Page 70 of The Lands Defying
I chew slowly, savoring the juices that flow on my tongue. Darius watches my mouth, his eyes darkening as I glare at him.
Now is not the damn time for him to devour me with his eyes, I nearly lost an eye to another cock just moments before!
“They have been coming to The Drylands for many years,” Kruten says as he takes a sip from his cup. His words get my full attention, Darius’s too. “We trolls have always had a comfortable, quiet life here, it is our home.”
“That only the Elites and Highers are aware of,” Zaide tells him, eating a strip of meat.
Kruten eyes him. “That seemed to be the case. Over the last thirty years or so, more and more have come to The Drylands. Many wolves. They didn’t bother us trolls at first, and left us alone. We welcome all, but our home isn’t for everyone.” He picks up some meat on a bone and crunches it. “Then about two years ago, large numbers of wolf shifters started coming through here towards their encampment to the North. Whenever we are close to them, we don’t see as many around than what we have seen pass through.”
I push Darius’s hand away as he tries to feed me more food, suddenly not hungry anymore at Kruten’s words.
My eyes connect with my pack, and I know they are hit with the same thought.
Kruten has seen less than what has passed though. Will that be the same with my pack? And if so… that would mean…
Darius hauls me into his lap and holds me close to his chest. He makes a smooth, rumbling sound, knowing I need comfort without even asking. I breathe deep, looking at the other Elites whose eyes have turned hard at Kruten’s words.
“They could be underground,” Jerrod says, and I look at him. I forget the large male is here half the time. “That’s why you might not have seen them around.”
Fragile hope blooms in my chest at the thought. It’s possible, more than possible if they are doing these... experiments on them.
My hope quickly turns to dread.
“This land changes though,” Damian pipes in. “So they wouldn’t be able to just stay there.”
Kruten shakes his head. “It is more bad there. The land recoils from where they are, its presence not going near it. If it doesn’t go near it, it does not change.” He puts his hand to the floor and I watch as I see his fingers vibrate gently, like the ground is answering him. “We can stay here as we are with the land. They allow us and we accept it as they try to fight back the bad.”
I lean forward and place my own hand on the ground, Darius’s arm coming around my waist to hold me steady.
I bring my power gently to my palm, making sure the land knows I’m not a threat and ask for entrance. Once my power reaches the ground, a small, gentle glow of blue can be seen at the sides of my hand.
I feel something connecting with me, a softhellothat tickles, and I smile, closing my eyes. I feel the life inside, thrumming with power and gentleness. My magic pushes into the ground, twinning with something else, something almost playful, excited.
I haven’t felt this response before, and I prod more at the ground, warmth filling me as a sense of peace hits my chest. It fills me, almost searching within me and I accept it, feeling like it’s just another extension of myself.
“Little wolf,” Darius says quietly by my ear. “Open your eyes.”
I don’t want to, I want to feel this way a little longer, but another strand reaches mine. Dark, quiet, but no less deadly if itwanted to be. But all I feel is comfort as Darius gently tugs my power from the land and guides my own back to me.
I slowly peel my eyes open and gasp.
I sit up straight, my eyes looking all around Kruten’s home.
What was once just walls of rocks and slabs of stone acting as tables and units, is now covered in an array of flowers, stems, and vines. They crawl up the walls, a healthy green as they fill the room, with a bloom of color from the flowers.
A chuckle comes from my left and I see the look of awe on the Elites faces, and Josh looks at me with so much pride, my eyes water at the feeling. I clear my throat and smile sheepishly at Kruten.
“Uh, sorry.” I shift in Darius’s lap, unsure if I did something wrong when Darius holds me tight against him, forcing me to stop moving.
“Don’t do that,” he whispers roughly in my ear. That’s when I feel the outline of his hard cock against me.
“Zahariss’s Hali indeed,” Kruten smiles, and I relax, knowing he’s not upset with me.
“How do you know the language of the old?” Darius asks him as he leans down and picks up the wooden cup, bringing it up to my lips and making me take a sip of water.
“You call it the language of the old,” Kruten replies. “But it is the language of Vrohkaria. The language of the—”
“Cannar,” I interrupt, and he smiles at me and nods.
