Olwen swore and glanced away, his body heaving with each labored breath. He released her all at once, and Dahlia dropped to her feet, pain shooting up her shins at the impact. She sagged against the stone, gasping for breath. The massive giant slammed his hands against the wall.
“Qovyou!” he bellowed.
Their door snapped open, and Cosmos came barreling out, a hooded cloak obscuring his face. She caught a glimpse of his auburn curls falling in his eyes and a kitchen knife inhis trembling hand. Lia blurred into motion, putting herself between her brother and the giant.
“Go back inside,” she said, pressing one hand against Cosmos’ chest and holding the other out toward Olwen, who’d taken one step toward them. Was Loshika inside? “And lock the door.”
“No!” her brother yelled, pressing harder against her hand. “I won’t.”
Dahlia never took her eyes off the giant, who was assessing them with glowing eyes. She took a step backward, forcing her brother closer to relative safety. “You must. For me.”
“But he?—”
“Is a friend. We’re only having a heated disagreement. Aren’t we?”
The giant’s gaze bounced between Dahlia and Cosmos, perhaps seeing too much. She gritted her teeth, desperation filling her. Cosmos needed to get out of here now before Olwen discovered the truth.
Lia turned her back to the giant and shoved her brother with all her might. Cosmos slipped on the ice, careening backward. A familiar blue hand popped out from behind the door and yanked her brother inside. The door slammed shut, and the bolt slid in place.
Thank you, Lo.
Muffled shouting reached her ears.
The giantess had promised Dahlia she’d take care of her brother. Even if it meant protecting Cosmos over Lia. She wasn’t sure if the giantess would keep her promise, but she had. For a moment, Lia laid her palm against the smooth wooden door.
I love you both.
With quiet resolve, she faced her executioner.
Olwen hadn’t moved from his spot, his large body already taking up too much space in the alleyway. There wasn’t a wayaround him or through him. Instead, Lia leaned into the cold place that had formed in her heart. She stepped away from the door and approached the giant.
Lia knelt before him, the snow and ice chilling her knees.
“I have made terrible mistakes. Please don’t punish the innocents that took me in. I am the one you want. Please spare them.”
A sense of peace crept through her as Olwen pulled his sword from the sheath at his hip. She bowed her head, staring at the icy cobbles. She would not close her eyes and miss the last seconds of her life.
The cool kiss of steel touched the tender skin underneath her chin. He lifted until her neck was craned back. Olwen stared down at her like a pagan god of war.
“You have many crimes to pay for,” he growled. The sword bit into her skin, and she held very still as a drop of blood rolled down her neck. Olwen yanked the sword back, her neck burning immediately. She slapped a hand against the cut, shocked when he slammed his sword back into the sheath. Olwen grabbed her by the cloak and yanked Lia to her feet with a little shake.
He leaned down into her face. “You’ve been hiding much,Reilleve.” His gaze darted over her shoulder toward her home and back to her face. “You hold too much information to kill, and yet, you’d be too much of a distraction for Neve right now.”
Her breath caught at his name. “Is he alright?” she asked without thought.
“No thanks to you,” Olwen snapped. “You do not get to ask questions. This is what will happen. I will give you one week to come forward on your own. The city is surrounded, so there will be no escape for you.” His gaze slid once again to the door behind her. “That will give you enough time to do what it is you need to do.”
She blinked up at him in doubt. It was too good to be true. “Why?”
His attention moved back to her face, once again seeing too much. “Because my king comes first. I need him focused on the battle ahead. Not on ripping the secrets from your soul and the flesh from your bones.”
Dahlia blanched at the image he painted.
He grinned, but it wasn’t nice. “I don’t do this for you. I live for my king.” Olwen released her cloak, and she stumbled as he backed away. “If you try to run, I will sic Flyka on those who have been sheltering you.”
“Even if they are innocent?” she rasped, some blood seeping through her fingers.
“If they are friends to humans, then they are never innocent.” He turned at the end of the alleyway and called over his shoulder, “One week,Reilleve.”
