by Lily Thomas
Adorra opened her mouth, and then snapped it shut when she realized it was true. It wasn’t like he couldn’t kill her. It would’ve been extremely easy. Perhaps she’d dismissed her guards prematurely.
“It has to be a twisted lie.”
He shrugged unconcerned. “Believe me or not, but I have been charged with bringing you back to the ice giant castle, and that is exactly what I will do.”
He stood up, and she craned her head back. She blicked a couple of times as she took in his height. It amazed her that he didn’t hit his head on the top of the tent. He was taller than most of the men she knew. Without a single word, he turned and left the tent.
Adorra didn’t care that he’d just left her tied with her hands behind her back. She needed some time to process all that he’d told her. She stared at the flap of the tent as it waved at her from the momentum of the ice giant that’d left.
Her sister was alive and living with the ice giants, which would never have even crossed her mind. It was so bizarre. Even now, she had a hard time believing it, even with it coming straight from the giant’s mouth.
So, Keir hadn’t been involved? Her brow furled as she shook her head. Maybe she had given him a bad name for no reason. She wasn’t even sure what to believe right now. Confusion rolled through her like a wave, battering her until she was senseless.
But Adorra knew her sister wouldn’t just run off and marry an ice giant. There was more to this story than she was being told and it irked her. She wanted the full story. Only problem was that she figured the ice giant might not give it to her straight. She got the feeling he was hiding the juicy bits from her.
Maybe she should wait and see.
But she wasn’t keen on the idea of going all the way to their castle, which she knew was hidden deep in the snowy mountains, but if her sister was alive and up there… well, then she had to go. She couldn’t just turn tail until she had more answers.
Chapter 7
Mathar closed his eyes and sucked in the warm air around them. It was strange for him not to be high in the mountains with the cold surrounding him, caressing him, comforting him. He opened his eyes and looked at the ground, which was covered in emerald green grass. It covered the ground as far as the eye could see, and it was a rare sight where he hailed.
It was most definitely time he moved to the lower valleys where the farmers worked and built a cabin where he could experience more than one season in a year. It was an appealing idea he was toying with. All he had to do was get his hands on a plot of land.
He strode over to his horse.
Adorra didn’t look convinced that what he was saying was true. He wished Jasmine would’ve been able to come with him, but of course, she’d be pregnant when she demanded he find her sister and bring her to the castle. Humans never made things easy. If they did, then Jasmine wouldn’t require her sister’s presence. She’d just marry Dryden in her silly ceremony and let her sister be.
But that was for Jasmine and Adorra to work out.
Mathar didn’t see this being a happy family reunion. He got the feeling Adorra wanted to see her sister, but wouldn’t have wanted to be kidnapped by ice giants. And he definitely didn’t think Adorra would believe her sister was living with ice giants willingly.
Jasmine had once told him that getting pregnant was taboo among her people when it happened out of wedlock. Even when Dryden had jumped in and insisted they were married, she kept arguing they weren’t married in her culture though. She just had to be married before the babe was born.
He rolled his eyes.
He wasn’t sure if he didn’t follow her logic because she was human or because she was female. It wasn’t like he’d dealt with too many females unless it involved a little rough play in the sheets.
And that was how they all ended up here. Because Jasmine needed her sister by her side when she got married.
He rolled his eyes again. At least he wasn’t alone in thinking it was ridiculous, because Adorra was most definitely on his side in this matter. She couldn’t even fathom her sister getting married to an ice giant. It was that absurd.
And then there was Lord Gothar.
Mathar could see this all going downhill once Adorra found out it had been her own sister who’d ordered the death of her husband. That piece of information was on Dryden and Jasmine. He wasn’t going to utter a single word about his involvement.
Just as they left him out of all the drama. That was all he cared about. He didn’t need drama in his life. Otherwise, he would spend more time in the castle with all the gossipers. He just hoped Jasmine would be able to convince her sister she was actually happy. Otherwise, this blissful union wouldn’t be so blissful.
When the ice giant burst back into the tent, Adorra didn’t make a peep despite the fact that his sudden re-appearance caused her heart to flutter away in fright. Now that the shock of her kidnapping was over, she was able to admit she hadn’t reacted well when she’d first seen him. She was calmer now, and she didn’t feel the need to scream her head off like a complete lunatic.
Instead, Adorra watched him silently as he strode toward her, his long legs eating up the ground between them. His tan leather pants were something different, but he did look good in them. Although she would’ve expected his clothing to be a bit thicker since he hailed from the deep mountains.
He stopped in front of her, and she craned her neck back to gaze up at him. She would have gotten to her feet to take away his height advantage, but she couldn’t manage it with her hands tied behind her back. She was useless without her hands unless she wanted to roll around.
Reaching down, he wrapped his strong fingers around her arm and yanked her to her feet. Her mouth popped open in a startled gasp at the sudden movement. His grip was a bit tight, but she gritted her teeth and ignored it.
“A little rough, but thank you.” It felt good to be back up on her slippered feet. It made her feel a little less powerless around him.
