling as close as I could, a long, deep sigh escaped me. Tapping his chest weakly, I smiled. “You’re wearing the necklace, and you still came back to me.”
“What’s that got to do wit’ anythin’?”
“You would have come back, eventually, the necklace broke the bond, breaking our ties, if only temporarily, but you wouldn’t have felt anything for me, unless it was a bond you’d formed yourself—a bond of love.” Tapping again, my fingers slowly slid away. “Admit it, Troll, no more lies, you feel things for me.”
“Dinna feel things for ye,” he murmured, voice pitched low.
Smile faltering, my chest heaved. I could feel his head lowering as my eyes fluttered closed for the last time, trembling arms, clinking with the metal and screaming with magic—still hooked to his wrists, lifting me up until our faces met.
Resting his forehead to mine roughly, he took my lips gently at first, brushing over them persistently when I opened to him. “Nugget, dinna just feel things. Feel everythin’ when it comes ta ye.” And our lips met again.
“Troll,” I whispered when he pulled back, his nose nuzzling along the bridge of mine affectionately.
“Hmm?” he rumbled on a purr, letting out a deep sigh.
“Brush your teeth, would you? Your breath is horrible.” And then I passed out, the sound of his deep chuckle the last thing I heard.
Mending
Gersthart
Why isna she wakin’ up? Pacing back and forth, I was snarling under my breath, eyes never leaving her pale flesh, glaring at the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed steadily, still asleep.
Quaz and Ketik, the fools, kept eyeing me with nothing short of pity. Did they not know? Of course they didn’t. How could they? They’ve never bonded before, they couldn’t understand.
The Toll Page 45