The Goodnight Kiss

by Gwen Rivers

  I’d approached her in a supermarket parking lot, offering my sympathy and support. Late at night with the cloak of darkness at my back, with the aunts nearby and ready to help should the need arise, I’d gone in for a hug before she knew what was happening, pressed my lips to the side of her neck.

  That judgment had been especially satisfying. A judgment Sarah knew nothing about.

  “Nic, wake up.” Someone calls softly. The voice pulls me away from my dreams, away from my memories. I don’t want to go.

  “Nic.” This time fingers stroke down my cheek accompanies the summons. “We’re here.”

  I blink to see Aiden leaning over me, the stars beyond his head stationary multihued dots once more. His hand is still on my cheek, the moment ripe with intimacy.

  His shoulder is completely healed, his eyes once again bright as new leaves. “You fell asleep.”

  My face feels hot and I turn away from his touch. “Didn’t mean to.”

  “I wasn’t criticizing.” Aiden helps me to my feet and then adds, “It’s all right, you know. You don’t always have to be on high alert.”

  “Habit.” It’s the only explanation I can offer. He’s reattached the water bottles to my backpack. He hands it over then picks up the stinger, still coated with his blood.

  “What are you going to do with that?”

  He shrugs. “It’s better than sticks in case we run into any more trouble. Come on.”

  I’m about to ask how we get off when I see the gangplank that has appeared on the far side of the ferry. “Where did that come from?”

  “Magic.” There is mischief in his gaze as he offers me a hand. “Let’s go.”

  The gangplank stretches on through the dark for what feels like miles. I have no idea how Aiden can see as the stars above us appear to be winking out one by one.

  Just as I wonder if we’ll end up stumbling off the gangplank into the void, a shimmer appears that ripples the same as the one we crossed in the fairy ring. Here, the Veil does resemble an ethereal curtain, refracting the light from the few remaining stars.

  Aiden looks back at me. “You ready for this?”

  No, I’m not. But what choice do I have, really? I nod. He squeezes my hand once before releasing it and pulling the Veil aside. Aiden gestures for me to step through and after only a slight hesitation, I do.

  Firelight greets me, casting an orange glow from torches mounted on roughly carved stone walls. The torches are very high above us, each stone the size of a house. Shadows dance and play as Aiden passes through the Veil behind me, as though we’ve been brought in on an invisible gust of wind.

  “Where are we?” It appears like we’ve entered Medieval Times or some other sort of themed tourist trap. Just done on a much larger scale.

  “The hall of giants. Welcome to Underhill, my queen.”

  Chapter 10

  The Hall of Giants

  “Are we still minuscule?” I turn in a slow circle, taking in our full surroundings.

  Aiden shakes his head. “No, those powers you borrowed would have been returned the second you crossed Beyond the Veil. Although….” He tilts his head to the side in a very canine type gesture. “It appears some things are still out of proportion.”

  “What?” I frown and then glance down at my chest, where he’s looking. And yelp. “What the hell?”

  My breasts are enormous. The bra I’m wearing—a respectable 36 B—can no longer contain them. They strain against the fabric of my tank top, the shirt now stretching obscenely. “How…?”

  “Fairy magic always takes a toll in Underhill.” Aiden doesn’t bother to hide his grin. “As prices go though, this is one of the better deals I’ve seen struck.”

  I need to get the damn bra off, it’s strangling me. The thought of freeboobing it with that wolfish gaze watching my every move is almost as uncomfortable. “Turn around.”

  Aiden pivots and I reach behind myself to unfasten the catches when he comes full circle. “I said turn around.”

  “And I complied. Followed your order to the letter.”

  “You know what I meant,” I snap, too wigged out by the changes in my body to be overly concerned that I’m barking commands at him. Are they still growing? The strain is unbearable, and I feel as though the bra is about to cut me in half.

  Aiden’s smile fades. “Nic, calm down.”

  His words have the opposite effect. “Calm down? Easy for you to say. No parts of your anatomy have gone berserk!”

  “Turn around,” he repeats the command to me.

