The Toll (67 page)

“
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.

She’s mine.
Mine.
Always had been,
always would be.
And this time—well—this
time, I’m not lettin’ her softly rounded rump out of me
sight!
She
will
wake up. She will.
Then I’ll be blisterin’ her ass for scarin’ me
so. Foolish, daft female! How dare she!

“
You’re snarling
again.”

“
Who let him in?” Snarling
louder, I snapped my teeth angrily
.
Snarlin’? I’ll show that pompous Elemental snarlin’!
“Why isna she openin’ those bleedin’
eyes?!”

Glancing around at the
occupants of the room, no one had an answer. Ketik was crouched by
the entryway, cradling what I hoped was a bloody broken
arm
—teach him to love on me
woman—a
nd Quaz was holding Calder, closest
to the bed, my wee beastie of a boy, who was snoring so loud from
his shoulder, a thin line of drool sticking to my younger sibling’s
neck, I couldn’t help but smile inside at the thought.

Would I be tellin’ Quaz
that? No.
Ornthren weren’t that way, we
just weren’t. We didn’t have room for softness.

Eyes drifting to Nugget, I
amended,
other than hers.
I’d make room for hers. She’s special,
different.
Mine.
I craved it. Craved her.

Calder’s softness would be short
lived, I knew for certain, giving way for his natural instincts to
kick in as he matured, the curse pulling its effects as his runes
took effect and the magic took over, but he wouldn’t stray far,
none of us ever did. More or less, for better or worse, we tended
to stick to our own.

Bo, arms folded, stayed farthest back,
leaning casually into a corner.

I didn’t buy it for a
minute, the worried look in his eyes belaying anything he could
have tried to bull shit me with. Lies, that’s what he lived with,
softly spoken, honeyed lies. He’s an Elemental, born to trickery
and manipulation. He knew no other way. I’d resented him for it for
so long, but I could give a shit anymore.
Just want me bonded back.

“
Isna there some stupid
mumbo jumbo ta do? Magic isna workin’, an’ we’re runnin’ outta
options. Been six hours, that canna be good. She’s healed but not
wakin’? Why the fuck no’?”

“
If I may?”

Bo stood and rushed the entryway at
the voice, Ketik stepping aside as Zeme waltzed right
in.

Earth, followed by a tall woman with a
long black hooded cape, as well as Fire and my bearer herself, all
came filing in.

“
Aint a fuckin’ picnic,” I
growled, crouching low by the foot of the bed. “If ye’re here fer a
funeral, ye can all kiss our arses. She dies, all yer fancy, corner
humpin’ arses die wit’ her.”

Fire’s eyes never left Nugget’s face,
the moment he stepped foot in my domain. “Quit lookin’ at me bonded
like tha’ if ye like yer eyes in yer head, ye crack pot, fire
kissin’ Elemental.”

Phaestus snapped out of whatever fog
he was in and glanced up at me slowly, taking his time, as if it
physically hurt him to take his eyes away from the sight of my
bonded’s prone from.

I’d cleaned her up the best I could,
dressing her in one of my clean, white shirts. I’d wanted her to
smell like me, desperately needing some kind of claim. Tucking a
sheet around her, she looked peaceful, even now, at
ease.

Fists clenched at my sides,
I wanted to shake her tiny ass awake, demand she know I loved her
back, tell her she’d never know the depth of... of everything I
have for her frizzy orange hair or nugget shaped body, how much I
burn for her completely.
She consumes
me.
But she wouldna fuckin’
wake!

“
She’s kin ta me, get of my
get, Ornthren,” Phaestus said formally, quietly. “She’s only known
me as Aitziber-”

“
That stupid horse she was
yammerin’ ‘bout?” Quaz muttered, swaying from side to side slowly,
unaware of how naturally he took to watching a babe, my
babe.

I’d have reminded myself to point it
out to him later, in a very brotherly fashion, just to mock
him—once he wasn’t holding him anymore, of course—if I was in the
right frame of mind. Bleed him if he took offense. But that was the
last thing on my mind right now.

A rough snort slipped past
Quaz’s lips. “How’s that for a family reunion? Oi, I’m a horse, and
yer daddy’s daddy, or some bull shite. Fancy a ride? That’s no’
creepy at all.
Noooo.
” Smirking, his eyes rolled towards the ceiling as he
scoffed. “Makes our gatherin’s look downright fun
lovin’.”

“
Why are ye all bargin’
inta our place?” Ketik demanded, arms folding over his wide, thick
chest. He was probably hiding his injury, not interested in showing
any weakness to the lot. “This be Under. Not welcome,
aye.”