by Lily Thomas
“I’m sure there are plenty of ladies where you come from that wouldn’t bother learning.”
Adorra couldn’t disagree with that. “I know several women who wouldn’t bother, yes.” She laughed to herself.
“What?” He turned to look at her.
“I probably wouldn’t be so inclined to learn if it was warmer up here, but I wanted the fire faster than you could provide with your hands full putting up the tent.”
He chuckled as well. “Motivation is a good teacher.”
Adorra was surprised by how easy their conversing was going. She would’ve expected it to feel a bit more pulled and strained but the longer they traveled along together, the more relaxed she felt near him.
“Here,” Mathar passed her the bag of dried meat, “you must be starving.”
“I am.” Adorra eagerly took the bag out of his hands, opened it, and grabbed a couple of pieces of dried meat before passing the bag back over to him. “You said that large creature we saw earlier was a mountain cat?”
“It is.”
“I’ve never seen or heard of anything like it.” She was still finding it hard to believe what she’d seen even though it’d been right in front of her face.
“We’re lucky to still be alive after such a close encounter. Not many men survive to tell the tale, but those that do… they’re something to be feared. Rumor has it that the fire giant king as taken on several of them.”
“You wouldn’t be able to take it on in a fight?” She worried her bottom lip wondering how much danger they’d been in back there.
“I would’ve battled it if I had to, but there is no guarantee who the winner would be. Those cats can be willy and extremely dangerous.”
“Why didn’t it attack?”
He shrugged as he leaned back against a nearby tree trunk and kicked his legs out towards her fire. “It either figured we would be too much effort or it had recently eaten and didn’t need the risk of getting injured in a battle.”
Adorra shivered. “How terrifying. I couldn’t imagine growing up around such a threat.”
“Dryden loved teasing your sister about being eaten by a mountain cat. Maybe he was less teasing and more warning her. Not that she really listened to him.”
Her ears perked up at the mention of her sister. “Dryden?”
“The ice giant who fell in love with your sister and the father of her unborn child.”
Adorra resisted the urge to snort in delirium. “I’ll be the judge of that.” Because she doubted an ice giant could come to love a human or vice versa.
“Judge all you want, but nothing will stop those two lovebirds. I tried talking reason into him several times, and he never listened to me.” Mathar shook his head as he folded his arms in front of his chest.
“If my sister thinks she’s in love, I will be sure to set her straight.”
Mathar just stared at her like she was daft.
“What?” Adorra felt her hackles rise at his silent staring.
“Can’t you be happy for your sister?”
“Of course I can! I just don’t believe any of this is her choice!”
“Well,” he took a bite of dried meat, “you’ll be able to find out for yourself tomorrow when we arrive at the castle.”
“Tomorrow?” Adorra whispered.
He nodded.
Her heart thundered in her chest. She was about to see her sister! She couldn’t help her excitement. Finally, something was going right in her life! Soon, she would be able to see her sister and bring Jasmine back to safety. There was nothing she wouldn’t do for her sister, and she was going to rescue them both.
The sunset fully casting them in darkness except for the flickering light of the flames that danced gleefully before them.
“I think I’ll get some rest.” Adorra hedged.
“Feel free to use the tent.” His eyes never left the flames dancing joyfully in front of them.
Rising, Adorra headed over to the tent. She paused at the entrance and cast a look back over at him, but he was still sitting in front of the fire. Perhaps he didn’t intend to join her any time soon, but she wanted to fall asleep so tomorrow would come quicker, so she wasn’t about to wait up for him.
Adorra pushed her way into the tent and quickly laid down on the furs covering the ground and wrapped herself up tightly in her own furs.
She waited, but still, there was no sign of Mathar. Maybe he didn’t plan on sleeping in the tent after how she’d reacted the last time they spent a night in the tent. She was sorry for screaming like an idiot, not because she’d been scared, but because it was the only way she could punish him.
Eventually, sleep overtook her with the promise of the next day, and she eagerly allowed it to wash over her.
Adorra stirred in the middle of the night and turned over in her sleep as she kicked a leg restlessly. When her eyes cracked open to see if Mathar had joined her, she was surprised to find the spot next to her in the tent empty. It looked like Mathar had decided to sleep outside the tent.
She rolled over onto her back as her nerves shot back to the forefront. She was going to see her sister tomorrow, and she had no idea what she should expect. Her sister had to be traumatized out of her mind. Adorra just hoped it wasn’t too late for her to help her sister.
She heard the crunch of snow outside the tent as someone walked around.
It had to be Mathar.
Then an image of the mountain cat flooded back into her mind. No. She shoved it away. Mathar wouldn’t let that animal near her. If he wasn’t in the tent, then he was nearby outside.
The tent entrance moved, and she held her breath as her eyes searched the dark. Mathar shoved his way into the tent, a hand holding up the tent flap, the moonlight backlighting him and caused him to look like an intimidating shadow come to release her life from her body.