He leaned towards her face until they were nose to nose. “Go stand outside and do not run off. You won’t get far, and you’ll piss me off. I’m only under orders to bring you back. They said nothing about what condition you should be in when we arrive.”
Adorra gazed into his bottomless obsidian eyes, wondering if he was telling the truth about causing her harm. Of course, he was! How could she even wonder? He was a ruthless killer, a giant. If she gave him a reason to torture her, she was confident he would take it and relish every single scream of pain.
Her head bobbed up and down, as she gave him a firm nod.
“Good. Now get out.” He turned away from her, as he gathered up the covers inside the tent.
Adorra didn’t want to take orders from him, but she wasn’t in a position to refuse. Even if her hands weren’t still tied behind her back, she couldn’t imagine being able to refuse anything that he demand she do.
She stomped towards the tent flaps and pushed them aside with a shoulder as she walked outside. Then she took a moment to glance around the area.
He’d already begun to take her high into the mountains. Towering pine trees surrounded them, almost looking bushy with their pine needle laden branches. Large boulders dotted the grassy terrain. She had to be about a days ride from the manor.
A horse snorted nearby, but she ignored its temptation. It wouldn’t do her any good with her hands tied… and the ice giant had her interest.
Damn him.
If what he’d told her was true and the ice giants did have her sister, Jasmine, then she had to go with him and find out if it was the truth. It wasn’t like she could turn her back on her sister. He may not have hard proof, but even the smallest promise had to be explored.
There was no way she could return to the manor with his words ringing in her ears. They had Jasmine. Even if she doubted it, she couldn’t return back to her world, not with hope lingering in the air.
As Adorra stood there, the colder air of the mountains began to sink under the layers of her gown.
Goosebumps rushed up her arms, prickling her skin, as the tiny hairs tried in vain to trap any warmth they could.
She wished she could rub her hands over her arms, but she wasn’t that lucky. They were still firmly tied behind her back. Gritting her teeth, she struggled against her restraints, the itchy fibers of the rope rubbing her skin raw.
With a sigh, she gave up. The giant had tied them well, and unless she happened upon a dagger or some other sharp edge, she was out of luck in escaping her bindings.
She just hoped Jasmine would be at the ice giant castle because Adorra was about to face an unknown future with this ice giant, and she needed her sister to be alive to make it all worth it. Otherwise, she would end up being the biggest fool in the world. Assuming she wasn’t already a fool. She believed the word of a giant.
It was like none of the stories she’d been told as a child had taught her anything.
Hope finally bloomed bright in her chest. She’d come to realize she might never see her sister again, and now there was finally the promise of seeing her sister hanging in the air. She just prayed it wasn’t a cruel game the ice giant was playing with her.
If Jasmine was at the ice giant castle, Adorra vowed to get them both back to human civilization. And if Jasmine were pregnant, then she would help her sister figure that out as well. There was nothing she wouldn’t do for her sister. They were two peas in a pod.
Rustling from the tent drew her attention, and she watched as the ice giant strode out of the tent, all the covers wrapped up in tight rolls in his arms. He tossed them onto the ground and turned his attention back to the tent itself.
He pulled the furs off the wooden rods of the tent, rolled that up and then carried them all over to his horse that was tied up to a nearby tree.
He was fast and efficient, and she was glad for that because she was eager to get on the move. The promise of seeing her sister still hung in the air, and she couldn’t wait to get a glimpse of Jasmine’s face again. She wanted nothing more than to see Jasmine was alive and well. After all the death in her life, she needed this glimmer of hope. She clung to it.
Adorra continued to watch the ice giant tuck everything away into the packs on his horse. It had to be the lighting of the sun, but from this angle, she would almost call him attractive. He had a sharp cut to his jawline, and as her eyes skimmed over it, she noticed there was a bit of silver scruff on his face. He hadn’t shaved in a few days, and it gave him a bit of a wild look that she was able to appreciate. His skin was tan despite being an ice giant who lived under the constant battering of snow, which gave her the impression that he had to be outdoors most of the time. His silver hair was cut short, and those onyx eyes looked a little less like the pits of hell.
As her eyes drifted down his monstrous frame, she eagerly eyed all his mind-blowing displays of muscle. The difference between him and Lord Gothar was stark. Edmund had been of a softer build, not as bad as some portly lords, but he’d enjoyed having other men do the heavy lifting for him. This ice giant was a warrior through and through, and she couldn’t help but appreciate what was right in front of her eyes.
Then Adorra’s eyes moved back up his body and as she looked over his face again. Her hazel eyes collided with his onyx eyes. A blush seared up her neck and crept across her cheeks. He’d caught her gawking at him!
Quickly, she turned away feeling completely mortified. She’d just been curious, but she was afraid of giving him any ideas. She might find him intriguing, but that was all. She wasn’t interested in anything more from an ice giant, and she definitely hadn’t meant to ogle him.
Glancing back over her shoulder, Adorra saw a smirk adorning his lips, and she frowned. All she wanted to do was strut over there and smack that smile off his face. Turning her entire body toward him, she scowled. “I’m not interested.”
