by Lily Thomas
“Ready?” Mathar rode up beside him, interrupting his thoughts.
Dryden looked up. “Jasmine is being guarded?” he asked.
“The human? Yes, she is being guarded. You won’t have to worry about her going anywhere while we are gone.”
“Then I am ready.” Dryden mounted his horse in one smooth movement and guided his horse toward the edge of the encampment. “I still can’t understand why Stryme would enter the human territory.”
Mathar shrugged and pursed his lips. “We might never have the answers to that question.”
“You’d think the war with the rock giants would be reason enough for Stryme to be careful about his movements.”
“Perhaps Stryme is losing his mind?”
Dryden scoffed. “I seriously doubt it. That man will always be as sharp as a mountain cat’s eyesight. Whatever it is, it has to be something important.”
Dryden and Mathar joined the rest of the scouting party outside the circle of tents, and Dryden turned to take one last glance over his shoulder at his tent with the guard standing in front. At least the human female would be safe while he was gone. Being in a camp full of strange giants was bound to wear on her, but there wasn't much he could do about it.
Once they returned to his castle, then even more giants would surround her. This human female would just have to get used to the idea and get over her fear of giants.
Dryden shook his head. The rock and fire giants were the ones to be fearful of. The ice giants just wanted to stay hidden in their mountain homes. If the ice giants weren’t disturbed, then they wouldn’t bother anyone else.
Dryden turned away and kicked his horse into a gallop, and his warriors followed after him. They pushed their horses hard as they made their way through the snowy mountains and valleys. Dryden found himself relaxing during their ride, despite all of the worries pressing down on him. He loved the thrill of riding at full speed through the snowy terrain, dodging branches and fallen logs, the latter which were now hidden by the continually shifting snow cover.
He could see his men felt the same, as they pushed their horses just as hard. He even caught a smile or two from a couple of his warriors.
The thrill of dodging branches wasn't the only reason they were pushing their horses so hard. He wanted to get to the border before night fell. If dark fell before they got to the border, they might not see what was going on. If they were lucky, they would see the fire giant king return back to his lands without any angry humans trailing after him. Then Dryden could be assured that the humans hadn't seen giants traipsing through their land, and everything would be fine for his people.
The borders were close, and he couldn’t be sure that the humans wouldn’t confuse the fire giants and the ice giants.
Within an hour, they made it to a mountaintop with the best view of the intersection of all three territories. These borders were far from any human village, so it was possible no humans had seen the fire giant king, but Dryden still wanted to double-check.
Dryden wanted reassurance that Stryme hadn't been caught sneaking through the human territory. He also wanted to know what was so important that the fire king would risk traveling there in the first place.
“Set up camp, but don’t light any fires. I don’t want anyone knowing we are up here,” Dryden ordered as he dismounted, his feet going straight through the thick layer of snow on the ground.
The snow in the mountains never ended. There were rumors it was the curse of the ice giants. Wherever they lived, the snow would constantly flutter down on them. Dryden glanced down at where they hoped to see Stryme ride. There was nothing down there but green grass and beautiful trees. But Dryden knew the snow was a blessing, not a curse. No one ventured up here unless they had to.
Mathar came up and grabbed Dryden’s reins. “I’ll take your horse.”
“Thank you.” Dryden turned to help the men set up. No one knew when Stryme might come back.
They set up a small encampment, rubbed down their horses, and settled in to wait.
“How long should we wait?” Haerst, one of Dryden’s lieutenants, asked.
“We’ll wait until nightfall, and then we will head back to the main camp. Once night falls, we won’t see anything.”
Haerst nodded.
“Find a few men to head out with you to get a couple of different angles for viewing the border. I don’t want to miss anything.”
Haerst nodded and hurried off to do as he was bid.
Dryden didn't want them to miss the return of the fire giant king, assuming the fire giant king returned tonight. They were all merely guessing about when Stryme would come back.
Thankfully, Dryden’s rush to get to the border quickly paid off. Only a couple hours later, one of his men pointed off into the distance. “I can see a troop of fire giants coming out of the human territory.”
Dryden rushed over to the man, and his eyes followed where the man’s finger was pointing.
There was the fire giant king, riding boldly out from the human territory and returning to his lands. Dryden started to breathe a sigh of relief, only to catch sight of something so extraordinary that he immediately choked on the breath he had just sucked in.
Was that a human female sitting in front of Stryme?
He turned to one of his scouts. “Was she with the fire giant king, when he went into the human territory?”
The scout shook his head, as he also watched on in disbelief. “Not that we saw.”
Mathar came up beside them. “We can now assume why he went into the human territory. Has he gone mad?”
Dryden shook his head, speechless. Both kings had human females in their care, but unlike Stryme, he hadn’t gone out of his way to take his human from her land!
What was she to Stryme? Who was she, and did it really matter to Dryden.
He begged any deity listening to make sure the human Stryme had taken was of little importance among them. They didn't need the humans going on an expedition to find her.
Dryden's eyes widened.
“Did he just brush a strand of hair away from her face?” Mathar sounded disgusted.