His frame was massive, and she was amazed he was even able to fit in the tent, and then something had her cocking her head to the side. There was something about his shadow. Something familiar.
Then there was the sword at his waist.
“You killed my husband,” Adorra whispered harshly as she stared at his shadow in shock and horror.
Mathar froze. Then he cussed, spun on his heel, and left the tent leaving darkness to surround her once more.
Adorra slowly sat up as her eyes remained glued to the front of the tent. He hadn’t denied it or asked what she was talking about. He’d only cussed and stormed off.
It could have been another giant. His massive size wasn’t limited to him. All giants were larger than a human, but he still hadn’t denied it. He’d cussed and left, which meant he might be the killer… or not.
It’d been a shot in the dark. A thought that had found the power to be uttered on her lips.
Disbelief washed through her. Had she really just been kidnapped by the same man who had killed Edmund?
She needed answers, and she needed them now.
Darting to her feet, she wrapped a fur around her body, knowing the cold air outside was going to be a shock. Bracing herself, she burst through the entrance of the tent and into the cold mountain air.
Ignoring the cold, she glanced around but didn’t find Mathar… or his horse. He’d left her!
“Damn you, you coward!” She screamed into the dark night hoping to hell he’d heard her.
Storming back inside the tent, she wrapped herself back up in as many furs as she could find.
There were so many questions flooding her mind, and he’d left her with absolutely no answers. Maybe he wasn’t the killer, but he might know about the murder.
“Ugh!” Adorra smacked a fist against her thigh.
She prayed he would return soon so she could finally get some answers. Now she was never going to get any more sleep.
Mathar pushed his stallion hard, driving his heels into his stallion’s sides. Clouds of hot breath puffed out of its nostrils as it sought to please its master. Then he pulled up on the reins. He cou
ldn’t run from this, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to face Adorra now that she knew something he’d been hoping to avoid. Now there was nothing he could do about the questions he was sure she would pelt him with during the rest of their travels.
Dryden should’ve picked someone else for this mission.
What he should have done was deny any involvement or feign innocence. But now it was too late for him to change his actions. She’d taken him off guard, and what was done was done. He’d have to figure out how he was going to proceed with Adorra.
He just worried about her breaking down and crying. He had killed her husband, at the request of her sister and Dryden.
Mathar shook his head.
He couldn’t say that. Jasmine and Dryden needed to explain their reasons for what they did. Besides, Mathar doubted Adorra would believe him if he told her that Jasmine had wanted Lord Gothar killed. Or that Lord Gothar had planned to kill Adorra on their wedding night. She had no reason to believe a word that left his mouth. He had no proof. Only Jasmine would be able to make her sister believe.
He would avoid Adorra until morning then.
He rode his horse closer to the camp, tied it up, and then patrolled the area around the camp. He’d be close enough in case she needed him but far enough away to avoid her.
Chapter 14
Adorra shoved the furs off of her, the moment the sun popped up over the horizon. She’d gotten a bit more sleep, but it’d been restless as memories flooded back to haunt her. All she could think about was the night Edmund had been murdered in front of her very eyes.
The snort of a horse sounded outside the tent and relief washed over her. Mathar had returned. At least he hadn’t abandoned her. She’d been a little worried he might leave her to die alone in the cold mountains now that she had a theory about him being the killer.
But it wasn’t like she could really tell anyone up here.
Rising to her feet, Adorra wrapped a fur around herself and walked to the entrance of the tent. She pressed a hand to the fur flap, opening it. Her eyes widened as she took in the scene before her. It must have snowed last night. The snow covering the ground would now reach to her mid-calf.
She saw Mathar standing near his horse but fairly far from her.
“Hello?”
He turned and eyed her.
“I was hoping you could bring the horse over here, so I don’t freeze my feet off. Unfortunately, my slippers and dress don’t provide much protection against snowfall.” He may know something or be a killer, but that still didn’t mean she could do anything with that knowledge. She was stuck here, and she still needed to find her sister.
Mathar grabbed the reins of his horse and headed her way, but he didn’t make eye contact with her. Instead, he looked just over her head. As he pulled up in front of the tent, he offered her a hand in silence.
She accepted it, and he quickly swung her up onto the horse. Then he started breaking down the tent, still no words.
Adorra sat there in silence, as she watched him work. She wasn’t entirely sure where to start, but she did have a lot of questions for him. The real question was whether or not he would answer any questions she asked him.
Once he was done, he tied the tent up to the back of the saddle and mounted up behind her. He kicked the horse into movement, but as they progressed through the forest the snow on the ground only increased, preventing them from moving any faster.
The silence weighed down on her as the questions continued to mount in her mind. She had to ask them, or they were going to drive her crazy.
“Were you there that night?” Adorra blurted out untactfully.
Silence.
“I always suspected a giant but the idea seemed so far-fetched, and then I saw you there, in the moonlight, looking just the same as the intruder who killed my husband.” She would never forget the image that shadow had presented on the night of Edmund’s death.
“Your sister will be able to answer your questions better than I.”
