Loving His Fire

by Lily Thomas

  A hand appeared in front of her face, interrupting her thoughts. She glanced up at the giant, and he motioned for her to step forward.

  Elizabeth glared at him. She didn’t have much choice other than to go with the beast, but she hated that after all her efforts to escape, she was going to be dragged back like some war prize for savages. She was a princess, and yet all she had done was run away while her guards and friends died!

  Elizabeth shook her head. She might not have escaped, but she could still save her country, if not her group of escorts. She would find a way to reach the country of Sardarn and enlist their armies to Arcaern’s cause.

  Elizabeth lifted her determined gaze to the giant, and he cocked his head. He seemed surprised by what he saw, even more so when Elizabeth grasped his outreached hand with her two and lifted herself easily into the space in the saddle before him.

  Although Elizabeth scooted as far away from the giant as she could, she was forced to lean back into his chest when they broke into a gallop. With his hands on the reins, his arms came on either side of her, and she felt enclosed by the brute strength of the large male pressed against her back. Elizabeth’s breaths became shallow, and she wondered if this was what some of the noblewomen had described as “losing their wits” over a particularly strapping stable lad.

  Biting the inside of her cheek, Elizabeth forced herself to focus. She needed to make it back to the giant leader and convince him to take her the rest of the way to Sardarn.

  As they rode on through the forest, Stryme smiled at the sounds that came from the delicate female in front of him every time they swerved around a tree in the fog. He could hear her cursing softly at first, but after ten minutes of what she must view as near misses, he heard her go completely silent, and he guessed that she must have closed her eyes.

  The female’s mistrust in his skills was laughable, but he knew that no human could match his keen eyesight or riding skill. She must think they were riding blindly through the forest, only missing the trees by luck.

  When they emerged from the tree line into the pass, the dainty woman let out her breath with a sigh of relief, only to quickly inhale as they rode up to what remained of the convoy.

  All of the guards had been killed, and several bodies lay on the ground without their heads. Stryme’s men were strong, and he had given them the rare freedom to fight without restraint against these intruders.

  The female gagged as they approached the group of giants that had gathered by the fancy carriage in the middle of the line of wagons. Stryme glanced with disdain at the small head bobbing before him. The humans should have known better than to enter lands that didn’t belong to them. This weak female would have to deal with the consequences.

  The giants drew apart as they moved closer, and the female straightened as the other captive women came into sight.

  When Stryme had lead his men into attack last night, he had made one thing clear – the human females would not be killed. From his limited experience, he knew that human males viewed their females as useless and controlled all of their decisions. It wouldn’t have been the females’ choice to march through this valley, and he wouldn’t stoop to the level of these human creatures and kill their women.

  Stryme rode to a stop in the center of the group, and the female in front of him tried to slide to the ground. He grasped her firmly around the waist and felt her breasts rest pleasantly against the top of his arm. For such a petite female, she didn’t lack anything in terms of womanly curves. Holding her a bit more closely than strictly necessary, he addressed his men. It was time to address the fate of the captured females, and he didn’t expect his men to like it.

  Unsurprisingly, not everyone was happy about keeping the women alive. Stryme listened to a few heated exchanges before stepping in. Some argued that they should kill the females and leave their bodies alongside the rest of the wrecked caravan to leave a stronger message. Stryme saw their point, but he couldn’t bring himself to be the monster humans expected him to be.

  Elizabeth looked down at the young women, and her heart fell when she realized Sarah wasn’t with them. The women huddled on the ground, crying, and only now, as the giant behind her started to speak in his gravelly voice, did they look up and see her on the horse with her “rescuer”.

  Elizabeth tried to smile encouragingly. She was glad her own tears had dried during the ride back. The giants had kept all of the girls alive, and it gave her hope that the giants did indeed want to ransom them.

  Another giant, standing on the ground by the group of cowering women, looked up at her giant and spoke harshly. Elizabeth’s giant gave a curt response. Several of the other giants surrounding them released various rumbles that sounded unhappy. Were they disagreeing with the giant on the ground or responding to one who held her?

  The giant on the ground snorted, then stomped around the side of the carriage and roughly pulled a human form out of the shadows. Elizabeth gasped. The figure remained turned away, facing the giant who held her, but Elizabeth recognized Sarah instantly. She was still alive!

  Indeed, Sarah continued to make her liveliness known by kicking her captor’s shins and yelling through a gag. Elizabeth wasn’t surprised that the giants had been forced to subdue her friend. Once committed to a course of action, Sarah would stick to it tenaciously, and she would now be determined to cause the giants as much trouble as possible.

  Now that they had all been captured, though, Elizabeth worried that the giants might not want to deal with such a difficult captive. Straining against her captor’s hold, she tried to get her friend’s attention before she pushed the giants too far.

  “Sarah! Sarah, stop!” Her best friend whirled at her voice, and her eyes widened when she spotted Elizabeth. She tried to speak through the gag, and the brute holding her shook her roughly.

  Elizabeth beat at the strong arm that still held her firmly. She struggled unsuccessfully to escape the giant’s grip and get to the ground.

