Page 24

Chapter

Thirteen

EZABELL

T he arrow thunked into the tree behind Nikolas. A second later, a towering man in black burst from the forest in front of us.

“Fuck,” Nikolas muttered.

“Stay down,” Dain told me, springing to his feet.

Nikolas followed, the dagger clutched in his fist. The newcomer roared as he pounded toward them. He moved with unnatural speed for a man his size—and he was enormous , taller than Dain and twice as broad. A jagged scar bisected his face from forehead to jaw.

I pressed my body against the forest floor, my heart hammering against my ribs. My fingers itched for my magic, but of course it didn’t come.

The scarred giant pulled a battle axe from his belt and swung it in a deadly arc, forcing Dain to leap backward to avoid being sliced across the midsection.

Dain flanked the giant’s right, circling just out of reach as he searched for an opening.

But he had no weapons, and the giant was a walking armory.

Knives and daggers bristled from his belt.

More stuck out from holsters lining the leather straps that crisscrossed his chest. His eyes glinted with an eerie amber light.

He laughed, the sound so deep it vibrated the ground beneath me. “Viraxes sends his regards.”

“I’m flattered,” Nikolas said, dagger at the ready, “but I don’t recall asking for them.”

The giant sneered, the gesture twisting his scarred lip into a gruesome angle. “You should have thought of that before you stole from him.” Amber eyes flicked to me. “Although, it appears you’ve stolen something far more valuable since.”

Fear prickled down my spine, along with confusion. Who was Viraxes?

Nikolas lunged forward suddenly, ducking under the giant’s axe and slashing at the man’s thigh with the dagger.

The giant bellowed and brought his axe down in a vicious overhead strike.

Nikolas danced away just in time, the weapon embedding itself in the ground where he’d been standing.

Dirt flew, and the giant growled as he wrenched the blade free from the soil.

Before he could straighten, Dain darted in from the side. But the giant spun in a blur of speed and backhanded Dain across the face, sending him flying. He crashed to the ground, grunting as he landed on his hip and shoulder.

“Dain!” I cried, rushing forward.

“Stay back, Ezabell!” Nikolas shouted, rushing forward again. His dagger flashed as he jabbed at the giant’s flank. Once again, the man spun with shocking speed, his axe flying in a horizontal sweep. Nikolas dropped flat to the ground, and the weapon whistled over his head.

“You’re quick, little thief,” the giant rumbled, amber eyes glowing. “But not quick enough.” He reached down, seized Nikolas by the throat, and hauled him off the ground. Nikolas brought the dagger up, but the giant knocked it away. It thumped to the ground, the blade glinting in the sun.

Nikolas coughed, his feet dangling, as he clawed at the man’s fingers. “Fuck…you.”

I stood frozen, my heart trying to pound from my chest. The man was no ordinary human.

He was too fast, his eyes too unnatural.

He was elfkin, maybe. Or perhaps something more.

My dormant magic remained locked under my skin, my power inaccessible.

Across the clearing, Dain struggled to his feet, blood trickling from a cut on his lip.

The giant grinned. “The sorcerer will be pleased with the woman. He’ll pay double when I deliver such beauty to his feet.”

Nikolas’s face turned red. He kicked and struggled, speaking through clenched teeth. “You’ll die first.”

Moving slowly, I reached down and pulled my dagger from my boot. The giant remained fixed on Nikolas, his eyes sheened with an inhuman glow. Across the clearing, Dain inched toward the pair, his face a mask of cold concentration.

“I think not,” the giant said, his grin spreading.

“It’s you and your companion who are slated to die, Taniakes.

” He hefted Nikolas higher, lifting him to eye level.

“Viraxes makes an example of those foolish enough to steal from him. Your heads will decorate the Obsidian Tower as a warning to others.”

The giant was going to kill Nikolas. And then he’d kill Dain. I had to act.

Stepping forward, I raised my dagger. “Let him go!”

The giant snapped his gaze to mine, the quickness of it letting me know he’d kept me in his sights the whole time. Menace glimmered in his eyes. But it was the interest that made my blood run cold.

“The pretty bauble has claws,” he said, amber eyes roving my body. “Perhaps Viraxes will let me sample you before I hand you over.” His scar twisted as his grin broadened. “I like it when baubles fight.”

Nikolas’s eyes bulged, his kicks growing clumsier.

Disgust and fear shivered through me, but I took another step forward, my fingers tight around the dagger’s hilt. “I said, let him go.”

The giant’s laughter rolled between us like thunder. “Or what, sweetling? You’ll prick me with that twig?”