Adorra frowned. That wasn’t an answer she wanted. “Was it a giant?”
“Your sister will be able to answer your questions better than I.”
“You must know something!” She cried out. “You cussed when I mentioned the idea last night.”
“Your sister”
“Will be able to answer your questions better than I.” She cut him off as she grumped.
They fell back into silence. If he was going to be stubborn and make her wait until they got to the ice giant castle then so be it. She just hoped someone there would be able to answer her questions, and she prayed Mathar wasn’t the killer.
Her stomach rolled as she thought about Mathar being the killer. What if she was traveling with her husband’s killer at this very moment? What if she’d just slept with her husband’s killer? It disturbed her, but there was nothing she could do about her past actions.
Her stomach rolled, so she did her best to redirect her thoughts. Edmund was dead, but she still had the possibility of saving her sister.
Adorra couldn’t believe her eyes as they broke through the trees at the forest’s edge. A castle with an immense village surrounding it soared into view.
She wasn’t sure what she expected to see, but these were no barbarians like she’d been taught. Their buildings appeared to be just as sophisticated as the ones her people created. There was nothing primitive about the giants. The stories her people had started about the giants all appeared to be lies from where she was sitting.
“It’s stunning.” The castle and village stood out starkly against the backdrop of snow covered mountains.
“What had you expected?” Mathar asked shocking her. Here she’d been thinking he would never utter another word to her again since she accused him of being a killer.
“For you all to be living in fur tents with bones littering the ground.” She felt a bit silly saying it out loud.
Mathar snorted. “We aren’t a bunch of barbarians.”
She was coming to realize that now that she was getting such an up close and personal look at their life. “I just hadn’t expected it to look so normal.” She could easily see it being her home.
The horse carried them forward and into the waiting village. Besides the material, they used it looked like any human village. The castle and village were made from a dark stone that almost looked black.
As they traveled through the busy village, she watched ice giants as they went about their business. Everything looked so normal and peaceful. She could almost forget she was in an ice giant village.
Then the ice giants around them slowly noticed her presence and a lot of open stares were cast her way.
Her cheeks heated.
Great.
What a sight she must present. Here she was riding in front of Mathar in a soiled dress and in a serious need of a bath. She wasn’t representing her people very well. She should have changed into one of the dresses Mathar had offered her, but she’d been unwilling to soil one more of those fine dresses.
She wasn’t sure if it was just her or not, but more ice giants seemed to flood the streets as children ran around spreading the news of Mathar’s return.
Adorra scrunched up into her fur trying to make herself look less noticeable.
“They are only curious.” Mathar’s voice broke the silence.
“Easy for you to say. These are your people.” Adorra felt his chest heave as he sighed behind her. She wanted to say something more, but then they broke into the castle courtyard, and her head leaned back to take in the towering spires on the castle. Their castle had to be twice the size of the one Arcaern had.
Then a voice she never thought she’d ever hear again called out her name, “Adorra!”
She faced back to the castle entrance and saw Jasmine. Jasmine! There she was! Adorra’s mind froze for a second as she took in the sight of her sister.
Her sister’s skin was glowing with health and vitality. She looked unharmed physically, but that didn’t
mean there couldn’t be emotional harm lurking deep under her skin.
Tears flooded her eyes. She couldn’t help herself. Here was her sister, alive and well. She was more thankful than any words could describe. Her throat closed up with the overwhelming relief that flooded her.
“Help me down.” Adorra rushed before her emotions completely cut off her ability to speak.
Mathar’s hands wrapped around her waist and lowered her to the ground over the side of his horse. The moment her slippered feet touched the ground she tore off over the cobbled courtyard, meeting Jasmine halfway and hugging her younger sister.
Then she pulled back slightly as she gazed down at her sister’s stomach in shock. “You really are pregnant.”
“I am.” Jasmine beamed her eyes lighting up with joy. “But we’ll talk all about that later.” Jasmine’s arms hugged her tight. “Mmph, it’s so good to see you again.”
Adorra did her best to shove down her shock that her sister was actually pregnant. She’d been hoping Mathar had been lying.
“I’m so glad to see you’re okay.” She pulled back again to study Jasmine.
Jasmine radiated as a smile grew across her lips. “I’m so happy to see you once again, Adorra. I’ve missed you more than you’d ever know.”
“I think I might have some idea.” Adorra smiled fondly at her sister. “I’ve missed you just as much.”
Then she glanced over Jasmine’s shoulder to spot a fierce looking ice giant standing not too far away. Quickly, she reached out to grab Jasmine’s hand and pull her away, but Jasmine slipped out of her grasp like a slippery fish. With a few quick steps, Jasmine went to stand beside the ice giant who’d been watching them.
“This is Dryden!” Jasmine announced cheerfully like they weren’t in an ice giant courtyard. “He is the king of the ice giants,” Adorra eyed him, “and he is to be my husband!”
All she could do was stare at her sister as her eyes bugged out of her head. She wasn’t sure what she should say, and everyone was staring at her, waiting for a response.