Chapter 9
Vienne
I think the orc and I have come to the same realization.
That scene we witnessed... it must have been some echo of the past. I don’t know how or why, but I suspect it has something to do with magic. We were meant to see it.
Perhaps that was how our wishes came true.
We stand next to each other in silence, neither of us willing to say it aloud. There’s no way I could do such a heinous thing with an orc, even if that’s what it takes to reveal the mystery of this place. And damn, do I want those answers.
Graz clears his throat.
If we can figure out how to open it, he repeats, his gaze flicking over to me and then back at the pedestal.
I shiver. Surely there’s another way. I drag over my bag and kneel to pull out a pickaxe. I slip the pick end through the crack around the base of the pedestal and, with all my might, I try to pry it open.
I don’t think that’s going to work. Graz stands with his arms crossed as the wooden handle flexes to the point of breaking.
Then what do you suggest? I ask. Surely he’s against the idea of us doing... whatever that man and that troll woman did.
The orc is silent, though, so I continue trying. Eventually, though, the metal begins to give, and I have to give up or risk snapping it.
I drop my pickaxe to the ground, panting. Graz crouches beside me, surveying the juncture closely. It really does look like there’s only one way to summon whatever is underneath here.
We have to do it , I say eventually, my voice catching. I can’t believe I’m even saying this.
His head snaps up, his eyes narrowing on my face. You can’t be serious.
It’s either that, or we leave without knowing what this place is or what those carvings mean. And as much as I fear what we might find, I can’t stand the idea of coming all this way just to leave the mystery unsolved.
Graz growls. Then we’re leaving , he says with a certainty.
I frown. Am I really so bad to look at? Well, by trollkin standards, I might not be a spring chicken. I’m small, smaller than that troll woman, and shaped quite differently.
We could close our eyes , I suggest.
No. Graz’s face is a dark shade of green at the cheeks, and he seems committed to staring at the carvings on the wall. Absolutely not .
I rise to my feet, insulted but not surprised. I’m human and he’s trollkin. What we saw up there? It should be disgusting to me, to have seen that.
But it wasn’t. It was... strangely lovely. There was something between them that transcended us onlookers, as if we weren’t even in the room.
Graz doesn’t seem even remotely close to budging, though. I’m going to have to wait him out, or see if he comes up with something better.
After a while I grow bored waiting for him to come up with a better plan, so I head to the pool to drink water. I’m filthy all over, and though it’s ice cold, it might put some life back in me again to bathe—and maybe I’ll get a grand idea while I do it.
You’re going to do that? Now? Graz asks as I unbutton my shirt.
What? I’m filthy.
That’s true.
I scowl at him over my shoulder, but Graz just shrugs.
I ignore him as I take my clothes the rest of the way off, and he turns his back to me. Then I slide into the frigid pool.
Quickly and efficiently, I wash up as best I can with just my hands, wiping off all the grime and sweat from the journey. When I’m finished, I’m squeaky clean and shivering. I sit down on a rock and shake my arms out, trying to get the water off of me so I can put my clothes back on without drenching them.
I can hear your teeth chattering all the way over here, Graz grumbles. You shouldn’t have gotten wet.
At least I’m clean .
He lets out a heavy sigh, his back still facing me. I don’t know why you want to do this.
I trekked all the way through these fucking mountains for answers, and I’m going to get them. I even gave up my job.
His brows rise in surprise. Your job? Really? Then his shoulders curl forward. I’ve seen it before, you know.
Seen what, a human and a troll fucking? You’ve been to some wild parties.
He doesn’t answer right away. Then he says, It was my best friend. He’s a troll, and he found a human mate.
A mate? What’s that?
Graz lets out a chuckle. It’s everything. Your whole world. The reason for existing.
I think about that. Sounds like a bigger deal than just marriage.
You think that’s what the man and the troll were? I ask. Mates?
Couldn’t you see it in their faces?
I have to admit that what we saw didn’t look ordinary. There was some kind of energy radiating off of them, something not quite of this world when they looked into one another’s eyes.
You really know of this happening before? I ask. Your friend?
Graz nods. Saw it with my own eyes. A human and a troll, absolutely crazy about each other.
So crossing the lines in the sand between our civilizations isn’t as out of the ordinary as I’d thought. And it’s becoming clearer and clearer that’s what these carvings are saying—it’ll take both of us, one human and one trollkin, to make this work.
We have to try something. I stand up, still naked, and approach the pedestal. It’s high up, so I have to hop to get onto it.
Maybe this orc isn’t as bad to look at as I feared. Sure, his hair is a little out of control, but he’s muscled in all the right ways. And if his body is that big, then...
What are you doing? Graz asks, finally turning to look at me. His mouth falls open when he sees me sitting there, as naked as the day I was born.