They stared on in bewilderment as she turned to stare up at Stryme, and the gentle tilt of her head and her clear ease with sitting wrapped in his arms spoke depths about her feelings for the fire giant king.
At that moment, Dryden realized they knew each other intimately. They had a love he could feel from where he stood. This wasn't some random act of taking a human. Stryme was bringing her back to his castle to stay.
Dryden couldn't stop from choking again as the breath in his chest lodged itself in his throat.
He was happy the fire king had found love but did it have to be a human female? He paused. Perhaps he was too quick to judge Stryme. There was a spark of… something in Dryden when he thought of Jasmine, who was currently waiting for him back in his tent.
Was it love, or just a strange fascination?
He scoffed. There was no way it was love. Besides, there was no use falling for a human female; she would never feel the same for him. There was too much conflict in the way for them to be happy together.
Not to mention, his people would probably think he had gone crazy. Bringing her to live with them was one thing, but bringing her among them as someone he loved would be viewed as ridiculous.
“Seems like two out of the three giant kings have found themselves a human female,” Mathar commented from behind Dryden.
Dryden turned sharply to glare at Mathar. “My human female was forced upon me, unlike the fire king, who went in search of his.”
The warrior standing between them fidgeted uncomfortably for a moment before stepping away to pretend to care for one of the already content horses.
Mathar shook his head, as though he knew something Dryden didn’t. “Nothing forced you to save that female. You chose to bring her back, just as Stryme chose to bring back his human.”
Dryden couldn't believe it. “Are you saying I should have left her to die
in the cold? She may be human, but she is still a female and on my land. I couldn’t very well let her die without her life haunting me.”
Mathar shrugged his shoulders and glanced down at the party of fire giants. “I am not questioning your decision, just making some observations.”
“Keep them to yourself then,” Dryden barked back at Mathar, earning a few glances from several of the men nearby. In a quieter voice, he said, “You can tell yourself you wouldn't have done the same thing, but I know you would have. Under all that hard armor, you have a soft heart.”
Mathar smirked at him and walked away. “We both know I don’t have a heart.”
One day Dryden hoped Mathar would find himself a female, perhaps a human one at that so that Dryden could tease him right back.
Dryden turned to face his men. “Let’s saddle up and get back to camp. Stryme seems to have made it back to his land without attracting too much attention, at least.”
His men were ready within minutes, eager to return to camp. He allowed his men to go at a slower pace since night was settling over the mountains. The snow fell thickly, making travel more treacherous.
Dryden didn't need any accidents happening on his watch. He, after all, had something waiting back at camp for him.
He found himself anticipating his return to camp, or more precisely, returning to his tent and Jasmine.
It surprised him how much she was on his mind. In just a short time, she had wormed her way into his thoughts. He remembered the way she’d felt in his arms while they had been riding on his horse.
Dryden smiled. Now she was waiting for him in his tent. His cock grew hard as he thought of sleeping next to her that upcoming night. Despite his reservations about getting too close to her, he knew he wouldn’t be able to stay away. Dryden’s thoughts drifted as he recalled his brief view of her naked form for a few seconds earlier that day. He wanted nothing more than to caress and nuzzle those pert, beautiful breasts of hers.
Then he calmed, as he realized he was having erotic thoughts about a human female. She shouldn’t be eliciting that sort of reaction from him.
A low grumble formed in his chest, and he did his best to put his anticipation to the back of his mind. He needed to just focus on his plans for the next few days. But thoughts of planning ultimately led him back to thoughts about what he planned to do with Jasmine.
Night fell, dropping the temperature and light. Jasmine could barely see anything inside the tent. She wasn’t about to walk outside of the tent, though. Being out of sight meant she would be out of mind, and that was for the best.
The fur bed kept looking more and more appealing as the temperature plummeted. Despite the chill, she wasn’t quite ready to slip into those furs.
What if Dryden had slept there, and the furs smelled like him? And would happen if he returned, saw her under the furs, and joined her? Jasmine wanted to be awake, if and when he came into the tent.
Fear overtook her, as she stared down at the furs. She felt like they were threatening her with their promise of seduction and temptation. She would rather stay out of them and freeze. If she went under them and fell asleep, she was sure she would wake to find Dryden beside her.
She might not hate giants, but it wasn’t like she would want to sleep next to one while she was naked. There was a proper way for a lady to behave. Even if Dryden had been a human man, she still wouldn’t want to sleep beside him in the nude.
Such behavior seemed like a sexual invitation. Of course, that assumed he was even interested in that way. He might think it below him to sleep with a human woman.
Weirdly, she felt slightly insulted by the thought of him rejecting her. She may not be a giant woman, but she was pretty.
After waiting, and waiting, her tiredness and the cold began to wear on her. The pallet of furs looked more and more appealing. The fur that was wrapped around her was having a hard time maintaining her heat.
She might have no choice but to go under the covers. All those furs would keep her warm, after all.
