I always thought he was too dumb.
Good for him though. Maybe I’ll follow his lead, since it seems to be working. I’d been so close before she ran from me, which I can’t even believe. Why run from me and into that? Maybe she isn’t as smart as I gave her credit for, but I can’t stop myself from following them as they set out toward the Dread Sea. I’m curious where they are heading, but I stay in the shadows, slinking silently after them.
Watching, listening, and biding my time.
He’ll kill me if he realizes I’m on his land and following him, but I can’t resist the wild magic that pours from the human like a glimmer in the air. She intrigues me in a way nothing has in far too long. Not just because she survived this long and made a deal with a bull, but because she almost looks…happy to be here.
Strange little, golden creature.
The hours drag as we traipse over the land, but I can be patient, and it pays off when she excuses herself from her bull bodyguard and slips behind some trees to relieve herself. Smirking, I drop to the ground and slide through the trees, climbing one close to her destination. When I see her basically stop below me, I laugh and drop down to the ground.
She screams, but instead of running, she cocks back her arm and punches me square in the face. Pain blossoms across my nose in a way it hasn’t for so very long. I wasn’t expecting the fight, and I stumble back at her hit, shocked. I stare at her as my nose bleeds, and she stares back equally as shocked, as if she can’t quite believe she hurt me at all.
The roar that splits the air vibrates through the ground and into my feet.
The ground shakes as the trees wither in fear, and then Grimus is there. He pulls Goldie behind him, and with one meaty fist to my stomach, he sends me flying back into a tree. Pain blooms along my body, this time in my spine as it connects with the hard bark at my back. My slide down the tree would almost be comical if not for the pain. Groaning, I flip to my feet, just barely dodging his other attacks as he tries to kill me for daring to be here.
Laughing to enrage him further, I slip through his legs and guard, taunting him. He’s big and a good fighter, but I’m faster, and he soon tires as I chuckle at him. When he turns, snarling, I know I’ve pushed it too far, so I step back with my hands up.
“If you want to make it to the palace, you will need me,” I call out to him and her, knowing she’s the brain.
“Grim, wait!” she calls as he barrels toward me. Stilling before me, nostrils flaring, he waits as she hurries over, putting her back to him as she watches me with a narrowed glare.
“Good bull,” I taunt.
“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t let him eat you,” she demands, her arms crossed.
Feisty little thing, isn’t she? Prodding my nose, I find it’s not broken, but she drew blood, something no one has been able to do for centuries. Impressive. I will have to stop underestimating Goldie.
“Because I have a deal with the orcs in the pass, Goldie. The pass you need to get there. Without me, you’ll end up roasting over their fires.” I grin, leaning into a nearby tree like I have no care in the world, like there isn’t blood dripping from my nose.
Grimus freezes, watching me carefully. He knows the fey have a lot of deals all over the lands, and he’s weighing his decision. He was probably just going to storm in there and kill them, which wouldn’t go over well or be the smartest course of action. The orcs are necessary, if not absolute brutes.
“So let’s make a deal, Goldie.” I grin, winking at her.
“A deal?” she snaps.
“Yes, a deal. You made one with bull boy there, but he can only get you so far. Together, we can get you to the palace.”
She glances at Grimus, who’s glaring at me, and sighs. “What do you want?”
“The same as him of course—a taste of your magic.”
“Wait there. Do not move or I’ll hit you again,” she snaps and whirls to face Grimus, lowering her voice to talk to him. She doesn’t realize my hearing is excellent, clearly, but I pretend to give her privacy, even as Grimus watches me with thinly veiled hatred.
Is it because I’m taking his human from him, or because he genuinely just hates me? I don’t know, nor do I care.
“What do you think, big guy? Can we trust him?”
“If the fey gives you their word, they will keep it to the death. I don’t trust him, but I trust his promise,” Grimus mutters to her as I watch with a smug grin, knowing they have no choice.
Or so they think.
He’s right—us fey never make promises or deals because we are duty bound until death to complete them, but I’m willing to make such a deal to get close to her, even if I’m telling a lie…or a half-truth.
“And do we need him?” she asks.
He grinds his teeth as he glances down at her. “The orcs and I don’t exactly get on. It would be helpful to have a way through without fighting them all.”
