Rokul

by Elin Wyn

  We left the house and I was surprised to see Tella wringing her hands.

  I looked closely at her and could see that she was doing her best to try to hide her panic. At first, I was confused, but then my brain caught up and I realized what her problem was.

  The city was locked up, and so was she.

  She was independent and loved to move around. She hated to be locked away somewhere, forced to stay in one place for long. She had told me as much shortly after we first met. I reached out and took her hand, giving it a light squeeze as reassurance.

  She smiled up at me and squeezed my hand in return. “This is…” she stopped.

  “What?” I asked. Karzin and the others were returning from their quick inspections.

  “This looks deliberate to me,” she finally said.

  Karzin nodded in agreement. “I agree. It’s almost as if the damage was more of an accident than anything else.”

  “How so?” my brother asked. I was shocked. It wasn’t often that I had something figured out before he did.

  “Look around, Takar,” I said. “The vines are on the edge of the city, or at least as close as they can be, and the only deaths we’ve had reported are from debris falling on people, and one unfortunate person that had grabbed hold, then fell.”

  “Rokul’s right,” Tella said. “Combine that with the fact that the tendrils,” she pointed to another group of tendrils as they came down to search around in the house she and I had just been in, “don’t seem to be trying to hurt anyone, either. It’s as if they’re looking for something.”

  “But what?” he asked. I had the same question.

  “I don’t know,” she said sadly. “I don’t have the answer to that one.”

  Karzin clapped his hands together, then cringed slightly as it sounded almost too loud for the moment. “Let’s keep moving. We have more to investigate. Keep vigilant, just in case the tendrils do become a threat.”

  We began to make our way east to meet with Team Three, and I took Tella’s hand again.

  She leaned into me for a moment before straightening back up.

  “You’re going to be okay,” I said after a few yards.

  She looked up at me, confusion written all over her face. I resisted smiling. “What do you mean?” she asked.

  “I mean, yeah, we’re in a dome made from a plant, but we’ll find a way out and you’ll be okay,” I responded.

  She scoffed. “How are we supposed to get out of this?” She waved her hand around, indicating the dome. I looked up at it again. It had to stretch hundreds, if not thousands, of feet into the air in order to encompass the entire city, or, at least, the livable part of the city.

  “You just figure out a way to make that toxin, we’ll figure out a way to cut the vines so we can stick it in.”

  As soon as Tella and the ladies managed to make more of the toxin, Rouhr would have us find a way to cut the vines deep enough to get the toxin in and let it be of use.

  “It’s not that easy,” she said.

  “Sure, it is. We’ll get out of here, I know we will.” I stopped walking for a moment, which caused her to stop, as well. “Look, the way I see it is, you make the toxin, we inject the toxin, the vines retreat back into their holes, and you’re not stuck here anymore. You’ll be able to get out there again,” I finished with a jerk of my head to indicate the area outside the dome.

  “What if it’s not that simple?” she asked, voice so soft I almost didn’t catch it.

  I shrugged. “We’ll figure it out. You’re too smart and I’m too stubborn to give up.”

  Karzin called back to us to catch up.

  Tella

  By the time it became too dark to work, I was more exhausted than I ever thought I could be.

  After General Rouhr ended his meeting, Rokul and I, along with everyone else, ventured outside to help anyone who needed it. Most people were in a state of shock. But injuries were not as common as we’d expected, which only bolstered my theory that the Puppet Master wasn’t out to hurt us.

  I knew I couldn’t have predicted this, but I felt responsible. If my theory was correct, that the Puppet Master had only contained Nyheim in such a way because it knew I possessed something that could kill it, then this was my fault.

  I tried not to think about it. I certainly didn’t vocalize my thoughts.

  Rokul knew something was amiss with me. Every so often, he reached out to give me a reassuring touch on the back or a kiss on the forehead.

  Eventually, our work took us in separate directions. He went with his strike team to assess the perimeter. Leena, Annie, and I, along with a few other scientists from Dr. Hines’s lab, began to examine the vines. I took enough samples to last me a lifetime.

