Page 54 of The Sunbound Princess
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 asickening 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.”
