Page 41 of Greed of Giants

For one suspended moment, neither of us moved. His breath came ragged and uneven against my mouth. His hand at my waist tightened, then deliberately loosened, as though he were reminding himself not to break me.

When he crushed his lips against mine, the entire world was suspended. Time froze. His mouth tasted of warm tobacco and smoked birch with the sweetness of cassis beneath it, the sharpness of the river still on both of us, the iron and cinder of his nature underneath. I tilted my head back and parted my lips, a moan coaxed from my throat. His lips were warm, insistent, rough yet gentle.

He kissed me as though he’d spent his stone-years rehearsing this and only had one chance to remember it correctly. As though my mouth were the original language and he had finally, finally been given leave to speak it. His fingers twisted in my hair, pulling me closer until we were pressed against each other.

My scholar’s mind, even now, tried to catalog him. Thebow-string tension across his shoulders, the slight tremor in his fingers, the way his jaw worked when he tilted his head to find a better angle. No. No words were large enough to explain this.

My body tingled, the sensation growing as he deepened the kiss, his tongue sliding into my mouth gently. Warmth bloomed under my breastbone as our bodies collided and I moved against him, pushing, pulling, my hands running down his chest, gripping his arms, his shoulders, wanting more. I learned the shape of him by feel, the slope where his shoulders met his neck, the line of his collarbone, the place where his pulse hammered against the heel of my hand. He let me touch, let me feel. A frenzy built inside, a desperation, and I felt as though I’d never catch my breath again.

He drew back once, only far enough to allow me to see his face. Water beaded on his lashes, his lips parted, studying me with an intensity. Then he came back to me as though pulled by gravity, and I understood that nothing about this kiss was casual or experimental. He was kissing me as though he had been waiting to, as though he’d decided that if the world insisted on burning behind us, he would at least take this with him.

We stayed that way for a long time, kissing, exploring, holding each other until our skin was wrinkled, the night was dark, and a chill wind blew. I didn’t want to get out of the water. I didn’t want it to be the end of him. My heart throbbed at the thought of going back to what we were before, separated by fire magic.

I thought my heart would crack open as he carried me to shore, he, the stronger one, protecting me, forcing me tostop. Even though I knew it wasn’t what either of us wanted.

And it was only then, standing on the shore, that I forced myself to let go, and somehow it was worse, worse than not knowing. Because now I’d tasted, I’d touched, and I never wanted to go back.

20

Killian

The Verdant Maw was unfamiliar, like a path never walked, an old friend forgotten. Lush emerald hills rose, overgrown with moss and leaves, ancient trees with silver lichen hanging off their branches lined the way. Sapphire waterfalls appeared at every curve, pools of crystalline water feeding winding rivers that sang over gray stone. It should have been a huntsman’s dream. Instead, the birds had forsaken it, and the whistling wind carried nothing but the absence of birdsong. A silence so profound it pressed against my ears, leaving them ringing with the lack of sound.

We saw no animals. No elk, no bison, not even a coney.

“It’s the aura,” Ilaris said.

I had trouble looking at her. Ever since the night in the water, restraint had become my constant companion. Denying myself the sight of her felt necessary, for if I looked too long, I’d be tempted to sweep her into my arms and lose myself in indulgence. I couldn’t forget herboldness, the way she invited me in and kissed me back as though she were just as desperate, just as enthralled as I.

“It reminds me of Vold. Your home.” She paused, choosing her words carefully. “I’m sure that’s not what you call it, but the name we gave it. This place has the same aura—it’s old, ancient. The land remembers what it was before. It holds its secrets, and nothing living dwells here.”

“You noticed that too.”

“I didn’t understand it until now. It’s almost as though we’re walking on sacred ground, going where no one goes.”

“And there are no stories about this place? No one has tried to live here? To walk these lands?”

“If they did, there’s no record that I know of. No whispers, no secrets.” She turned her face toward the waterfall, the mist catching in her hair. “It’s beautiful, though. If anyone walked here, I don’t know how they kept it to themselves. It makes me wish I were a poet, to write great songs and sonnets about this valley.”

My thoughts went to dark places. “Perhaps people did, but they met tragic ends before they could share.”

A shaky laugh escaped her throat. “I try not to think about that. What we’re doing, the enemies we’re making. Deep down inside, I know they’ll be relentless. There might be others who come after us.”

If only she knew the truth.

My fists curled, and the fire that sat just beneath my skin threatened my control. I’d given her pieces—fragments of what was coming—but there was no language to span the centuries, no words for what hunted all races regardless of time. Death. Destruction. Devastation. Deserved or undeserved, it came for everyone.

“You’re quiet,” Ilaris said, her voice fading into the too-still air. “I think it’s the silence here, in the midst of beauty, that disturbs me the most. There aren’t any rocks to study, runes to cipher, but?—”

Her voice caught.

Against my better judgment, I looked at her.

She was gazing right back at me, those brown eyes dark and shimmering with anticipation. “Is one of the relics hidden here? I will not search for it. Just. Curious.”

“You want to see it. I don’t blame you.” I kept my tone neutral, though heat crept up my neck. “But I don’t know for certain if it’s here. There are three relics and five kingdoms. I assume one is—was—hidden in my father’s kingdom. The other two, I have a hunch, but I could be wrong.”

Light filled her eyes as she smiled. “It would be an accomplishment to see one of the hidden wonders of the world.”