  “Why?” Unlike him, I have zero compulsion to obey.

  “I want to help you. I promise not to do anything that makes you uncomfortable and you know you have the power to stop me, right?”

  I nod.

  He makes a spinning gesture with one finger. “Now turn around.”

  I turn and stiffen when he pulls up the back of my tank top. The chill air of the corridor hits my skin, making me shiver.

  “Easy.” He talks to me like he’s gentling a wild animal. “Just one quick tug and it’ll be better.”

  He does as he says and the pressure eases. I take a full breath and then reach for the straps, only to encounter his fingers already working them down the length of my arms.

  I glance over my shoulder, meet those fathomless green eyes.

  “Better?” he asks.

  I nod and tug the straps free from his fingers. “I got it from here.”

  A soft chuckle rasps out. “No thanks required.”

  “Thanks?” I murmur as I work the final strap free and wad the now useless bra up in my hand.

  “It didn’t even occur to you did it?” Aiden sounds—for lack of a better word—testy. “The more things change the more they remain the same.”

  “And what’s that supposed to mean?” My tone is distracted, my thoughts on my chest. With no better use for the bra, I stuff it in the side pouch of my backpack. Will I ever fit into it again? Will my body ever go back to normal or am I stuck with these megaboobs for the rest of my life? They must be at least DD if not larger, the imbalance awkward on my petite frame. Try as I might, I can’t imagine running with these boulders attached to my chest.

  “It means, your royal highness,” his snide tone makes it clear he’s patronizing me. “That you may be in a different body but you’re the same spoiled brat you’ve always been.”

  I glance over at him, frowning at his sudden shift in attitude. “What’s your problem?”

  His lips part as though to respond but then he glances away. “Never mind.”

  I study him closely, hands clenched into fists, a muscle jumping in his jaw. “You’re really angry,” I say with mild surprise.

  He nods once, not meeting my gaze.

  “Because I didn’t say thank you?” I rise, unbalanced by my new top-heavy state. Aiden automatically steps closer, his hands on my shoulders, steadying me.

  He doesn’t answer so I say, “Thank you. And I’m sorry.”

  The last part gets his attention. He meets my gaze, dark brows pulling close. “Sorry?”

  “I ordered you to turn around. I’d just promised not to do that but in my panic over what was happening, it slipped out. I’ll try to be more careful.”

  He tilts his head to the side, the maneuver so reminiscent of the wolf. “I did it to show you that you don’t have to be careful. Even with your ability to command me I usually find a way to circumnavigate the order. To follow it but not follow it. Disobedience and mischief are in my blood.”

  “What does that mean?”

  He’s about to respond when the ground quakes beneath our feet. I crash into him, knocking him off-balance, though he regains it before we both fall. The room steadies momentarily before another quake erupts.

  “We need to hide,” he hisses. “Now.”

  I’d been wrong, I can run with the megaboobs, especially when Aiden’s yanking on my arm. “What’s happening?” I gasp.

  “Someone’s coming.” Each quak
e lasts longer, the intensity more extreme until my teeth rattle together.

  The light dawns. “Those are footsteps. Giant footsteps.”

  “Right,” Aiden heads for a divot in the stone where the mortar is chipped away, the divot creating a small cave to us.

  “But aren’t we looking for a giant?”

  “A specific giant. We have no idea who is heading this way. Giants are extremely difficult under the best of circumstances. Now come on.”

  He yanks me into the cleft and then presses into me until I am secure between the wall and his body. His forehead rests on my shoulder, his thighs press into mine, my newly enlarged breasts smash directly against his chest. Air can’t pass between the two of us.

  “Ssshhh,” he mutters in my ear when I struggle. “Giants are nearsighted, but they have exceptional senses of smell and hearing. And human is their favorite meal. Best stay still.”

  I want to argue that he shouldn’t be so close, but am unsettled enough by the thought of being eaten to put up with his nearness. Sage and cedar threaten to swamp my olfactory sense with each inhale. He showered in my bathroom, with my soap and shampoo so how can he possibly still smell so unique? His body radiates heat to an astounding degree. With my back pressing against the cold stone, the sensation is like facing a campfire on a frigid night, half my body overheated, half-frozen to the bone.

