Nina slapped him on the back with a chuckle.“There’s my favorite fucking male witch who’s not a warlock.Still don’t get that shit, but I’m glad you’re here.”Then she turned to everyone, her eyes narrowed, battle mode unlocked.“Now, let’s make a fucking plan, good people.We have a grandfather to save and some giants who need to know who the fuck’s in charge.”
Dom closed her eyes and took another deep breath before she squared her shoulders with resolve.“Okay.Let’s do this thing.”
* * *
“Where the fuck are we?”Nina griped, looking around at the rocky terrain with suspicious eyes, pushing Dom behind her.
“Where the giants roam,” MC said, his tone dark.
Dom swallowed hard.“They live here?Like this?”
If Asgard was serenely beautiful in color and vistas of ocean, this place was desolate and depressing.She’d want to suck the energy out of every planet if she had to live like this, too.
Tall, craggy rocks surrounded them, sitting on a dusty surface of red dirt.The horizon, painted with purple and dark gray streaks, screamed bleak.
And it was hot.So dang hot—humid—as though the heat actually crawled over your skin in a swarm.Who wanted to live with this kind of heat?Maybe the giants were just angry it was so ugly hot, and they were lashing out in frustration.
Though, seriously, who could blame them?
Add in the dystopian, apocalyptic setting and it was ripe for a dismal outlook on their existence.
Dragging a hair tie from her back pocket, Dom hauled her locks up over her head and put them in a high ponytail before wiping the sweat from her brow.If they were going to whip some giant ass, she wanted to be able to see clearly.
Looking at the group, their eyes all scanning the stark landscape, Dom asked, “This is where Heimdall said they were?We’re sure?”
Harvey nodded, his jaw tight.“I’m sure.There are caves all along this terrain.Caves they dwell in.Stavros has to be in one of them.”
Yet, she was worried she wouldn’t be able to defend her grandfather.“So we’re sure they haven’t been able to obtain the kind of magic it would take to get MC away from me?”
“We’re not sure of anything, Dom,” Harvey reminded.“But Heimdall and the gods believe if they had it, they wouldn’t have bothered to take Stavros.They simply would have taken MC from you.”
“And we don’t want that.I refuse to live with the lot of oversized swine in this hellscape they call home.You will hang on to me for dear life, and I’ll do my very best to obliterate them all in a fiery ball of light and electricity.”
Dom almost laughed.Almost.She couldn’t imagine cultured, refined MC living here in this disaster of rocks and debris, but she’d begun to realize she also didn’t think she could live without him in her life.
Holding him up, she gazed at him with her best look of confidence.“I promise with everything I have, I’ll fight to keep you from the oversized swine.”
Nina, Wanda and Marty all lifted their noses to the arid breeze whipping through the craggy rocks, then Nina frowned.“I can’t smell him.You guys?”She looked to the other two women for confirmation, but they shook their heads.
Robbie held up a finger, her forehead glossy from the heat.“But I can smell magic.It’s not like anything I’ve ever smelled before, but I smell it.”
Greer nodded, his lips a grim line, taking Robbie by the hand.“Same.Let’s walk.Stay together and as close as possible.Nobody veers off anywhere.”
Two of the men Dom had trained with this last week fell in line and, according to Heimdall, more were on their way.She hoped whatevermoremeant, it was a lot.
They all lined up, following Greer and Harvey in the lead.Harvey had his sword drawn, ready to engage, his strong hand gripping the handle.
This felt a lot like walking on eggshells with every dusty step they took.
When they rounded the corner of a cluster of rocks, everything became quite dark, the sky feeling as though it had fallen in on them.The stars were suddenly so close to her face, she wanted to reach out and attempt to touch one.
Nina had her by the hand, keeping her tucked close to her side while Marty and Wanda both held on to each other.
Then the air shifted and, without warning, she heard her grandfather cry out, “Shish kabob!Where are you?I can’t see!It’s cold here.Please, please come get me!”
The wobble of his voice, the fear, the fragility of it, made Dom’s knees buckle as panic set in.She lifted MC high in the air—but Greer grabbed her by the arm.
“Don’t respond, Dom,” he hissed.“Don’t.That’s not your grandfather.They’re toying with you.”
