22. Soren

Chapter twenty-two

Soren

I still can't believe I'm here, with my cock buried inside her, and it feels surreal. She opened up for me so beautifully.

Our bodies are sweaty, and her chest rises and falls with her labored breathing. It's so perfect.

I hold my forehead to hers. "That was incredible."

A smile crooks the corner of her jaw."I don't want to give your ego another boost, but yes, that was…very good." Her legs uncoil from my waist, and her feet drop to the floor.

My arm instinctually shoots out to hold her steady.

We gather our clothes and redress. My thoughts reel, recounting what happened. What do I do now? How am I supposed to act?

Now that I've had her, I fear that it's all I'll want to do for the rest of my life.

She looks out the window again, and her face drops."You were right; the clouds are coming back." She peers into the space, still vibrant with light, but the looming blackness is on the horizon now. It's casting dark shadows over the distant mountains like an angry god seeking vengeance against the day.

"I don't like that I was right if it puts that frown on your face." I stand behind her and squeeze her shoulders in a gesture of reassurance. But she knows my truth now, and I can't return it. I don't want to take it back.

"It's fine," she says, some trepidation in her voice. "I just worry that every day I'm here, my friends are getting further and further away." She looks up at me, her dark eyes rimmed in red. "I'm the one who protects them. I always have. What if they run into that thing I saw in the woods, or worse—if there are worse things?" She looks back out the window. "I guess I just don't like feeling helpless."

That's more than she has ever admitted to me. I momentarily let her words dance in the space, feeling their impact, clutching at her soft skin like my lifeline.

"Come on," I say, grabbing her hand. "Let's go enjoy the sun while we can."

She follows me out the door and into the warm morning air. I nearly forgot it's still summer, albeit late summer.

The sun dances off her skin, lighting it with tones of gold and bronze I didn't notice before.

Everything is still waterlogged, and the wet earth squishes under our feet. I watch her take in the space for the first time. She's seen it all out the window, but that's not the same. I can smell the wild mint and the ozone from the coming rain .

A rumble comes from the mountain, like the churning of a thunderhead.

We both snap our gaze in that direction, looking for the inevitable crack of lightning. But it doesn't come.

It rumbles again, sounding not quite like thunder.Like something more—more profound, more dangerous.

"What is that?" Mari asks.

"I do not know."

We round the cobble pathway. The lane is absent of trees to block our view. We stare for long periods, eyes seeking as if they can detect the sound before our ears can.

The sounds boom again in the distance, but I can feel the noise reverberating through the ground this time.

I look around, panicked; I've never heard or felt anything like that.

"Oh, no. Is that an earthquake? Do you have those here?" She clutches me, keeping steady. Mari's eyes go wide. "Look to your left, over that ridgeline." She places her soft fingers on my jaw to turn my gaze.

The sound rolls down the canyon, filling the space with violent, destructive noise.

A patch of trees on the ridgeline sways. They rock and rock until, as if severed from their root system, they break, tipping over in large groups like they're being trampled by giants.

More crash down as the sounds grow more intense.

Then, like an act of the gods, the entire face of the mountain slides down. A shifting of the earth so fierce it rattles everything, the black crest of the soil rolling down the hill, smashing everything in its path, leaving nothing but exposed topsoil in the wake of its destruction. A mudslide like nothing I have ever seen.

I go cold. Icy. Stuck in place. That place where I watch that mountain of rock and dirt slide to the canyon floor. Mari looks over, noticing the shift in my demeanor.

"Hey, everything okay? That was crazy," she says, nudging me a little, not understanding what I saw.

I stay silent, not able to process what happened entirely.

"Okay, you're freaking me out. What's going on?" She walks before me, placing a barrier between me and what I witnessed.

"My parents," I say into the fragrant air, still shining with morning light.

"What? What's going on? I don't understand." She sounds shaken now.

"My parents' house was at the bottom of that mountain."

Her eyes go impossibly wide at my revelation. And then something extraordinary happens.

I'm lost; the world around me moves like time is slowing—the implication of what I witnessed cursing every thought in my mind into paralysis. Can't move, can't think, can't act. But Mari can, and she does.

She grabs me by the crook of my arm, pulling me back into the house.

I stand at the threshold, watching her frantically pull rain jackets and boots from the hooks on the wall.

"We don't have time to change clothes," she says, throwing an undercoat at me. I instinctively catch it despite my stupor. She walks over to me, a fleece in one hand.

"Soren, you are in shock," she says matter-of-factly. "But we need to move, and I can't get the horses ready alone. Can you come back to me?" she says, pleading in her gaze.

She gets on her toes and pulls my face down to her. Her soft mouth crashes into mine. It's savage and passionate. She bites down on my lower lip before she breaks the kiss and backs up.

I let the stars clear from my vision, and I'm mercilessly back to myself. Oh, of course, her kiss works. There is no world in which her mouth on mine doesn't pull me from whatever hell I'm in.

"Thank you," I say, shaking my head to clear the rest of the cobwebs out.

"You're welcome. Can we get fucking moving now?" She throws some boots at me, and I catch them with a huff.

"You going to boss me around like that in bed next time?" I raise an eyebrow at her in a tease. She turns a beautiful shade of maroon before throwing another item at me.

"If you're a good boy," she says before barreling out the front door. I like this side of her. I like it way too much.

It isn't long before the dark clouds loom overhead once again, cutting out the brief, glorious bit of sun we had.

Raven's hooves beat a dangerous rhythm on the road. I suppose that's one gift at this moment. The road dried out enough to ride on, at least for now. The color of the clouds in the distance doesn't bode well for the future.