It was so cold and dark in Jasmine’s dream. Running water was the only sound that filled her ears, as the memory of falling into the river drifted into her dreams. Jasmine shivered as the icy water in her dream filled her lungs.
She was unable to swim to the surface and unable to get any air. There was no way for her to survive. Panic rushed through her as she struggled against the overwhelming dreams.
Suddenly, the water pulled back, and a warmth began to surround her, heating her all the way to her core, even to her toes. Resistance wasn't an option. Her body automatically turned to the warmth and relaxed into it.
It was so nice. Dimly, Jasmine noticed something wrap around her waist. Something familiar. Although she was unable to name it, she was glad it had driven the terrifying nightmares away from her mind.
Something hard and long pressed into her back, and she felt it grow in length and size. At first, she was confused, but as the warm thing around her waist moved higher and brushed against her chest, her sleeping brain finally figured out what she was snuggling up against.
The ice giant had returned to the tent.
Jasmine bolted upright in the furs, clutching them to her chest as she scooted away from him. Her wide eyes darted around the tent. A lantern glowed dimly in one corner, illuminating the tent with a soft light.
Her eyes skimmed over the ice giant, who lay calmly atop the furs. He seemed to be more than comfortable with the idea that he had been cozying up to her so intimately. Jasmine's hazel eyes skimmed from his well-cut jawline, down to his well-muscled chest, then lower to a view of his defined stomach, and then even lower to his...
This was where Jasmine blushed a deep red and turned away sharply in embarrassment. She had seen a few naked men from afar, but he... he was one of the most endowed she had glimpsed. Or it was because she was getting such an up close and personal view of his member.
Jasmine scrambled further away from the ice giant, but his hand shot out and caught one of her wrists before she could get anywhere.
Staring down at the offending hand, Jasmine demanded, “Let go of me! This is improper!” A tremble had entered her voice, so she coughed and deepened it. “Let go of my wrist!” she ordered forcefully.
He might be a giant who could outfight her, but she had her dignity to defend.
Infuriatingly, the giant only smirked at her through the darkness. He seemed pleased he was bothering her so much. It made her want to wipe that smile right off his face.
Jasmine gave a small tug on her arm, but his grip on her wrist only tightened. Fighting him over control of her wrist would just end up being a lost cause.
A blush crept up her neck and face as she imagined all the horrible things he might be planning to do with her.
Another glance down at his shaft confirmed he was positively thinking some impure thoughts.
She’d been at court enough times to hear stories from other women since women at court loved to talk about sex and men. There seemed to be a consensus that a well-endowed man was better, but she’d also overheard maids discussing how the first lover was more than a little painful. She could just imagine what the first time with a giant lover would be like.
She gulped, as another gush of fear pierced through her, sending her heart racing. He wasn't hurting her. His grip was only firm around her wrist.
“I demand you let me go and find another tent to sleep in,” Jasmine said in a clear and, what she hoped, was a confident tone.
For one second, she thought he might not respond, but then he burst out into a peal of laughter.
“I fail to see the humor in any of this,” she stated, suspicious that he was laughing at her. She didn’t enjoy the feeling.
“Unless you would like to sleep with another one of my warriors, I’m afraid you’re stuck here with me.”
It was tempting to take the offer just to see his reaction, but she didn’t want to push his buttons by rejecting him.
“Please. Whe
re I come from only a husband and wife may lay together so intimately, and we are neither.”
“I am certain there are some among your people who have ignored the necessity of marriage to lie beside each other.” As Jasmine opened her mouth to argue, he interrupted her. “Not that it matters. You are now among my people. Therefore, you will be living like the rest of us, and among my people, it is fine to sleep together without being married.”
Jasmine glared down at him. She could tell that no matter what she said he would be set on the decision of them sleeping beside each other tonight. Would he go farther than just sleeping? She had no idea, and she wasn’t sure she could trust him to keep his hands to himself.
“Perhaps I can sleep out under the stars. With enough blankets, I’m sure I will be fine.”
“I highly doubt that. In the morning, I would have a human icicle on my hands. Not to mention not long ago you had a dunk in the river. You should be kept warm, not out in the cold night air.” He explained. His dark eyes watched her, taking in her every breath and muscle twitch.
“Why are you so set upon me sleeping beside you? I’m a human. Let me kill myself with stupidity. There’s no reason for you to want to keep me alive.”
“Maybe I just want to have a human plaything or pet. We ice giants don’t get much contact with humans. This could be my chance to learn more about your people.”
Jasmine bristled. She was not a toy, and she wouldn’t let herself be a toy to anyone. Keir may have traded her to this ice giant, or maybe Dryden had merely rescued her from the snow, but either way, she didn’t belong to him.
“I will not be sleeping with you. I just want to make it clear now that I may not mean anything to you, but I demand respect.”
He shrugged his broad shoulders as he let go of her wrist. She promptly yanked back her arm and stood, clutching a fur around her naked body.
“I would just be careful about the mountain cats. If the cold doesn't get you, they surely will. Their teeth will have no trouble cracking your bones in half.”
Jasmine’s mouth opened and closed as she just stared down at him in shock.