Both seem satisfied with the quality, and I watch in wonder as Arina juggles the knives in the air, testing their weight.
I know the snake has skills from the hours I've spent watching her train, but when I recall the last time I watched her throw knives, a tiny seed of fear grows roots in the back of my mind.
Arina
Iam so fucked. My hands are still shaking from having to kill that fucking beast. It had come out of nowhere, and my instincts just kicked in before the thing even had a chance to speak. All I had known was that I was in danger, and I had my dagger.
Knife throwing is not my strongest skill, but I hadn't been able to come up with any other ideas.
Trolls? Fucking troll pirates? What alternate universe is this? They are hauntingly beautiful but equally gruesome. Their skin is a shade of blue I've never seen before, and I want to touch it, feel it beneath the pads of my fingers.
When the one had attacked me down below, I didn't think before gutting it. A monster was flying at me. It had to die. There was no time to marvel at the color of its skin.
“Yer testing my patience, girl!” the pirate captain snaps. What was her name? Trisay? It seems the creature knows Raiden well enough.
I take a deep breath and inspect my surroundings. Normally, I live in a constant state of vigilance, the sixth sense I learned as a child thanks to my mother's substance abuse and unpredictable nature. It has always felt like a superpower and a burden rolled in one.
I pray it won't fail me now.
The pressure coming from Trisay and the other trolls as they practically drool over their entertainment is unnerving, but I line up my first shot. A large barrel with a picture of apples on the label sits just behind Trisay. I've learned enough to know that food is crucial to surviving.
I grip the hilt of the knife, pulling it back behind my head, and releasing what feels like a moment too soon. The knife lodges in the wood of the ship, just a hair above the barrel.
“Shit,” I mumble under my breath. I steal a glance at Raiden whose disappointment is written clearly on his face, and I curse myself for caring what the bastard thinks of my skills.
The trolls around me laugh and jump with glee, using their long, muscular arms to leverage themselves into the air. Monsters, the lot of them.
“Ssseemsss we might be deleverin’ ye to yer death after all,” Trisay laughs alongside her crew.
I do my best to hide any hint of distress, settling quickly on my next target. Making this shot will be imperative to my survival in this unfamiliar world.
With much less bravado than before, I casually chuck the second knife.
“Fucking hells!” Raiden's voice rings out, shocking everyone on board.
I raise my chin in defiance and pride, and I can't help but flash a grin in his direction as I watch him stare in awe at the dagger sticking from his right shoulder.
I stifle the cackle that tries to crawl its way up my throat at the sick sense of satisfaction I feel knowing I caused him even just a little discomfort.
“YOU WRETCH!” Oh. Trisay is pissed.
I hadn't considered what kind of reaction the trolls might have. All I had thought about was being in a strange place without a guide. I need him to survive.
The troll captain is upon me before I could blink, hammering me hard across the face with her long, razor-sharp claws.
I spit the blood pooling in my mouth from the blow at the creature’s feet.
“I'm merely trying to survive, Captain. Surely you understand my reasoning,” I say through gritted teeth.
“Ye've taken me bounty frem me, girl. I weren't be forgettin’ this ssslight fer many moonsss ta come,” the troll captain says, but she slinks away, accepting the game for what it is. “Go on, throw yer last knife.”
Staying on the ship with the trolls is a surefire death sentence, so my last target is an easy decision.
I carefully walk to the railing of the ship, lean over, and throw my knife as hard as I can into the tiny boat below.
I don't know what I was expecting Trisay's reaction to be, but it wasn't the laughter spewing from her now. In fact, the entire band of trolls is howling with laughter. An odd reaction to losing their prisoners.
I look to Raiden who only shakes his head slightly, imploring me not to react.
