Chapter 728: Taking Zeyra Back

The cool forest breeze brushed against their sweat-slicked skin as Sol slowly, deliberately disengaged, pulling back from the deepest depths of her heat.

SLIP.

A heavy, breathless gasp escaped Zeyra’s lips as her inner walls contracted one last time, weeping a thick, translucent stream of his warm seed that trailed down her inner thighs and dripped onto the vibrant green moss beneath them.

Her knees, utterly drained of strength, instantly buckled. She would have crumpled straight into the damp soil if Sol’s thick arm hadn’t caught her around the waist, holding her body gently against his side.

"Easy," Sol drawled, his raspy voice laced with lazy, lingering satisfaction as he held her steady.

Zeyra’s head lolled back against his shoulder, her chest heaving as she took in shallow, ragged breaths. Her long, muscled legs shivered uncontrollably, the muscles in her calves and thighs twitching with residual tremors.

Her spirit channels, thoroughly saturated and overwhelmed by him, were humming like overstretched bowstrings.

"You... you absolute monster," Zeyra panted, her dark eyes half-lidded and glossy as she weakly pressed her palm against his broad chest. "My legs feel like soaked thatch. I can barely hold my own weight, let alone track a beast through the jungle."

Sol let out a low, gravelly laugh, his crimson eyes gleaming with amusement as he casually wiped a stray drop of sweat from her flushed cheek with the back of his thumb. "I did warn you to keep your legs locked, didn’t I? You were the one begging for the full depth."

"Because you were driving me out of my mind," she grumbled softly, though there wasn’t a single shred of actual anger in her tone.

She leaned into his touch, resting her forehead against his collarbone, savoring the comforting, steady rhythm of his heart.

Looking at the state she was in... her hair tangled and disheveled, her thighs trembling so hard she could barely stand... Sol knew there was no way she could accompany him deeper into the wild.

The deep forest was no place for a warrior whose legs were like jelly and whose spiritual reserves were sloshing with another man’s essence.

Sol gently put her leather tunic back into place, securing the side cords with practiced ease before picking up her hunting spear from where it lay embedded in the earth.

He slung the haft over his shoulder and effortlessly lifted Zeyra into his arms, carrying her like a child.

"Come on," Sol said, turning back toward the direction of the outer perimeter. "I’ll carry you back to the tree line. You can stumble into the tribe, tell Kira the ’hunt’ was entirely too demanding, and sleep off the exhaustion."

Zeyra let out a breathy, defeated chuckle, her arms wrapping around his neck as she buried her face into the warm crook of his shoulder. "If Kira sees me walking like a wounded beast, she’s going to know exactly what kind of game we were hunting out here."

"Let her guess," Sol smirked. "It’ll build her character."

He carried her effortlessly through the dense underbrush, stepping past the thick vines and emerging near the edge of the patrol boundary, where the tall timber palisades of the Veynar tribe were visible through the trees.

He set her down gently beside a broad tree, ensuring her feet were firmly planted before handing her back her spear.

Zeyra tested her footing, wincing slightly as a warm, heavy sensation pulsed low in her belly, but she managed to lean her weight against the spear haft with reasonable stability.

"Don’t take all day out there," Zeyra murmured, her dark eyes fixing on his face with a sudden, fierce possessiveness as she reached up to lightly trace his jawline with her thumb.

"And bring back a good carcass. Kira will never let us hear the end of it if you return empty-handed."

"I’ll bring back enough meat to fill three cook-pits," Sol promised, giving the firm curve of her hip an affectionate, lingering squeeze before stepping back into the shadow of the trees. "Now get inside before the sentries think you’ve been mauled by a beast."

With a final, lingering smirk, Zeyra turned and began her slow, slightly unsteady trek toward the southern gate, leaning heavily on her spear to mask the weakness in her knees.

The moment Zeyra’s silhouette vanished behind the outer palisade, the easy, relaxed smile on Sol’s face slowly faded, replaced by the razor-sharp, predatory stillness of an apex hunter.

He turned back toward the primeval expanse of the Great Orrath.

Without Zeyra by his side, Sol no longer needed to limit his pace or keep his aura suppressed. He shifted his weight, his thick shoes digging into the damp loam, and exploded forward!

BOOM!

A localized shockwave of pure physical force flattened the surrounding ferns as Sol transformed into a dark, blur-like streak, leaping fifty feet across the forest floor in a single, effortless bound.

He moved through the ancient tree line like a phantom, stepping over mossy boulders and ducking beneath massive, ironwood branches with terrifying speed, penetrating deeper into the untamed wilderness where no Veynar hunter dared wander alone.

The environment shifted rapidly. The sunlight grew dimmer, choked out by the colossal, ancient canopy that hung hundreds of feet above.

The ambient spiritual essence in the air grew thicker, colder, and distinctly more volatile... heavy with the primal aroma of ancient jungle, rotting vegetation, and the territorial markers of high-tier spirit beasts.

As he ran, Sol’s consciousness dipped inward, diving beneath the roaring heat of his sun core and sinking into the vast, silent expanse of his spiritual sea.

Deep within that dark, boundless ocean, the ancient artifact rested.

Orphos.

The dark, crystalline compass floated serenely. The hairline fractures that had once spider-webbed across its central needle were significantly reduced... a testament to the massive feast of souls it had devoured during the total destruction of the Coalition warbands.

Yet, as Sol inspected the artifact, he could feel the subtle, unsatisfied vibration humming through its body.

A/N: Happy Halloween (I’ll be waiting for my treats ^_^ )