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More water cascaded over them. In the corner of her eyes, she could see the giant’s outline …

And Gerard wrenched his arm free of her grasp to scoop the egg from the bottom of the pool.

Lorelei cried out in protest, but the sound was lost in the din as the giant surged towards them, his shadow casting darkness over both of them. Water surged over their heads.

Spinning around to face their opponent, Gerard pulled back his right arm and hurled the egg through the air to crash hard against the giant’s massive, bare, blood- and excrement-smeared chest.

The shell of the egg split.

A blinding red glow filled the air …

And the giant’s roar abruptly ceased.

In the shock of that sudden cessation, Lorelei stumbled back a step, her own harsh breaths suddenly shockingly loud in her ears. Blinking lake water from her eyes, she watched the giant reel backwards in open-mouthed silence.

Shattered pieces of eggshell fell to mix in the water with all the other debris …

But that red glow remained fixed on the left side of the giant’s chest for a long moment.

At last, it faded away. The giant shook himself hard, scattering even more water across the lakeshore.

Lorelei braced herself, casting out her senses to hunt for any useful strands of pondweed in the lake beneath him that she could use to trip him up. Beside her, Gerard set his hand on the hilt of his sword.

Neither of them would be able to slow that huge creature for long—but at least anything they did could potentially affect him, now that his heart was back in its rightful place.

Lorelei held her breath.

The giant’s face contorted in horror as he stared down at his own bare stomach, covered in filth. One massive hand splashed water at his skin in a desperate attempt at cleaning; the other clapped against his head and tangled in the foul mess he found there.

He let out a moan of pure despair, backing slowly away from the lakeshore.

… And Gerard’s voice snapped through the air with cold command: “Hold!”

Even the giant stilled for an instant at the force of that command—but it hadn’t been aimed at him.

The last partnership of competitors, the same pair of hobgoblins Lorelei had taken note of yesterday, had crept stealthily along the grass behind them and aimed their sharp throwing knives directly at that retreating figure, while the archers at the other side of the lake had drawn their bows.

Amateurs! Lorelei might have struggled to contain a giant with mere pondweed, but her competitors were no challenge at all. Both sets of bows and arrows across the lake withered into limp husks of wood and twine at her command. At the same moment, roots from deep underground lashed up through the dirt to fasten around the hobgoblins’ ankles and yank them waist-deep into the earth, knives falling hopelessly out of their reach.

“Apologies, darling!” Lorelei called out to the giant, stepping forward. His bloodshot gaze had widened with new outrage at the sight of that failed assassination attempt, but she waved gaily to distract his attention from the hobgoblins scrambling uselessly to get free. “This was all due to a terrible misunderstanding. You see, you actually attacked several of our companions here only a few minutes ago, when you weren’t yourself.”

“I…?” The giant’s voice was a low, hoarse rumble that sounded horribly pained. Of course. Poor thing—no doubt his throat was raw from all that earlier roaring. He shook his massive head in confusion, his matted beard and hair scattering gore with every move.

“Behind you?” Lorelei pointed helpfully at the bodies floating limply in the water behind him … or, at least, those bodies that were left. The first partnership had been snapped up by the time they’d arrived, but truthfully, she was relieved to see four bodies left on the water’s surface. The lake beast must be a slow eater.

Following her gesture, the giant swiveled around—and let out a hauntingly mournful groan at the sight of the remaining floating bodies and the broken castle behind them. His gigantic body hunched over as if he had been struck a mortal blow at last. “I … Did I—?”

“You don’t even remember, do you?” Sighing, Lorelei gave up on negotiating from a distance and waded into the water towards him.

“Lorelei!” Gerard’s voice was a furious snap, but she ignored it as she hurried forward, letting the strips of her dress rise to float around her in the dirty water.

“It’s all right,” she said softly as she approached the giant’s hunched figure from behind. The water was nearly as high as her chin by now, but she didn’t allow that to slow her down. “We all know you didn’t intend any of this.”

He didn’t answer in words, only in a choked sob that sent a responsive pang through her chest.

“It’s not your fault.” Carefully, she set one gentle palm against the smeared blood and filth of his skin just above the waterline, as high as she could reach.

He gave a convulsive jerk at her touch.