Inferno

by Nancey Cummings

  “No. That’s mine,” she said, tugging on the bag.

  “You will walk faster without a burden.”

  “Oh my God, just fuck already,” Kira said, rolling her eyes. “I’m tired of listening to you two flirt.”

  Amber released her hold on the pack. “I’m not flirting.”

  “Whatever,” Kira said.

  She swallowed her desire to protest. The more she objected, the more it became apparent that she and Mishal just needed to screw to get over themselves.

  And she would. She totally would in a heartbeat.

  She nudged his shoulder. “We should,” she said, quietly just for him.

  His eyes flared brighter, and a savage grin spread on his face.

  Laughing, Amber skipped ahead, leaving him to carry the packs. She didn’t get far before an arm snaked around her and pulled her back. She slammed into his solid chest. Rough hands turned her around and he leaned down to her, the intense fire in his gaze pinning her in place.

  She had stirred something dangerous.

  He held her to his chest and his heat seeped through her coat and many layers. Her gloved hands rested on his chest. “Is that what you want? You want me to fuck you?”

  Yes, please.

  “Do you want this valo to put his cock in you and give you his fire?”

  Amber’s core ached at his words. He was a dirty talker. Of course he was. “Yes,” she said.

  “Tell me.”

  “I want you,” she said, stumbling over the words.

  His thumb brushed her lower lip. “Mmm. You want me, but to do what? Carry your pack? Rub your feet? Pamper you like a precious thing, or do you want this—” He placed her hand on his rock hard cock. Amber rubbed the loincloth that separated her from his member. A groan rumbled in his chest.

  “I want this,” she said, giving his cock a squeeze. “I want you to fuck me senseless, and I think you want that, too.”

  “I want many things from you, human.” His hands brushed up and down her back. “I want to feel your heat around my cock. I want to fuck you so hard you’ll feel it the next day. The soreness will remind you—”

  “Enough!” Pel shouted, already several hundred yards away. “I’m going to E’Lek. Feel free to join Kira and me when you’re done boasting about your prowess.”

  Amber stretched up on her tiptoes and planted a soft kiss on Mishal’s lips. “I suppose this isn’t the time or place.”

  “When our journey is done, I will prove my boasts are not empty,” he pledged with a blistering kiss.

  Amber moaned as they parted, every part of her tingling and ready for more.

  ***

  After five days of walking and Amber could testify that her calves were pure, sculpted muscle. She never walked so much in her life. Back on Earth, she basically lived attached to her keyboard and never walked farther than from her front door to a vehicle. What was the point? Everything could be delivered, and she never went out except to work, or doctor appointments with her mother.

  On the first day, her feet hurt. Then her back, followed by her shoulders and thighs. On the second day, she moved stiffly in the morning but her muscle warmed up after an hour. On the third day, her legs cramped so bad overnight she tottered about on her useless feet. Fortunately, the snow was thick enough on the ground that her penguin shuffles didn’t seem out of place.

  By the fourth day, her aches and pains blurred together. Her world narrowed down to walking, snow, sitting by campfires, and constant numbness in her nose.

  Her nights, however, were amazing. Sandwiched between Pel and Mishal, she was as toasty warm as she could want. They switched off on watch duty while the other stretched out next to her to warm her bedroll. She filled the nights with soft kisses shared with both Pel and Mishal, stirred a fire deep in her. They never did more than over-the-shirt action, which frustrated her to no end, but she understood their reasoning. Pel and Mishal wanted to wait until the third member of their triad could join them. Amber just didn’t want to do anything in front of Kira. Kisses and cuddles were enough.

  The journey gave her time to get to know them. Her first impression that Pel said whatever came into his head proved accurate. After so many years of not feeling, every emotion was a new experience, and Pel shared it all. She appreciated his sincerity and the intensity of how he embraced everything.

  Mishal lived in his head. He felt everything fiercely and reflected inward, brooding and pensive. He demanded explanations. He needed to know her thoughts. He didn’t quite trust her, which was fine because she didn’t quite trust him, either.

