Page 9 of Sky and the Grumpy Troll

I jumped on his back.

He caught me. His hands came up under my thighs without breaking stride, automatic, like his body had been expecting it even though his brain had said no. I settled against him, legs around his waist, arms around his shoulders, my bundle mashed between my chest and his back, chin resting on the thick muscle of a shoulder. This time it was a proper piggyback, not the feral shoulder-mount from earlier. Much more civilized. He was warm. Warmer than a human, like a sun-heated stone, and he smelled like cedar, earth, and books.

“I didn’t say yes.”

“You want to get away from the troll ladies who are chasing us, don’t you? Beggars can’t be choosers!”

He made a low rumble in his chest that vibrated against my own and kept walking. I adjusted my grip, wrapping my arms around him and settling in for a pleasant ride.

Chapter 3

Moerrven

I stared at the ceiling. Poppy was asleep on my chest, her small warm weight rising and falling with my breath. She had inspected Sky when we arrived, sniffed his outstretched hand, allowed three pets, and dismissed him in favor of the windowsill.

That meant she liked him, which was unusual for my cat.

Sky was curled in my guest bedroom with three nonfiction texts from my library, which he’d examined enthusiastically, calling them “legitimately vintage” before settling in to do his research. I had tucked one of my novels into the stack, in case he needed a distraction. When I peeked in on him, the nonfiction texts sat unopened, and the novel lay open over his face, as though he’d fallen asleep mid-sentence. A man after my own heart.

That left me alone to ponder my poor life choices. All night long.

Why had I told him all of this was ancient troll tradition? I had invented an entire cultural practice on the spot. And it would be very easy for him to root out my lies. Just ask any troll in the realm!

The soulmate lie had seemed like the perfect way to get my sisters off my back, but the lies had multiplied, as lies always do. Once I’d realized I needed to convince Sky to stay in order to sell the whole soulmate thing, it had all started going downhill. At this point, I was probably going to have to move to the other side of the county to avoid the consequences.

Why had I told them he was my soulmate? I could have just told them the trolgar touch was accidental, but no, I’d fallen prey to the hope in my sisters’ eyes. Or perhaps, I’d fallen prey to what Sky’s accidental touch had revealed. But that didn’t matter one bit, because Sky was from a completely different world. A world he wanted to get back to.

And I was too loyal to Bryndala to even consider stopping him.

I groaned and scrubbed my hands over my face. Poppy extended her claws enough for me to know I had disturbed her comfy relaxation spot.

“Sorry, Poppy. I’ve just made a mess of things.”

My cat did not look surprised.

A throat cleared, and I looked up to see Sky standing there, wearing one of my shirts. It was a soft gray linen thing that came to his knees and hung off one shoulder, the sleeves rolled up past his elbows into thick bundles of fabric. His bare legs stuck out the bottom, muscular and lean.

His hair was a mess, black strands sticking up in ways that defied gravity, and his eyes were puffy with sleep. “Is it morning?” he asked, yawning. “I heard you talking.”

“It’s either early in the morning, or very late at night, depending on your perspective. But since you fell asleep before you even had your supper, I suppose your body is ready to break your fast.”

He beamed at me. “Interdimensional jet lag.”

“None of those words make sense.” I stood, and his eyes followed my body in a way that made me aware that I was wearing nothing but a pair of calf-length sleep drawers. I reached for a dressing robe. The look of disappointment on his face made my lips twitch so hard I had to turn away from him to hide my smile.

I was also fighting the urge to place his hands on my horns so I could—no, that would be ridiculous.

“How did you sleep?” I asked as I led him out into my living room.

He smiled. “Quite well. It wasn’t until I woke up that I remembered that I’d transported myself to another world in search of a missing friend who’s still missing, and I might never see my family again.”

“I might not complain if I never had to see my sisters again,” I said, thinking of their meddling.

Sky went still, his jaw tight. “Take that back. They’re obviously just worried about you. And you love them. Where would you be without them?”

I blew out a breath as I stoked the fire, weighing my words because, all of a sudden, the cheerful young man had tears in his eyes, and it was my fault. “You are correct. I may wish to avoid my sisters for a few weeks, but I should not like to lose them forever. I can’t imagine how difficult that must be for you.”

He sat at the table, blinking back the tears, then rubbed his knuckles over his eyes when they started to fall.