Behind you. Now.
I spin, catching Bryn around the waist as she leaps toward me. The giant's fist crashes into the ground where she stood. Using her momentum, I swing her in a wide arc, her blade carving a deep groove in the creature's throat as she passes.
The bond between us hums with need. Each move flows into the next, centuries of combat experience merging with Valkyrie training. We're no longer two warriors—we're a single weapon aimed at the giant's heart.
Left shoulder. Impact. Bryn.
The vision hits too late. The giant's backhand catches Bryn mid-leap, sending her crashing through the treeline. The sound of splintering wood and her choked cry tears through my chest like a blade.
"BRYN!"
The giant's laugh rumbles like an avalanche. Ice crystals form in the air around its remaining eye, spreading outward in deadly spikes. One grazes my shoulder—pain explodes, flesh instantly blackening with frost.
Above. Behind. Strike.
I blur through the forest, following the trail of broken trees. Bryn lies crumpled against an extensive pine, blood staining the snow beneath her. Her shield arm hangs at an unnatural angle, skin already turning blue where the giant's touch burned her.
The ground trembles. I grab her just as a massive foot crashes down, pulverizing the spot where she lay. Her breath hitches with pain as I cradle her against my chest, dodging another swipe of those lethal hands.
"Put me down," she growls through gritted teeth, though her good hand clutches my jacket. "I can still fight."
Duck. Roll. Three seconds.
I dive behind a boulder as ice spears shred the air where we stood. "Like hell." The words come out as a snarl. "Your arm—"
"Is just an arm." She pushes away from me, swaying but upright. Blood trickles from her hairline, but her eyes burn with Valkyrie fire. "I've killed these bastards with worse."
The giant's roar drowns out my protest. It charges through the trees, each step leaving craters of black ice in the snow. Bryn's blade flashes in her good hand, a familiar gleam of battle-lust in her eyes.
Left knee. Opening. Now.
"Goddamnit, Bryn," I growl, positioning myself at her back. Her response is a war cry that would make the gods themselves tremble.
Above. Shatter. Jump.
Ice rains as the giant brings both fists down, splitting the earth where we stand. Bryn rolls left, I blur right—perfect synchronization even with her injuries. Her blade finds the creature's ankle, black blood spurting as she severs a tendon.
The giant stumbles, its howl of pain echoing off distant peaks. But its hand sweeps low, catching Bryn before she can dodge. Ice spreads up her leg where its fingers graze her.
Three seconds. Choice. Death.
The vision hits like a blade to the gut—Bryn, frozen solid, shattering against the forest floor.
Not happening.
Not while I breathe.
I launch at the giant's face, Grave Warden singing through the air. The blade connects with its remaining eye as its grip tightens on Bryn. The creature rears back, releasing her as it claws at its ruined face.
Bryn hits the ground hard, her cry of pain cutting through me like physical wounds. Ice creeps up her thigh, turning her skin a deadly shade of blue.
Behind. Above. Strike.
The giant's blind fury sends trees crashing around us. I blur to Bryn's side, scooping her up as a gigantic pine splinters where we were seconds ago. Her skin burns with cold against mine, her breath coming in short, sharp gasps.
"The neck," she grits, fingers digging into my shoulder. "While it's blind. I'll be your distraction."
"Fuck no—"