I'll take my small gifts, considering what has happened. Mari is a gift; I can't help how my hands tighten on her waist, backing her closer against me. Something about her presence is keeping me calm. I'm worried to the point of panic, but I see things more clearly with her in my arms.

I can't do anything until we get there; that's my limitation. Then we can move on.

Just then, a sprite-light bursts into the sky, shining with light blue, purple, and green, the arms of the explosion stretching into the clouds—a signal.

They're alive. My heart leaps. Someone survived the slide and lit the signal. I push Raven faster, crossing off the path to shorten the distance.

My grip tightens on Mari as we bound over fallen limbs and rocky outcroppings. The path isn't as smooth, but if we keep pace, it should cut half an hour off the trip.

By the time the rough riding wears on me, the forest opens up. Acres of mud eat away at the once lush greenery. The side of the mountain now just a gaping hole exposed—a conclave gouge stained black and brown, the color of the earth below.

Large boulders dot the slide path. I didn't even consider that. How many pounds of massive rock flew through here?

Ancient trees lay tilted on their sides, their massive root systems severed from the deep earth, sticking up from the ground like spirits rising from the dead.

We walk the perimeter of the slide. Everything is so quiet.

The animals knew to leave. Now the forest feels darker, quieter, and hollow in their absence.

"This is just surreal," Mari says, her words eaten up by the quiet surrounding us.

"I don't know what we'll find when we reach my parents' house."

She turns and looks at me—determination set on her face."Whatever it is, we can handle it. I've got you." There is a strength in her that is like nothing I've ever seen.It's no wonder she is the protector in her friend group. There is no one else I would want on my side.

Ogres were a warrior race when the divided lands used to battle for control. We served as the front line of attack, an impenetrable wall of muscle, speed, and cunning. It's been hundreds of years since then, but the warrior still lives in us. And Mari is the first creature I've met with the same spirit as if lit from within with power— my warrior.

"Ho, there," a bright voice calls out. Em appears in the distance, followed by four older nieces and nephews.

"Em!" I shout, turning the horse to move in her direction.

Mari leans her head close to me. "I recognize Em. Who is the rest? More brothers and sisters?"

"No, nieces and nephews this time."

"Shit, I'm never going to remember all these names."

"You don't have to; if you want to know who someone is, just ask. They might tease you about it, but that will be the worst of it."

The tension in her shoulders eases a bit.

"Hey, have you seen the house yet?" Em asks. We're riding side-by-side now toward my parents' farm, or what is left of my parents' farm. Time will tell.

"No, we have seen nothing,"I say, guiding my horse around a pile of boulders.

"Neither have we; we heard the slide and were already on our way when someone lit the spright-light."

"Same," Mari interjects. Em smiles and nods at her.

"I see the clothes fit," she says, eyeing Mari up and down. "And the boots."

Em has always delighted in females more than males. The approving look she gives Mari after she appraises the outfit makes me stiffen.

She is my sister, but I would fight her for Mari, especially after what we did in my kitchen. The image of Mari under me, panting, screaming. Letting go.

I lose focus on the surrounding conversation.

Two fingers snap in front of my face. "Hey, Sweets, are you still with us?" Em asks, looking genuinely concerned for my well-being. "We need to get a move on; we are burning daylight."

Em turns her horse, leading the group down the mossy path.

We all follow the slide's spill path, keeping the mud and debris on one side and the forest on the other.

A clearing opens where a giant crocus field was planted— is planted. Only spring will tell us that tale.

The delicate flower's blue stigmas produce the most vibrant dye colors. Now, they are under yards of mud and heavy rock, possibly even trees.

Then I seeit—the bones of my family's house standing tall in the distance.I take in a massive breath. "It still stands," I say into the wind, into the air of my family's ancestral land, like the spirits of my ancestors protected it. Maybe they did.

Similar to mine, the house is constructed with rock and mortar, making it incredibly sturdy. It has twelve rooms and a detached bunkhouse, so the entire family can gather when needed.

All the rock structures look to be intact from this distance.

As we move closer, several family members come into view. When they catch sight of our caravan, they come running, mud-stained and sweat-streaked.

One of my sisters guides my horse around the rubble and takes it to a makeshift lean, where the other animals have been deposited.

Mari and I slide off and secure Raven to the post.

The damage is vast. I round the corner of the main house to find all the windows blown out and mud filling the space. Around the next corner, a large boulder has blown a hole through the rock and mortar, fitting itself neatly in the space it created. But the house still stands.

At the next end, I see them. My mother and father. My eyes brim with tears; all the emotions I had been suppressing threaten to fall out of me like a burst dam.

I run to them. There isn't a barrier in this world that could keep me away. I wrap my arms around my mother. Mud is caked on her clothes, deep circles under her eyes, but she's okay. They are both okay.

My father clasps me on the back before I set my mom back on her feet and embrace him. Despite all the destruction, our homes are still intact because they are still intact.

"Was anyone hurt?" I ask both of them, knowing very well that their house is an ever-revolving door of children, grandchildren, and friends.

"No, everyone's fine," my mom says. Her eyes, which match mine so perfectly, scan me for injury. She's worried about me. I pick her up, squeezing her once more.

"We lost some livestock," my dad chimes in. "We were about to wrangle most of the animals, but there are still missing ones in the woods."

"Well, we can help with that." I look over my shoulder at Mari and nod for her to join.

Mari smiles, and I introduce her.

"It's nice to meet the woman the triplets are so fond of," my mom says teasingly.

"Wow." Mari laughs. "I heard word travels fast in this family, but I had no idea it was that fast."

They all laugh for a moment, a sound I didn't know I needed until it rang through my ears.

"What can we do? Where will I be the most useful?" Mari asks my parents.

"Right now, dear, I think helping clear the mud and rock from out and around the house."

With that, Mari steps into action.