What I have to do to get to the bottom of this. I lean forward, bracing my hands on my thighs. Or would you rather leave and never find out the truth?
He scowls. Those are the options? There has to be another way.
* * *
Graz
What she’s asking is, by all accounts, ridiculous. Unhinged, like a door missing a screw. There’s a pair of misaligned gears in her head. Those are the only explanations for a small woman with a straw-colored bob of hair and bright, sapphire eyes sitting naked on a raised pedestal, offering herself up to me.
I think.
The worst part is that I should, by all accounts, detest the idea of this. I should loathe the image of soiling myself with a human the way that Lo’zar did. I should tell her that there’s no curiosity in the world, no secret worth this.
But I don’t. The sight of her pink nipples resting atop surprisingly round breasts isn’t unappealing. Her cunt is hidden beneath light brown hair, but her thighs are broad and strong, her small feet adorned with five tiny toes.
I wonder what it would be like to lick them.
Shaking my head, I advance a step toward her. I can always close my eyes while I do it. She may not be my mate, but this could be our only way in. Perhaps if I treat it like every other time I’ve done the deed simply to sate my needs.
Well? Vienne asks, cocking a brow. Are you going to try to do it all dressed up like that? She gestures with her chin in the direction of the water. Maybe you could take a bath.
I grumble. I don’t want to get frigid cold, too, but it would be rather unpleasant of me to climb on top of her after I sat at the base of the cliff in a stupor for who knows how long.
Fine. Give me a moment. Eyeing her warily, I make my way over to the pool of water, knowing it’s going to be so cold it’ll shrink my balls. Exactly what you want to have happen at a moment like this. Definitely.
As expected, it’s like diving into ice, but I dunk my head under and scrub my hair, then make sure to get everywhere else that might be stinky and dirty. I pay special attention to getting my cock clean, all while I’m thinking about what’s going to happen once I step out of this water.
Am I really thinking about this? Am I truly considering doing it?
Don’t worry , Vienne says . We’ll get warm again.
When I look up, she has a smirk on her face—almost like she’s anticipating what’s going to happen next, and I wonder what she thinks of me. Does she like what she sees, or does she think me disgusting?
You know, I can hear your brain whirring even when you’re quiet, she says, crossing her legs neatly on the pedestal. It never stops, does it?
I shake my head as I climb out, leaving my goggles where they are on the cavern floor with my clothing.
No. Or at least, I don’t think so. There’s always a problem to solve.
She nods as I get nearer, water sliding down my body and leaving chilly trails behind. But the longer I look at this woman, the closer I get to her, the more the cold isn’t bothering me. Instead, I’m wondering what those cute little nipples might feel like, as tight and hard as they are. I wonder if they’d warm up in my mouth.
I’m surprised at myself. But if this is what I have to do today, then I’m not displeased to enjoy it.
I climb up onto the pedestal, joining her. Vienne’s eyes search me, from my face down to my chest, then to my cock. She doesn’t hide her expression at all.
Oh. Okay. She licks her lips, and I can’t tell if it’s a nervous gesture or a hungry one. That’s what we’re working with.
I follow her gaze to where I’m slowly starting to thicken and rise at the groin. It probably looks strange to her. But that human man didn’t have that different of anatomy, just?—
Right. Vienne is a tiny woman and I’m much bigger. I’ll have to be careful with her.
I don’t know how to start this, but I think anything I do will be awkward, so I close the distance between us and reach for her breast first. I’m startled by how warm she is now, how soft and incredibly round it is in my palm.
She gives me an odd look. That’s it?
I guess I am just standing here with a hand on her tit. I need to take control of this situation somehow and warm her up for me, but I’ve never tried to fuck a human before.
What the hell am I doing?
I push Vienne back onto the pedestal, and she lets out a squeak as her bare back touches the stone. Sighing, I climb up onto it, and crouching over her, curl one arm underneath her to keep her off the cold, wet rock. Her eyes widen as I retake her breast in my hand, then lower my mouth to wrap around her nipple.
Vienne lets out an exclamation in her language as I seize onto it, lapping over the tiny pebble with my tongue. Then I suck again, the way a whelp would, and my cock jolts between my legs when she gasps. This is a good start.
When I’m finished attending to one nipple, I switch to the other, nursing it with my lips and tongue. Vienne’s back arches into me—another good sign. This time, I gently run my teeth over the tip, gauging whether she likes it.
A moan falls from her lips. I do it again, then soothe the nipple with my tongue, and she rises even higher off the pedestal.
Do you like that? I ask, grinning as I suck harder. Does that turn you on?
Y-yeah . Her answer is uncertain, but I don’t think her body is uncertain.
Maybe I can have fun with this after all.