Chapter 3

Cragnorr

I stewed alone in my cave for four days, turning over in my mind all the terrible things that could have possibly happened to Mia, when I finally couldn’t stand it anymore. What if she needed me? What if someone hurt her and I wasn’t there to keep her safe?

I couldn’t stand the not knowing . What if she were taking her last breaths and I wasn’t with her?

But then I encountered the man with the dogs, who shouted and ran when he saw me. They’re going to keep looking for me, and I still need to find Mia. So I wait for the sun to set, wedging myself in among the various dusty belongings now occupying my old shed, where I lived out many years of my childhood. My stomach is shredded with worry—not over whether the humans will find me, but what would happen to Mia if they did. If they cut me down, how would she feel when she found out?

So I sit and wait, until suddenly, someone scrabbles at the door. Has one of their dogs tracked me ?

“Cragnorr!” comes a small voice. I wonder, for a moment, if I’m imagining things. It’s Mia on the other side. “It’s me. It’s me!”

I throw open the door, and there she is, dressed in nothing but a long gown and a coat thrown over the top. Before I can stop myself I’ve dropped onto my knees in front of her.

She’s here. My Mia.

I wrap her tight in my arms, too overwhelmed at the familiar sight of her to remember that we don’t hug anymore. She smells just like I remember, except with a hint of sickliness.

She’s alive. I’m more grateful for that than anything.

After clutching her close for a few heavy moments, I release her. Mia stares up at me, her face creased in worry.

“What are you doing here?” she demands. “You shouldn’t have come down from the mountain.”

But I had to come. She hadn’t visited in days. I had to make sure she?—

“I was just sick,” she says, knowing exactly what I’m thinking, like she always does. “I’m sorry. I had no way to tell you.”

She does look rather ill. It must have taken her a lot of strength to come find me here.

Shouts echo outside the shed, and dogs bark. I pull the door closed quietly, wrapping myself around Mia so we can both fit into the shed now filled with junk. She lets out a tiny squeak when she bumps into a cupboard and it pushes her even closer to me, molding her small, soft body into the hard bulges of mine.

This is, of course, the moment my cock wakes up. Too many times have I thought about her underneath her clothes for it to stay quiet at the sensation of her plush body against me.

Outside the shed, voices shout at one another. Torches cast orange flashes through the windows as villagers rush past. Mia is tense, gripping my forearm and leaning into me as we both hope no one thinks to check here .

Then the barking passes, fading into the woods. The lights grow dimmer and dimmer until they vanish behind tree trunks.

Mia exhales and falls against me. She’s panting like she’s run a mile, and doesn’t seem to be able to hold herself up. I take her hands to keep her from falling, then draw her against myself to support her weight.

After a long silence, I finally reach down to brush her hair away from her face. Her cheeks are bright red, and she can’t get back to her feet.

“I’m just not feeling well,” Mia says when I tilt my head. She shivers. “And I’m cold.”

She should go home. She shouldn’t be here when she’s ill. I feel like an idiot for coming down so she had to leave her bed to come find me.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper, my words coming out ground-up and harsh. They are unpracticed and unused.

“Hey,” Mia says, squeezing one of my big fingers in her hand. “Don’t be. You didn’t know what was going on.” She offers me a smile. “You were worried, weren’t you?”

I nod. Of course I was. Without Mia in the world, it would forever be dark. I had no choice but to find my sunshine.

“Thank you,” she says. Then she takes a deep breath and manages to get back to her feet. I don’t let go of her hand, though, to keep her steady. “We need to get you out of here.”

Mia

I don’t think Cragnorr’s cave is even safe for him now that the village knows he’s here. They’ll look for him everywhere. What a pickle he’s gotten us into, though I understand why he did it. Now we just have to get him out safely .

But then what? Where does he go if he can’t go home? Where do I go if I can’t be with Cragnorr?

I can’t think about that right now. We just have to get away from this mob.

After it’s been silent for some time, I test the door to the shed and it opens with a squeak of the hinge. I wait to see if anyone’s looping back, but all I can hear are the distant voices of the search parties as they fan out.

“Let’s go,” I whisper to Cragnorr, tugging on his hand. I step out of the shed first. Behind me, Cragnorr hunches over as small as he can and wiggles through the door, out into the open.

“We should stay close to the village,” I say. “The others are out in the forest. They won’t expect us here.”

Uncertainly, Cragnorr nods, then follows along behind me.

We move through the darkness, our way lit only by the lamplight from the windows of nearby homes and the stars overhead. There is too much excitement and activity for anyone to notice us.

When we reach the edge of town, though, we’re faced with taking the main road or the woods to either side of it. Even at night we can’t go down the main thoroughfare or risk running into someone, but in the woods, we run a higher risk of getting caught by townspeople rampaging around the forest with their torches.

I’m weak and panting again. I’ve been lying in bed with no food in my belly for the last four days, and my energy is nonexistent. I nearly topple over, until Cragnorr reaches out to steady me.

I should let him go on alone. I’m only going to slow him down and make this more complicated. I need food and water and clothes. But then I think of those armed men out there, and I can’t stand the idea of sending Cragnorr off by himself. He’ll simply get caught then butchered like his parents were, whether it’s at the hands of these villagers or someone else later.

