The drops started to fall as our feet hit the dirt of the path that led us toward the mountain home. Enid took off in a run, either from excitement or from anticipation of being home before the rain started to fall, I wasn’t sure. Raden took the path that cut off toward the home of his people and Ildir, the Ancient of the Dwarves. One by one, the races split, heading home. Blyth left before we started the trip. I never did get to see him fight or his following races. I thought about bringing that up to Marren, but every time a discussion was brought up, he quickly dismissed it.
The smell of the rain, a blend of sulfur and water, mixed with the aroma of dirt and the plants, creating a scent that was intoxicating and lifting for me. As if willing to cater to my wishes, it fell harder. Large drops of water pelted the ground, me, and Marren.
I started laughing. Marren joined in. Unable to deny the effect my laugh had on his heart. Then something spontaneous came over me…I ran.
Where are you going? His voice filled my mind.
When was the last time you and I went on a run without worry or fear? Come find me.
That’s not going to be hard, he said.
Prove it.
I pushed my legs faster and faster, beyond the path and through some trees. I moved higher and higher up an incline that was slick. The air filled my lungs, bringing a renewed energy I missed. Each stomp of my feet against the ground warranted another. I wove in and out of trees, jumping from a large rock to the ground, swinging from nearby tree branches. I took a wide turn back toward our home. Before I left the woods, I was tackled.
I rolled on the ground with Marren; wrapped around each other.
A proud laugh escaped Marren’s lips. He pinned me, holding my hands to the ground, while he straddled my waist. The rain lightened to a soft mist that tingled along my skin. But what I experienced most was the large amount of desire that filled me from within, a pressure pulsing from inside my thighs.
Marren’s eyes held me prisoner. Hot breath came over me in waves as he lowered his face to mine. The heat spread over my neck, forcing the throb of desire closer to my threshold. As he pressed his lips to mine, his hands slid from my wrists to my hands, weaving his fingers through mine. I wrapped my legs around his waist, pulling him closer to me. A soft moan escaped our lips, forcing him to kiss me harder.
I thought you couldn’t be with me while in this delicate state?
Some rules are made to be broken. I’ve lived through the worst time of my life thinking I could never have you again. I’m taking you now, Marren said.
I let my control go. Whatever I could get of Marren, however short-lived it may be, I was going to take. And how glorious it was!
***
Two weeks passed. Marren stayed true to his people’s ways. I barely got to spend time with him without the company of someone else desperate for his decision on one matter or the next. Most of the matters dealt with Jiren in some way. And even when I did get time alone with him, his mind was continuously on Jiren. We barely discussed a ceremony to make us—our relationship—official. He assured me Okelo would be taking care of the details. I wasn’t assured.
Always Jiren on Marren’s mind. Not something he begged me for a few short months ago.
“Is Jiren the only one of his kind?” I asked while he waited for a meeting with the rest of the Ancients. I stood at the end of a table, next to where he would sit when company did arrive.
“He is the last of his kind.” He spoke to me while he stared out of the window carved from the wall. The view overlooked the forest and mountains. His form held me in a state of sadness and anger. He hadn’t returned to his former self yet. The evidence of his prison still showed on his body as his tanned skin still seemed too pale, his body slightly weaker with his slouched shoulders, and even his eyes were clouded with deep purplish hues under his lower lids.
“What happened to the others?” I asked, desperate for his conversation.
“Those who didn’t turn to pure energy, ended up getting killed or went into hiding on the mortal realm. Those who did become like Jiren were bound to something. Exactly how, we don’t know.”
“There’s something else I don’t understand.”
“What is that?” He sounded almost enthused with my curiosity. I forced back a smile.
“Why didn’t Jiren kill you when he had the chance? He gloated about doing it when he fought me. He wanted me to watch you die then take your form and mislead the races into thinking they were going back to the mortal realm, and by the time they’d figured out what was really happening, it would be too late for them.”
Marren nodded as I explained. He seemed to understand where my concern was coming from. “I’m afraid I don’t have an answer to that question.”
“How about this one, how could you tell which one was the real me?”
Because I can sense you. Plus only you, the real you, can hear me when I talk to you like this.