  The quaking stops suddenly. Over Aiden’s shoulder, I spy bare feet the size of aircraft carriers leading into legs that resemble nothing more than enormous tree trunks. From our hiding place I see up to about mid-thigh, enough to ascertain that one, the giant is nude, and two, I don’t want to see any more.

  A sound emerges from far above our heads, like air being sucked into a vacuum. It’s breathing?

  “Come out, little flame. I know you’re here.”

  “Whatever happens,” Aiden breathes into my ear. “Stay hidden.”

  My hands are trapped between us and I clench them into fists. I am about to ask him what he intends to do when he darts from our hiding place to face off against a giant.

  I’m too terrified to move, to breathe or to make a sound. Aiden looks minuscule beside that overlarge foot, his entire body no bigger than the giant’s smallest toe. I thought my deadly kiss gave me power, but my ability is nothing when compared to the massive size of the giant.

  “Greetings, Angrboda,” Aiden calls up to the giant. “I have come in search of you.”

  The walls shake again, this time with the sound of giant laughter. “Really? The last time I saw you, you promised to…what was it again? Oh yes, find a way to end my miserable existence. Is that your purpose here?”

  Aiden doesn’t react at all, not even a flinch. “Can you blame me? After what you did to my family?”

  Another rasping chuckle booms through the hall. “I did nothing to you, little flame. Nor to your mother or brother. And to your father…well, he got exactly what he wanted.”

  Aiden’s hands clench into fists, his shoulders tight with tension. “I have not come here to rehash our difference of opinion, Hag of the Ironwood. Tell me, is my grandmother here?”

  “Laufey is forbidden from setting foot in these halls,” Angrboda says. “She is banished for her crimes against our kind. I can tell you where you can find her. For a price.”

  “The debt is paid in blood,” Aiden points to a spot on his left arm. There is a blaze of flame and I flinch, barely covering my mouth quickly enough to stifle the sound of surprise in my throat.

  When the flame disappears, a mark remains on his skin.

  “The debt is paid in blood,” Angrboda repeats, her tone more subdued. “Go to the swamp at the edge of the dead forest. There you will find what you seek.”

  Aiden waves a hand over his arm again. Another spurt of flame and the marking vanishes. He doesn’t move, doesn’t turn to look back at me, doesn’t take his eyes from the giant. I wait, afraid to breathe too deeply or move an inch.

  After what feels like an eternity, the giant lumbers off, ground quaking beneath her massive weight. I stay where I am, feet rooted as deeply as when I joined with the tree.

  Finally, Aiden calls out. “You can come out, Nic.”

  Slowly, so slowly, I’m barely aware of it, I creep from my hiding place. For his part, Aiden doesn’t budge an inch, hands still clenching at his sides, shoulders still rigid, jaw set.

  “Who was that?”

  “No one important.” He turns and begins striding off in the opposite direction from the one the giantess took. “We have a very long walk ahead of us. It would make sense to leave by way of the kitchen, stock up on a few provisions before we depart.”

  I scurry to catch up and place a hand on his back. “You called her the Hag of the Ironwood.”

  “Only because whore of Babylon is already taken,” he spits.

  I peer at his arm. Though he’s moving quickly, it’s obvious that whatever mark had appeared is invisible once more. “It sounded like she was getting ready to broker a deal, but then you showed her some sort of marking and she just changed her mind.”

  “A rune,” he corrects without looking my way. “I showed her a rune, a blood debt given to me by one of her kin.”

  “Who? And why isn’t it always visible?” I lay a hand on his arm, over the spot where the rune had been.

  “What’s with the interrogation?” Aiden yanks his hand away, as though my touch burns him.

  “I’m trying to understand what just happened here. She spoke of your grandmother. Is she a giant, too? Is that who we seek?”

  Though his features still appear tight, his shoulders relax somewhat, now that my questions no longer focus on Angrboda. “She’s who we came here to find. If anyone knows how to resurrect a mortal, it’ll be Laufey.”