Even if he manages to outmaneuver the search parties, my sweet ogre has no idea what’s out there in the world beyond his cave. I’ve visited other towns with my mother to sell wares so I have a lay of the land, but Cragnorr has nothing and no one except for me. He’s in human territory now. He’s helpless on his own.

Abruptly, Cragnorr leans down and slides one hand under my knees, then the other under my shoulders, and swings me up into his arms. I hold in my squeak of surprise, clinging to him tight as he lifts me high off the ground.

“You’re going to carry me?” I ask, and he nods firmly, resolved. Bringing me close to his chest, he clutches me as if I weigh nothing and starts off into the woods.

In the distance, dogs are barking and men are shouting, “Ogre! Ogre!” I catch glimpses of their torches between the tree trunks. Cragnorr keeps low, his shoulders hunched, and weaves quickly through the forest despite my extra weight. I wrap my arms around his neck to hold on tighter, even though he’d never drop me. No, I’m terrified of what happens if they find us.

“Let’s stay close to the road,” I tell him. “They won’t be looking for us here. But keep to the trees, okay?”

Cragnorr nods in agreement. He walks quickly, and at this pace, we might just make it past the mob.

That’s when I hear a dog barking uncomfortably close by. It barks louder and louder, and some twigs snap.

“Run!” I tell Cragnorr, clinging onto him. “Run!”

Immediately his steps speed up, and he holds me even closer as he barrels onward. Branches catch in my hair as he sprints, but the barking behind us grows closer.

Then a gunshot rings out. I cover my ears and duck, wedging myself even deeper into Cragnorr’s chest. Someone’s seen us. Whoever it is, they’ll have to reload before they can shoot again, but that doesn’t buy us much time.

Suddenly, the barking is on top of us, and Cragnorr lets out a roar of pain. A dog has latched onto him, and he nearly trips and falls. Despite the snarling dog trying to tear the muscle out of his calf, my ogre sets me on the ground without dropping me. Then he turns around and shakes his leg frantically, trying to loosen the dog’s grip.

Another shot rings out, and Cragnorr bellows. The shot must have hit his shoulder by the blood that’s suddenly pouring down his arm.

“No!” I cry out, dragging myself up to my feet. Cragnorr seizes the dog around the head and yanks the creature off. He hurls it away into the brush, stunning it.

That’s when two men break through the trees, guns raised. One is feverishly packing another shot, while the other grins widely.

“Found you, ogre,” he snarls, exchanging his gun for a hatchet at his hip. He pulls it free and charges toward Cragnorr, weapon outstretched.

But my ogre has nothing—no way to defend himself except his hands and legs.

“Stop!” I shout as the man slashes with his axe. But Cragnorr is shockingly fast. He dodges, then reaches out and grabs the man by the arm. All it takes is one effortless swing for Cragnorr to haul the man up into the air, then slam him into the nearest tree trunk, sending him crumpling to the ground.

Still, Cragnorr’s lost valuable time. The other man with the gun has reloaded, and now aims the long barrel at Cragnorr. Even worse, we’ve attracted the attention of the other search parties, and the sound of voices is getting closer by the second.

At last, I’m up on my feet, and I stumble towards the man with the gun with my arms held up. He freezes when he sees me.

“Mia?” he asks, dumbfounded.

I walk in front of Cragnorr, blocking his body with mine. “ Don’t,” I beg, recognizing the man as one of our neighbors across the street who lives with his wife. “Please. He’s my friend.”

“Friend?” Davon lowers his brows and raises the gun again. “Step out of the way, Mia. You don’t know what you’re talking about. This creature is dangerous.”

“He’s not!” While Davon hesitates, I crouch down and snatch the other man’s hatchet up off the ground. Davon readies his gun, pointing it right at Cragnorr’s head.

No. I will not let anyone hurt him. He’s been bitten and shot, all while trying to protect me. I will never let them touch him again, not while I live.

So I lunge. I intend only to knock the gun out of Davon’s hand, but my movements are uncoordinated and the big axe is unwieldy. The sharp edge sinks into his arm, mostly severing his hand. Blood spurts out, and the hand falls limp as his gun tumbles to the ground.

Davon lets out an ear-piercing howl.

“Go!” I holler at Cragnorr, stumbling from the effort of swinging the axe. “Run!”

His eyes are wide and panicked. But then, he narrows them in determination, and picks me up once more. He crushes me against his body, blood streaming down his arm and onto my nightgown as he turns and runs.

The man’s shrieks of agony follow us on the air as Cragnorr sprints through the woods. Luckily, all the wailing has drawn the search parties in, creating a perfect distraction as we leave them behind.

I can’t believe myself. My own neighbor—I’ve hurt him permanently, in a way that will never be fixed. I burrow into Cragnorr’s sweating chest as he carries me far away, far from the village where I’ll never be able to return home.

I think of my mother and father, who will hear about what I’ve done, what I did to Davon to save an ogre’s life .

I can’t go back now. I’d be thrown in jail, or worse, hanged. And maybe I deserve it.

I wonder if I’ll ever see my family again. Once they hear what I’ve done... I’ll be dead to them.