Dain crept behind him, his footsteps soundless on the grass.

Without warning, the giant flung Nikolas away, spun, and swung his axe at Dain. The blade missed his head by less than an inch, ruffling his hair.

I rushed forward, my dagger aimed at the giant’s back. He pivoted in another alarming burst of speed, caught my wrist, and twisted. Pain shot up my arm, but I kept my grip on my weapon.

“Pretty,” the giant rasped, using the tip of his axe blade to snag my scarf and rip it away. His amber eyes widened, and his voice went breathless. “Elf…”

A tree branch cracked against the side of his head. He roared, releasing my wrist as he staggered sideways. He caught himself and spun toward Dain, who hauled the branch back for another blow.

Dropping to one knee, I stabbed the dagger upward, aiming for the juncture of his thighs. The blade thrust to the hilt in his groin. Hot blood spilled over my hand. Drops splattered my face.

The giant howled, the high-pitched sound stinging my ears. He staggered backward, the dagger embedded between his legs.

With a savage growl, Dain looped an arm around the man’s neck and took him down.

Just before they hit the ground, Dain twisted so he landed on top.

He drove his knee into the dagger’s hilt, and the giant’s scream vibrated the air.

Birds burst from the tops of the trees. I clapped my hands over my ears, horror gripping me as blood soaked the giant’s crotch.

Dain sprang up, swiped the giant’s axe from the ground, and brought it down. The blade bit into the giant’s neck with a sickening crunch. His eyes went wide and then dimmed as death claimed him. He shuddered once and went still.

For a moment, no one moved. Dain and I stood over the giant’s body, our chests heaving. Blood spread around his hips. The dagger stuck up from his groin, the hilt shining in the sun. Somewhere, a bird trilled a cheerful song.

Nikolas staggered to his feet, one hand massaging his throat. “You got him in the sack,” he said hoarsely, a blend of admiration and horror in his voice.

I looked at my bloodied hand. I’d killed him. A human. His life was already so short, and I’d taken it. My stomach lurched. Bile burned my throat as I backed away from the body.

Dain dropped the axe and came to me, taking my shoulders. “Ezabell. Look at me.” He turned me away from the giant, his bulk and blue eyes filling my vision. “He would have killed Nikolas and me,” Dain said quietly. “And done worse to you.”

I swallowed, my stomach settling. “Who was he?”

Light flashed, and Helios appeared in the clearing. His eyes widened behind his spectacles as he stared down at the fallen giant. His jacket swirled and then reformed. “What happened?”

Nikolas went to the giant. Using the tip of his boot, he nudged the man’s shoulder as if checking to make sure he was really dead. “We were attacked.”

Helios gave Nikolas a longsuffering look. “You’re jesting.”

“Who was he?” I repeated, tugging from Dain’s grip. As the shock of the giant’s death faded, questions flooded my head. “He acted like he knew you.”

Dain and Nikolas exchanged a tight look. Something passed between them, and it set my teeth on edge. Anger bit at me, sharp and sudden.

“I want answers,” I said. “Now.”

Nikolas scrubbed a hand over his mouth. “A bounty hunter,” he said finally. “Infused with magical ability.”

Apprehension tingled over my skin. “He spoke of someone called Viraxes. He called him a sorcerer.”

Helios squeaked, his hair shooting higher. “Sorcerer?”

Nikolas looked at Dain.

“Don’t do that,” I snapped, my temper rising.

“Don’t scheme right in front of me. The bounty hunter said you stole from this Viraxes and that your heads would decorate a tower.

What have you been keeping from me? And keep in mind that I just stabbed a man in the testicles, so think very carefully before you lie to me. ”

Nikolas’s throat worked as he swallowed. This skin around his neck was mottled from the giant’s grip. His eyes were dark and serious, and his tone was resigned as he said, “Viraxes is the sorcerer who rules Solbarren. Not officially, of course, but he’s powerful.”

Helios scoffed. “A sorcerer in Andulum? Humans despise magic, and you expect us to believe they tolerate a sorcerer in their midst?”

“He hasn’t always called himself that,” Nikolas said.

“In the beginning, he claimed to be an alchemist. He turned base metals into coin for the Crown. Rumor has it he’s elfkin, but no one says it openly.

Once he filled the king’s coffers, Viraxes became untouchable. No one crosses him. Not even the king.”

“But you did,” I said. “The bounty hunter said you stole from him. What did you steal?”

Nikolas and Dain exchanged another look, and I nearly screamed.

“Tell me!” I demanded.

He sighed. “We got greedy.”