  “That name sounds familiar.” Angrboda’s too for that matter, though I can’t place where I’ve heard either.

  “Yes, she’s a giant. Though she is weaker, smaller and slenderer than most of the others. The Needle of the Forest.”

  “When was the last time you saw her?”

  “A few centuries.”

  I blink at him. “It’s been centuries since you’ve seen your own grandmother?”

  “My family isn’t all that close.” And then low, almost under his breath he adds, “Not anymore.”

  His mood seems dark, his gaze unfocused and I decide it’s better not to ask anything else for the time being.

  The scents emanating from the direction of what I presume to be the kitchen are unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. Fresh bread, roasted garlic, pies, and cakes and overwhelming it all is meat. Metric tons of it, salted and spiced. My stomach lurches and it takes all my effort not to vomit.

  We hide behind the folds of a huge tapestry and watch the activity in the kitchen. Enormous cooks move about, not with the forceful stride of Angrboda, but with more a heavy shuffling gait. Their movements are slow but purposeful.

  “I can’t go in there.” I swallow hard, put off by the odor of cooking flesh.

  Aiden’s stomach growls, loudly. Obviously, he’s an omnivore. “You have to, the door to the outside is at the far end of the kitchen.”

  “Of course it is.” I huff out a fast breath, then nod once. “Okay. But if I upchuck, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  Aiden peers around the fabric. “All clear. Breathe through your nose and run. I’ll get you out and go back in for the food. Ready?”

  How much meat would it take to feed a castle full of giants? Herds of cattle, flocks of chickens and ducks. So much meat. I stagger, woozy from the smell. Sticking around here won’t help me in the long run. I gag and then cover my mouth with the sleeve of my flannel shirt and give him a nod.

  Aiden clasps my other hand. It’s not like the other times when his thumb and forefinger ensnared my wrist to pull me along. No, this time he laces his fingers through mine, so our digits are interwoven. “On the count of three. One, two, three!”

  He tosses the fabric aside and we burst
forth, the equivalent of mice scurrying through a human kitchen.

  The cooking giants are smaller than Angrboda and more cowed. Their chatter booms off the stone walls, but I focus on keeping the scents out of my nose, and can only mute one sense at a time.

  We weave feet and dodge tables, narrowly avoiding getting cooked alive when a cauldron of bubbling water overboils. Aiden yanks me to the side before the liquid can touch me, the motion so fast that I stumble, unbalanced by my megaboobs.

  He doesn’t miss a beat, scooping me up and tossing me over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. Air whooshes out of my lungs at the impact of his hard shoulder into my midsection. My backpack jounces against the back of my skull with Aiden’s every step and my hair falls in such a way that it completely blocks my sight of anything but the floor. We must be close, just a few more steps….

  “EEK!” Someone shrieks and drops a wooden spoon the size of a Mack truck.

  Aiden curses low under his breath and increases his speed. We’ve been spotted.

  “Quick, catch them!” Another voice, one that rings with a tone accustomed to giving orders and having them obeyed, barks. “Human would make an excellent soup.”

  A shudder washes through me.

  There is a flurry of motion and Aiden zigs then zags in rapid succession. We zoom past a massive table leg and then duck beneath some sort of shelving. I hear the clattering of utensils, the cries of agitated giants. The space below me grows dim. And then Aiden sets me down, a hand over my mouth cupping but not connecting with my lips.

  I meet the green gaze that glows in the dim lighting. He puts one finger to his own lips in the universal shushing gesture. I nod once. Aiden withdraws his hand.

  We are inside some sort of cabinet or pantry. Bags of potatoes line one wall, jars of jam and preserves are crammed into the one above.

  They didn’t see where we went.

  I start and look at Aiden, wondering if he spoke or if I cracked my head at some point. He’s staring right at me and again I hear his voice in my head.

  We need to find a place to hide, to wait out the search. He gestures with his thumb to a bushel of giant-sized apples, just to make it clear that yes, he really is somehow communicating with me telepathically.