  How did Flin fit into this? As much as Amber liked her guys, she could see their flaws. They were methodical, yes, but not terribly creative. They walked day after day alongside a river. Rivers were the earliest means of transportation on Earth. Surely it had to be the same on Sonhadra. Yet they knew one route to get to E’Lek, and that was the way they would get there. When she suggested a boat to travel faster, Mishal dismissed the idea due to dangerous creatures living in the river.

  Perhaps Flin had a bit more flexibility and creativity.

  They didn’t like the cold, that was for certain. Trying a blanket around their shoulders like a cloak helped.

  “How much further? All the important parts of me are frozen,” Mishal said, voice carrying on the wind.

  “Yet your mouth works just fine,” Pel retorted. He didn’t look so hot himself. Literally. He seemed paler, as if his internal combustion engine struggled to maintain an even temperature in the cold. A dusting of snow covered his head and shoulders. A stiff gait replaced his normal graceful saunter.

  What? Amber noticed stuff, and she happened to have spent the majority of the last few days staring at Pel’s ass, so she noticed that. It was a nice ass, and she liked the way he walked.

  “That is not the most important part of me,” Mishal said. “My cock is frozen stiff but not in the way our female will enjoy.”

  “Gross,” Amber muttered. “Maybe you won’t be so cold if you wore actual clothes.”

  Pel and Mishal gave her a perplexed look.

  “I thought the cold didn’t affect you,” she said.

  “We burn more energy to maintain our core temperature. It is tiresome,” Mishal explained.

  “The snow is not melting when it touches me. I do not like it,” Pel added.

  The snow didn’t melt when it touched her either, but Amber didn’t constantly moan about it. The guys did not handle the cold well. Or at all. Basically, they were giant babies. “We’re going to the Northern Valos. What did you think the weather would be like?” she asked, not expecting an answer.

  “Crowds to cheer our visit,” Pel said without hesitation. “The Northern Valos are well known for their hospitality. They will be overjoyed to connect with another tribe.”

  He could not be serious.

  “Just keep walking,” Amber said. She repeated the mantra to herself when her back grew sore and her feet heavy.

  “You’re doing great,” Kira would say, invigorated by the cold.

  The day so far had been snowy with brief breaks of sun through the clouds. She couldn’t really think beyond the immediate moment and her next step. Snow coated the ground evenly and hid uneven terrain. A misplaced step could result in a rolled ankle or worse. She failed to notice the dark clouds gathering on the horizon until Pel ordered them to pick up the pace.

  “We can reach the cliff and shelter there,” he said, pointing to a destination in the distance.

  The wind picked up as the storm approached. The snow became a rough mix of freezing rain and hail, stinging against her skin. Dark clouds blocked the light, and the wind whipped a painful mix of snow and hail. Amber could just make out the glow of Mishal in front of her.

  A roar pierced the wind. Mishal stopped. Amber walked into his back.

  “What was that?” she asked.

  “Did you hear that?” Kira tugged on the sleeve of Amber’s coat.

  Pel and Mishal
shifted to their battle forms, hard plated armor covering them, and their internal fire blazing against the storm. They shoved her and Kira behind them and took a defensive stance. Pel had a sword and a shield, ready.

  She scanned the storm, searching for the threat. Then she saw it, eyes flashing between the hail, a creature like the abominable snowman and a prehistoric sabertooth cat had a monster baby. Mishal pushed her down to the ground with a shout.

  Amber couldn't hear anything over the wind, but she felt the creature’s roar vibrate in her chest. Pel pushed it back, a fiery sword blazing in the storm. The creature blended with the sky and the snowy ground. For a confusing moment, Pel brandished his sword at nothing. “Get the humans to safety!” Pel shouted.

  A massive paw swiped and he raised his shield a fraction too late, knocking him back a few steps, but he remained on his feet.

  Mishal picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder, the hard plate digging into her stomach. He took off at a run, presumably heading for the cliff.

