Page 25 of Greed of Giants

“We all carry something heavy. One of the reasons I stay here is because I hope that, one day, my son will come looking for me. That he’ll want to hear another side to the story. Even though deep in my heart, I know it’s best that he stay far, far away.”

“Yesterday you mentioned another scholar. Benjamin. How long did he stay when he came?”

“Oh, that was coming on twenty years ago. He stayed a few weeks or so.”

“And he stayed in one of the huts?”

Harlan nodded.

“I was hoping he left behind some notes, something, anything to explain what he was after. I came to translate runes, but it’s best I leave.”

Harlan glanced up the beach, toward the huts. “If you change your mind about. . . that man, let me know.”

He was kind. I felt guilty for not revealing the truth about Killian, or what I was doing with him.

“I appreciate that. I think I’ll feel better once I leave this island.”

But would I? Where, exactly, was Killian taking me? I hadn’t considered it last night, but now, if we were going into the heart of the unknown, I wasn’t ready for that adventure. I hadn’t worn my armor, and my hand went to my ribs.

“It’s time,” Killian’s deep voice came.

Harlan tossed sand over the fire, smothering it, but I dared not look at Killian. Instead, I walked toward the waves, calling, “Jasper.”

He bounded out of the water, shaking his fur, droplets hanging on his horns like crystals. His wet fur puffed up, and for a moment he looked bigger than he had yesterday, as though he’d grown. Was my vision playing tricks on me? It was just the water. He was a puppy. Not. . . growing.

The boat wobbledas we climbed in, a bit too small for all of us. I sat in the middle with the bags, with Harlan on one end, Jasper at his feet, and Killian at the other, the boat dipping with his weight. He also took an oar, his back to me as we set sail. It was different from yesterday morning with Harlan. Tension hung in the air, especially as we drifted into the mist.

Instead of clearing and letting us through, it clung. Cold. Eerie. Whispers grew louder, humming near my ears until I flinched, batting away the heated breath even though there was nothing there at all. The thickness intensified. As I clutched my bag, I wondered if the mist wasn’t for us at all, but for him.

Killian.

He was the last giant after all, one who’d been punished, cut off from this world. Had the gods forgiven him for his transgressions or were they still furious, determined to punish him to the bitter end? And if that was the case, what did it mean for me? If the blood oath I’d accidentally invoked wouldn’t release me, would I be forced to endure?

As handsome and as tantalizing as he was, I needed to refocus my efforts on understanding the runes, understanding him—his culture, his background, and the magic that whispered around him. Only then would I be able to rip myself free from the darkness that haunted him. The need felt so great, there in the surrendering fog, that myhands went to my bag, ready to search my journal for answers.

Beams of sunlight broke through, shattering the mist with a halo of gold that lit up the grassy slopes. Light danced on the snow-capped mountain peaks in the distance, displaying the expansiveness of the land. From the water, it was breathtaking, a sight unknown to me in the city. I recalled the poppy fields, the wild lands, flat and open, covered in flowers as far as the eye could see.

A sound like a sigh drew my attention back to Killian. He sat upright, shoulders tight, tension rigid in his body. Despite my promise to distance myself from him, something stirred deep within my gut. What was it like for him to see the world again after so long? Or had it felt just like yesterday—he closed his eyes, awoke, and the world had changed all in the blink of an eye?

A splash drew my attention back to the water. A dark shape surfaced, and a wide fish-like tail slapped the water so hard it sent a wave rushing toward the boat.

“Brace yourselves,” Harlan called.

The boat rocked back and forth violently as the creature swam toward us. I leaned over, water splashing over my fingers as stories of sea monsters pressed at the corners of my mind. A long, black shape darted toward us. It was almost as wide as the boat, and unlike any fish I’d ever seen.

Panic clawed into my throat. My fingers tightened, then loosened as I snatched them back, tucking them into my lap. Jasper growled low in his throat, raising the hairs on the back of my neck. “What is that?” I asked, hoping, justhoping Harlan would say it was a harmless fish and common in these waters.

Instead, he started chanting, low words under his breath that sounded like a garble of nonsense. Killian twisted around fast, eyes blazing as they locked on me, as though I were the cause. There was something violent in his expression as his gaze shifted to Harlan, then to the thing in the water.

“Killian,” I whispered, needing something from him. What? I wasn’t sure. An explanation? Assurance?

The boat lurched, and we tipped wildly to one side. I recalled the words of Yonnie, the reminder never to go into the water at night. What about now? In the daylight? Would the monster eat us alive?

Harlan uttered one word. Sharp. Commanding.

The creature recoiled, shrinking away from the boat, a black spot sinking down into the water.

A sigh of relief escaped me along with a burning question. What language was Harlan speaking? What command had he given the creature?