  We also measured the vines as best we could. Some were much thicker than others. They varied in their coloration, though not by much. We still cataloged everything. One small, seemingly insignificant difference could mean the answer to our escape.

  Hours passed before I saw Rokul again. He was waiting for me outside the lab after I dropped off my grand collection of samples.

  “You didn’t have to wait for me,” I grinned.

  “I’ve only been waiting a short while,” he replied. “Besides, I want to see you home.”

  “If it’s still standing,” I joked. “One swift wind could’ve taken the walls down. Imagine what all that shaking and rattling did to my place.”

  “I’m sure it’s fine,” Rokul assured me. “I’m still walking you home, though.”

  “Thank you.” I smiled up at him and laced my fingers through his. We were silent for most of the walk back to my place.

  The long day caught up to us, not to mention the long day before that and the long day before that. In fact, the last time I’d truly slept was when Rokul had stayed over in my bed.

  That couldn’t be healthy.

  My rented room was close to the outskirts of the city. As we drew closer to the towering wall of vines, I started to grow nervous. The nerves only worsened when the Blooming Bud came into view and I could see one of the thicker vines pressed up against the building.

  “That can’t be good,” I muttered.

  Rokul and I approached the building. Sure enough, the back wall of my rented room had been completely blown out by the vine.

  “Let’s see if I can get any of my things,” I sighed.

  “Where will you stay?” Rokul asked.

  “Leena sleeps in the lab all the time. I’m sure it’ll work for me,” I replied.

  “Nonsense. You’re staying with me. Don’t try to argue, I won’t hear it.” Rokul silenced me before I could say anything.

  “Well, how can I refuse?” I laughed. “Thank you. I’d like to stay with you very much.”

  The inside of my rented room was more or less intact, aside from the single wall that was entirely replaced by the vine.

  I packed a small bag of clothing to take to Rokul’s place. All of my important work equipment was already at the lab in General Rouhr’s building.

  “I hope the owner realizes I won’t be paying for this,” I joked lamely.

  With my bag slung over my shoulder, I let Rokul lead me out of the room. He didn’t release my hand until we reached his place halfway across town.

  “Takar is either asleep or still at work,” Rokul stated.

  “Will he mind my being here?” I asked.

  “No,” Rokul grinned. “He actually quite likes you.”

  “How can you tell?” I wondered.

  “Didn’t you see his obvious display of affection?” Rokul asked.

  “You mean that little nod during the meeting earlier?” I asked.

  “Exactly. That’s just about the grandest gesture he’s ever made,” Rokul laughed.

  “I’m…honored?” I said hesitantly.

  “You should be,” Rokul teased. He led me through the building, up a set of stairs so narrow he had to turn sideways to use them, and through a small door. The entry room was simple, l
ike I expected. There was some semblance of a kitchen on the far side of the room. Rokul led me through the door on the right, into his room, which was simple, as well.

  “Not much for decorating?” I joked. Rokul took my bag from me and set it down beside a chest of drawers.

  “My room looks much nicer than yours did,” he teased.

  “I know,” I laughed. “I’m grateful to stay here.”

  “Truthfully, I only offered because I wanted to make sure I had you to myself for a little bit every day.” Rokul wrapped his arms around me and pulled me in close. I laid my head on his chest, content to let him support me.

  “I think that’s a great idea,” I replied. “At work you need to battle Leena for my attention.”

  “And she’s always going to win that battle. That woman is terrifying,” Rokul laughed.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you,” I joked. “I’m glad to have you all to myself in the evenings.”

  “You can stay here as long as you like,” Rokul replied. “But you aren’t stuck here. I want to make that clear.”

  “I’d rather be stuck with you than anywhere else,” I smiled up at him.

  “Even tangling with a Helmria Ithalma?” Rokul asked.

  “Yes,” I laughed.