“Your words say one thing, but I saw how your eyes were undressing me.” The ice giant had the audacity to chuckle.
“I was not!” Adorra blustered, struggling against the rope that bound her hands behind her back. She was itching to scratch that damn smile off his irritatingly cocky lips. She’d been studying, not undressing.
“You were undressing me stitch by stitch.” He argued.
Her mouth popped open, and she gaped at him like a fish out of water as she tried to come up with a response, but she couldn’t come up with a single suitable retort.
“I was only curious about you.” Adorra shrugged. “I’ve never seen an ice giant before, or any giant actually.”
All she knew about them came from stories. And so far, he looked nothing like the stories described. Where were the fangs and sharp claws? She glanced down at his hands. They looked exactly like hers, except thicker and manly. And as far as she’d seen, there were no fangs in that mouth.
“Very few humans have seen an ice giant.” He confirmed. “We don’t tend to stray from the safety of our mountains. Up there, we have very little to worry about.”
“Unless you’re kidnapping human women.” Adorra corrected him.
The smug smile on his lips slowly disappeared, and she began to smile. Good. She’d taken a stab at him like he deserved.
“We haven’t kidnapped anyone.” He growled at her.
“Excuse me?” She arched a delicate eyebrow. “I think by the fact that you stole me from my chamber and now have me tied up like a holiday goose means you kidnapped me.” She tugged her wrists against the rope hoping they would loosen up.
“At the request of your sister.”
“My sister asked you to tie me up like a holiday goose?” Adorra rolled her eyes. “Excuse me, if I doubt that.”
The ice giant frowned, and she could see the irritation building in his dark eyes. “All I was told was to bring you to her. Nothing about how I did it.”
“You still have yet to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you have her alive.” She couldn’t help the gnawing feeling that he could be lying to her. To trust a giant had to be as close to insanity as she’d ever been.
He just stared at her silently until he uttered, “When I bring you to the ice giant castle you will have all the proof you need.”
And then if it were true, she would get her sister and herself out of there faster than the ice giants would be able to blink.
“If it makes you feel any better, I thought this idea was beyond stupid.” He confessed to her out of the blue.
Adorra blinked a couple of times as she tried to figure out if she believed him or not, but as she gazed into his dark eyes, she got the feeling he wasn’t into this any more than she was. He was just the kidnapper, not the mastermind behind the plan.
He turned away from her as he tugged on the straps on his packs, tightening them down on the saddle. They were going to be setting off soon. That much was clear.
She sucked in a steady breath, her fingers trembling a bit behind her back. Soon, she would be among a whole city of ice giants. A shiver spread over her at the thought of being surrounded by so many giants. It was hard for her to imagine what it would even be like.
“How long until we get to the ice giant castle?” The real question was when would she see Jasmine again.
“A few days.” He tossed over his shoulder as he checked over the supplies on his saddle.
Days. She just hoped her courage would remain firm for such a long time. Traveling alone with a giant was courting danger.
Her eyelids closed as she steeled herself for the journey that she faced.
This wasn’t something a lady was prepared to handle in all her years of schooling, but Adorra wasn’t a normal lady raised in the court of the king. She was a woman who’d experienced her fair share of hardships, and this wasn’t about to break her.
After her parents had died, she’d taken over their land and fortune, which wasn’t common in this man driven world they lived in, but she’d surprised everyone by being more than perfect for the job. She’d had help, of course, because she’d been so young when they’d died, but she’d ta
ken control as soon as she was old enough and kept her advisors close at hand.
Adorra did her best to think back on anything she knew about giants. She knew there were three races of giant, ice, rock, and fire. Their names had nothing to do with any elements as far as she was aware. It all had to do with their looks or where they lived, which meant she might be due for a lot colder weather.
A shiver spread through her.
Why couldn’t Jasmine be kidnapped by fire giants? At least they lived in an environment that was similar to humans. Or rock giants. The only giant people who lived in such a treacherous environment were the ice giants.
Unfortunately, Adorra didn’t know much else about ice giants other than they lived deep in the mountains, and they loved the cold weather, or more accurately cold weather loved them. There’d been some childhood stories she remembered hearing. It went that where ever an ice giant traveled, the snow would follow, but she wasn’t entirely sure how accurate the story was. For all, she knew the writer had never met an ice giant before. None of the stories about fangs and claws had been accurate.
A firm grip landed on her shoulder, shocking her out of her thoughts. Turning wide eyes behind her, she saw the ice giant standing close by. She could swear he was close enough for her to smell the sandalwood soap he must use when he bathed. It’s appealing tendrils wrapped around her.
“Come on, human.” His fingers latched onto her upper arm, causing her to wince as he dragged her across the ground to his waiting horse. But it didn’t take him much effort because she wasn’t putting up any resistance. It went against her better judgment, but she intended to behave until she knew more.
He slid a foot into one of the stirrups and hefted his other leg up and over the back of the horse. Once his butt hit the smooth leather of his saddle, he turned his obsidian eyes back to her.
“Come closer so I can swing you up here.” He commanded her as he beckoned her forward with a hand.
“On one condition.”