  “Wait! Where’s Kira?”

  Chapter Ten

  Mishal

  Mishal ran in the direction of the cliff. He hated to leave his triad brother behind, but he could not risk their mate. Kira had vanished. The cold and the storm diminished his sight. He found Amber because his body always took note of her presence, but the other human with the pale hair was not to be found. His first task was to get Amber to safety, out of the reach of the creature, and then he could continue to search for Kira.

  He found the cliff by nearly stumbling over the edge. “Hold fast to me,” he said, and arranged Amber to cling to his back with her arms around his neck and legs around his waist. Careful of his handhold and his rapidly vanishing strength, he climbed down the cliff face. Ice covered the rocks, and his grip slipped, causing Amber to cry in alarm, but he did not fall. He would not fall with his mate depending on him.

  He could not pinpoint when his regard for Amber shifted from mistrust to possessive need. He felt an attraction to her immediately, but his stubborn refusal to commit a broken triad to a mate held firm.

  Or at least that’s the half-truth he told himself. The truth was, the moment he found himself alone with her, he surrendered. His heartstone did not beat in time with her heart—yet—but it would soon. Her confidence and willingness to do the difficult tasks for the good of her people appealed to him. He felt a possessive pride that the other humans regarded her as their leader.

  His hand slipped, and he dropped a few inches before catching himself.

  Mishal scolded himself for his careless thoughts. He could not afford to daydream. He needed to focus. No more slips. No more chances.

  He focused on the energy in the rock under his hands. The cold had leached away the warmth in the material, but he infused a bit of his own energy. The ice melted and the rock smoothed itself out into an acceptable handhold. Carefully focusing on each handhold, he descended.

  Once on the ground, he carefully set Amber down before his knees gave way. Too much of his energy had been spent on the climb down, but the alternative—plummeting to the ground—had been unacceptable.

  “Mishal!” Amber knelt in the snow next to him. At the base of the cliff they were protected from the worst of the winds, but the snow fell heavily.

  “We need to find a cave,” he said, forcing out each word.

  “Cave. Okay.” She jumped to her feet and darted away.

  “Not without me,” he tried to shout, voice lost in the storm. Crazy woman running away with no visibility and predators at large...

  She returned moments later. Perhaps it was several minutes. He lost the ability to measure time. All that existed for him was the pulse of his heartstone.

  “I found something. Come on.” She helped him to his feet, and they made their way to an opening in the cliff face.

  “Wait.” Mishal leaned heavily against the opening, one hand splayed wide on the rock. He pushed his remaining energy into the handprint, leaving a glowing sign on the rock. “For Pel.”

  The cave had a bend to block the wind. She set him down and retrieved the fire-starting materials and dried dung from a pack. In no time, she had a small blaze going.

  “Warm yourself up,” she said.

  “So bossy,” Mishal replied, loving her take-charge attitude.

  “Wins me a lot of friends.” She arranged her bedroll and sat next to him. “We’ll get warmer faster if we share body heat.”

  Her arms wrapped around him and pressed him to her chest. He leaned into her, pleased at her softness and her heat. “I’m better already. I just need to rest,” he said. His eyes grew heavy, and he felt the siren call of sleep.

  “Stay with me. I need you to tell me what to do, Mishal,” she said.

  “I used too much of my fire.”

  “But it’ll come back? How do we get it to come back?”

  “Rest.” He shifted and placed his head on her lap. Her hand cupped the back of his scalp. Rest seemed impossible, not with Kira and Pel still in the storm.

  Amber

  Mishal drifted off into what she hoped was sleep and not a blizzard-induced coma.

  The fire cast shadows on the walls of the cave and gave no sense of its size. When she found it, she was desperate for someplace out of the wind. The fact that it was big enough for the four of them to sit comfortably around the fire was a bonus. Speaking of, Pel hadn’t found them yet. He ordered them to find shelter, but how would he find them? Mishal had left that glowing handprint, but how long would Pel’s fire ability last in the storm?

