The Butcher and his Cleaver.
My mouth falls open, stunned, when I see Svanna cut a giant clear in half in the distance. She bangs her sword against her chest, roaring with blood spattered across her armor. This isn’t the woman who taught me how to hold a sword. Another Enduar catches my attention just as my hair stands on end.
There are human screams behind me. I turn around, spot three slaves, and charge. When I am face-to-face with a giant warrior, I feel nothing but courage. He grins down at me, hair matted with blood and tattooed chest heaving.
“Run!” I shout at the slaves, and they scramble.
“Yes! Scatter like the insects you are!” he roars.
There is something familiar about him as he laughs and reaches forward, his fingers trying to grasp my armor. The brilliant magical string within me flares, and my glowing skin burns his hold. The sound of sizzling skin and smell of charred flesh fill my senses.
Holding up the sword I’ve been training with for months, I adjust my stance. My gifted power makes me that much more formidable against him.
“The king’s little whore,” the giant spits at me.
I don’t wait for him to taunt me more. I thrust the sword toward his legs. A downed giant is much easier to stab.
He jumps back from the attack, laughing. “Now I see while Rholker kept a collar on you. The bitch can fight!” Then he swings his spear.
My eyes widen, and I just barely duck out of the way. The force of air coming with his spear causes me to tilt, and I fall on my side. I cry out.
He is bolstered by the sound, and I see the humans flocking behind him.
He’s getting close to my child. Too close. I force myself to my feet with a yell and look back to see Vann and Teo fighting off seven giants at once. Adrenaline refuels me as I lift my sword again. Rallying every bit of strength in my human body, I charge the giant.
As I swipe left and right, he finds the attacks pathetic, like a lamb charging a warrior. He laughs again and deflects each one with ease. The force of his block jostles my shoulders.
“Where is Rholker?” I yell back.
He smirks. “Preparing to kill you, should I fail.”
Then I lunge forward, slicing across his leg. Somehow, I catch how his eyes go to the manor, the one we planned on Rholker staying in.
Good.
The giant shoves me away. I fall on my ass with a yell, then scramble to my feet.
He hisses at the blood staining the fabric around his thigh, then spits.
“I led you around the night of the coronation,” he says, his eyes on fire. “I preferred you with more flesh showing.”
He hauls all his weight back and wedges the tip of his spear between my breastplate. The metal strap groans as he tries to pry it off.
I scream at the force. Light from within fills my eyes, and I grasp at a fallen sword. He shields his eyes, but I spot the space under his ribs that would kill him almost instantly. I thrust the blade through, up into his stomach. He roars, and I angle theblade skyward, piercing his lungs and heart. He stumbles and collapses.
I fucking did it.
I sink to the ground, exhaustion wearing on me as I grab my stomach. All the training wasn’t enough. It was never going to be enough.
I can’t keep doing this.
But the war inside of me is cut short when several more humans run past, grabbing weapons from the fallen giants.
“¡Por la libertad!”they scream, thrusting weapons in the air. Their emaciated forms twist as they thrust themselves into battle, hacking a way to the exit.
When the first falls, I force myself to get back up.
Por la libertad. Forfreedom.