  “I must be special, then.” Rokul dipped his head and brought his lips to mine.

  “You’re more than special,” I said when we broke apart. “I’m in love with you.” I hadn’t planned on saying it, though I’d certainly felt it for a while now.

  “I’m in love with you, too,” Rokul murmured. “I’ve been wanting to tell you for some time now, but I didn’t want to scare you away.”

  “So, you waited until I was trapped in a plant prison?”

  “Yes, the Puppet Master and I worked very hard on this little stunt,” Rokul joked.

  “You won’t scare me off.” I rose up to wrap my arms around his neck. “After all, I’ve tangled with things far scarier than you.” I pressed my lips against his. He enveloped me in a deep kiss, wrapping his arms around me and lifting me off my feet.

  Giggling against his lips, I wrapped my legs around his waist. He backed up until his legs hit the bed. Without breaking the kiss, he held me to him and fell back onto the bed. Once on top of him, I moved my legs so they were on either side of him, like I did in the forest. His hands traveled over my legs, up my back, and down my arms.

  Slowly, he removed my top and then tackled his own. I took a moment to marvel at the brilliant crimson shade of his skin. If I pressed hard enough on his arms, I could feel the solid edges of the concealed scales.

  Once I finished gazing at him, Rokul flipped me over so that I was on my back. With one swift movement, he pulled my fitted pants off, as well as my undergarments. I lay naked beneath him, relying on his heat to stay warm. He removed the rest of his clothing and hovered over me.

  “Now I can take you the way I’ve wanted to since the moment I met you,” Rokul smiled mischievously as he nudged my legs apart with his knee, then pressed his palm against my pussy. The claiming way he touched me caught my breath in my throat.

  “I should’ve known you were thinking naughty things this whole time,” I playfully scolded him.

  “It’s impossible not to.” Rokul brought his lips to mine as his fingers slowly entered me. I arched up into him, a soft moan escaping my lips. This time was different than our tryst in the forest.

  That was hot, explosive, and a product of pure passion.

  This was different. I felt like I was a smoldering ember and Rokul was the showering of sparks that kept me alight.

  This time, it was about love.

  Filthy, delicious love. “Tella,” Rokul whispered to me in a deeply sensual voice, “get on all fours, my beautiful woman.”

  I was exhilarated at whatever was about to come and did as he asked, a little unsure of what was going to happen, but knowing I was going to enjoy it immensely.

  I felt Rokul’s knees spread mine apart and I yelped.

  “You look perfect like this,” Rokul growled. I could feel the heat of his breath against my pussy.

  Then I felt his tongue. Slowly, searingly, it circled around the inside of my thighs. He nestled his nose over my clit and nudged me, nibbled my thighs.

  And then he pulled his face away, only to bring it back and capture my clit with his mouth. He sucked and lightly pulled, enough that, without Rokul’s firm hands holding me up, I would have fallen over from the sheer strength of the pleasure that surged through me.

  “Yes!” I cried out.

  Just as I was about to orgasm, though…

  He. Stopped.

  “Rokul!” I whimpered, my voice desperate.

  With a wicked chuckle, he turned me over, cradling my face. Rokul pressed the massive head of his bumpy and scaly cock at my pussy.

  Our eyes locked, and my orgasm was a slow-building wave that flooded through me, desire overtaking me. I was in sheer ecstasy. Only he and I existed in these moments.

  He thrust into me slowly. I savored every inch of him, shuddering in pleasure each time he filled me. In this moment, nothing existed beyond these four walls. There was no Puppet Master, no prison of vines, and no need to keep moving.

  His hips rocked, hard and forcefully, pressing Rokul so deep inside me that I know he touched places that were only marked and claimed by and for him. I yearned for him to take me, to fill me up as only he could with such raw power and emotion that it made me feel like it was almost a transcendent experience to have him inside me.