  The wind picked up, howling past the cave’s entrance. Blizzard would be a better word to describe the storm and Pel was still out in it, fighting off whatever that animal had been. He could be injured and she’d never find him, even if she could climb back up the cliff. An insidious fear that Pel had succumbed to the cold wrapped itself around her chest and squeezed. In her mind’s eye, she pictured him collapsed in the snow, eyes staring up at the sky but dim, his fire extinguished by the extreme cold.

  She needed to find him, to bring him to the cave for shelter, but the blizzard only gained strength. She could barely see her hand in front of her face when she stumbled into the cave. She wouldn’t be able to do anything in the storm except get lost or freeze to death. Waiting was the only option.

  “He’s going to find us,” she said, stroking Mishal’s head. “Pel won’t leave us. We’re his heart, isn’t that what he said?”

  Just as she began to fear that Pel would never find them, a dark figure stood at the mouth of the cave.

  “Pel?” she asked cautiously.

  “Pelted with ice? Yes. That’s me.” Pel lurched forward before collapsing to his knees in front of the fire. Pale, like cold ashes, he stuck his hands directly in the fire. He hissed but did not withdraw them.

  “Does that hurt?” It couldn’t, right? He was a fire elemental.

  “Sensation is returning. It is not… pleasant.” Color returned to his face. He rubbed his fire-heated hands on his arms.

  “Kira?” she asked, but he must not have heard her clearly. He asked about Mishal’s well-being.

  “Frozen,” she said. “Why aren’t you like him? I thought you collapsed in the blizzard. I thought I was alone—” Her voice hitched.

  Pel crouched down and gathered her in his arm. The frigid air of the storm still clung to him. Amber shivered. “I am a Soldier. I was designed for harsher environments than Mishal. Do not worry about me.”

  Amber stroked Mishal’s head again. His color returned slowly, drifting away from ashes to darker charcoal, but she felt dismayed at his unresponsiveness. “Is he going to be okay?”

  Pel prodded at Mishal’s lips and stuck a finger in his mouth. “His core temperature is rising. He will recover.”

  She released the breath she didn’t realize she had been holding. “How about Kira? What happened to her?”

  “She did not follow you?”

  “We got separated,” she said. Poor visibili
ty in the blizzard made her recollection of events confused.

  “I did not see human blood so do not fear. Perhaps she found shelter.”

  Or she’d been eaten by that monster.

  Amber kept her worries of Kira’s fate to herself. She couldn’t go out in the blizzard and search for the woman, after all. As sucky an option as it was, she had to wait and hope for the best. “What was that thing?” she asked.

  “A beast of the north.”

  “So you don’t know?”

  Pel shrugged, a surprisingly human gesture she hadn’t seen on him before. “I lack knowledge of the north. Now take off your outer layer. It is wet.”

  She wriggled out of her hooded coat, boots, and trousers. The fire had warmed the cave sufficiently that her bare legs broke out in goosebumps, but she did not shiver. Her tunic had remained dry and was just long enough to cover the important bits. Adjusting her legs for Mishal’s head to rest comfortably on her lap, she became acutely aware that only a thin layer of fabric separated his face, inches from her pussy. If he were awake, he’d have something clever and lascivious to say about that.

  As it was, Pel smirked as he set out her clothes to dry by the fire, tossing her and Mishal knowing looks.

  “It’s not what it looks like,” she said.

  “I think it is exactly what it looks like. I applaud my triad brother for his infirmity and think I should go back out in the blizzard to receive such splendid treatment.”

  “Don’t joke about that,” she said, a heated blush on her face.

  Pel brushed his knuckles down the side of her face. Already his touch had regained its normal level of heat. “Do not worry. All he requires is rest, and he will recover.”

  Amber nodded, wanting to believe his words. She never had anyone she cared about as strongly as she felt for Mishal and Pel, and the idea of losing them so quickly after she found them—

  The idea made her heart ache.

  “Don’t tell me not to worry,” she said, voice choked. “If this was me, how would you feel?”