  My hands laced behind his back and gripped him as tightly as I could. My eyes rolled back in their sockets and I spread my knees as wide as I could, pressing my feet against the mattress to roll my hips up to meet him. Then I clenched my inner walls tight around him, strangling his cock with my pussy to pump every ridged inch of him inside me, milking him for all the pleasure either of us could handle.

  When I reached another climax, I felt an explosion throughout my body. It wasn’t an explosion of fire like it had been in the forest. This was softer and intense enough to leave me trembling even after Rokul reached his peak. Every inch of my skin was desperately sensitive. The slightest brush of his skin against mine was enough to send me into pleasurable shudders all over again.

  Rokul rolled off me, and even though he was right beside me, I immediately missed the intimate contact. He pulled back his covers and threw the blankets over our bodies. I curled close to him, wanting as much of my skin to touch his as possible.

  My body felt warm, satisfied, and thoroughly spent.

  Tucked under Rokul’s arm, I finally let my exhaustion take me. I fell asleep knowing that for once, I was exactly where I was supposed to be.

  Rokul

  It had been four days since the dome had been created. A grand total of eight deaths throughout the entire city had been reported, six due to damage caused by the formation of the dome, one from a heart attack, and the last due to the power going out. It had resulted in the poor man’s ventilator stopping and he ended up suffocating without it. His body had been found by Team One during our first trek out to investigate.

  While Takar and I were out investigating the tendrils and vines again, a call came over our comm system. “Whoa, they work?” I asked.

  With a perplexed nod, Takar answered his comm. “This is Takar. Yes, sir. Understood, sir. We will arrive as soon as we are able, sir.” He clicked off the comm and focused on me. “The general has reestablished communications with the outside, albeit not particularly reliable. He has called all of us back to the office.”

  “Okay. Let’s go.” As we started jogging back, I looked over at my brother. “Did he say anything else?”

  “Negative. The connection was not as strong as we are accustomed to,” he answered as we rounded a corner. “However, he did stipulate that he wants us there quickly. Would you care to pick up the pace?” He grinned slightly as he started jogging faster, forcing me to keep up or fall behind.

  �
�Basically, you want to race, don’t you?” I smiled. His answer was to accelerate, just a step before I did. We sprinted back to the office, dodging civilians and hurdling pets along the way. The only reason he won was because a group of tendrils came down and threw me off my rhythm.

  “You always have been a sore loser,” he commented when I mentioned the tendrils.

  “Oh, whatever,” I said as we entered the building. “You know I’m faster than you. Hi, Tobias,” I said with a nod to Rouhr’s assistant.

  Tobias smiled in return. “General Rouhr is not in his office, it is still under repairs,” he added at my arched eyebrow. “He has taken to using conference room three until the repairs are complete. That way,” Tobias pointed to our left, his right and we made the turn. We walked into the conference room to see that Team Three was already there. The rest of our team joined us within a few minutes.

  “Any idea what’s going on?” I asked. Rouhr wasn’t in the room yet.

  A collective shake of their heads answered my question. Sylor spoke up as he shifted in his chair. “All I know is that the comms are back in business, mostly, and that gives me hope that the general has been able to contact the outside.”

  “That’s right, I have.”

  We all turned to see Rouhr enter the conference room from a side door, Tella right behind him. She flashed me a smile and for a moment, all I could think about was how we were making very good use of our sleeping arrangements back at the apartment.

  As he directed Tella to a seat, Rouhr looked at all of us. “I’ve managed to get into contact with the ground crews outside the dome. I also have Fen joining via my comm unit.”

  We watched as Rouhr put his comm down and Fen’s voice greeted us.

  “What have the ground units said?” Sk’lar interrupted.

  With a deep breath, Rouhr started his answer. “They can’t get in, just like we can’t get out. I have them working on their own ideas on what can be done from their side.” He held up a hand to stop any further comments or questions. “If you would allow me to finish saying what I need to say, perhaps I’ll be able to answer your questions before they are asked. Now, as I was saying,” he said as he started pacing across the front of the room. “On the bright side of things, attacks around the continent have stopped.”