  “Let me go!” she cried. “He’s hurting her! Let me speak to your leader!”

  The fire giant only moved his hand to cover her mouth, stifling her cries. Meanwhile, Sarah had slumped to the ground beside the other women. The fight seemed to have left her once she realized that Elizabeth hadn’t managed to escape.

  The fire giants began to argue around them, and Elizabeth wondered if they were disagreeing about what to do with the women. While she didn’t want to die, she didn’t know how the fire giants might treat their captives. Honor didn’t seem to apply to these beasts who had ambushed her guards and slaughtered them.

  Eventually, the fire giants seemed to reach a decision. While Elizabeth watched, pinned by her giant’s muscular arms, several of the giants dismounted and approached the women. Elizabeth’s heart leapt into her throat, but the giants only grabbed the women and pulled them onto their horses.

  Elizabeth tried to make out the giants’ exchanges as they secured the women and prepared to ride, but she couldn’t even begin to pick out individual words. In a moment, the giants fell silent and turned their horses into a hidden trail on the side of the valley.

  As the trees closed around them, Elizabeth felt her anxiety escalate. If the fire giants took them too deep into the mountains, her father might not be able to find them. Did the giants plan to ransom them or just take them for slaves? If she never reached Sardarn, would her people fall to the rock giants?

  Elizabeth felt herself breathing too fast. Her head started to swim, and she tried to take deep breaths, but the giant behind her still had his hand over her mouth. Panicking, Elizabeth grabbed at the giant’s arm, but she couldn’t budge it from her face.

  Elizabeth wheezed, struggling to gain control, but she couldn’t get enough air. Black invaded the edges of her vision. It slowly moved in until finally, she couldn’t see anything at all.

  Stryme eased his grip on the human female as she finally relaxed in front of him. It seemed odd to have such a fiery spirit contained in such a delicate
body. Female giants had strong personalities and sometimes fought alongside their men to defend their territory, but they were tall, and nearly as muscular as the males.

  The soft curves of the small female in his lap held a certain attraction. As he looked down at the waves of brown hair curling across his chest, he recalled how she looked in the clearing after he chased her down.

  Although completely out of options and clearly exhausted, she had pulled herself up and faced him bravely, her hair swirling in the mist as if the forest air brought it to life. Her eyes had flashed blue, and he found himself thinking of the old tales of elves who carried the power of the earth and the sky in their short frames.

  Stryme shook his head, clearing his thoughts. Her courage was more impressive for the fact that she was so small, but perhaps she simply didn’t understand the danger of what she faced.

  Fire giants all contained a ferocity and temper that they unleashed in force during battle. His father had encouraged their people to avoid interactions with the humans, and now the humans underestimated their strength and ability to defend their land.

  Stryme’s men weren’t happy to take the females with them. He wouldn’t allow his men to kill the female humans, but most had wanted to simply leave the women in the pass to fend for themselves. Keylz, in particular, thought the human males would attempt a rescue when they found the remains of the caravan without any female bodies.

  Stryme knew that leaving the females meant almost certain death in these mountains. It was a risk to take them, but he wouldn’t kill the human males quickly and then leave their females to a worse fate.

  Besides, he was curious why the humans had bothered transporting females at all. Travelers across the pass were always male. Perhaps the humans’ behavior in the west had made him overly cautious about anything they tried in fire giant territory, but he didn’t trust humans at all, and he knew better than to overlook a change in their behavior. He would use the females to find out exactly what the humans were planning.

  Stryme glanced down at the female sleeping peacefully before him. For such a petite creature, she had ample curves, a body that any giant would find enticing. Her eyes were closed, but he easily recalled the brilliant blue that held such defiance as she faced him down in the forest. Long lashes curled against her cheeks, which were quite flushed, and he smiled to himself at the memory of the fire she hid within. Surprisingly, Stryme found himself looking forward to his interrogation.

  Elizabeth woke slowly, sun streaming across the side of her face. She felt comfortably warm, even though the maids had opened her bed curtains to allow the sunlight to wake her. The bright light only made Elizabeth feel more secure, and she snuggled deeper into the pillows. For the first time since Nicholas had died, she felt peaceful.

  Nicholas.

  Elizabeth’s eyes flew open as the memories of the last few days came rushing back. Instead her lush bed at the palace, she found herself burrowing into the chest and lap of a beast.

  Disgust flooded her body, and she pulled away from the giant abruptly, catching the giant off guard and nearly falling out of his arms and underneath the hooves of the oversized horse.

  The giant recovered quickly. Leaning forward, he caught her around the waist and lifted her back into the saddle.

  Horrified at how easily she had cuddled up to the terrible beast that had slaughtered her guards, Elizabeth fought against him. After a brief struggle, the giant released his grip and allowed her to sit forward in the saddle.

  Instantly, she felt horrible. It felt as though she was betraying the men who had sacrificed their lives to protect them. Here she was enjoying the comfortable warmth, while their dead bodies soaked in their own blood. This giant had killed her guards. Guards who had families and who had expected to be able to see them after this journey was finished.

  The thought of the young lieutenant came to mind. He had barely started his life as a young man. She hadn’t known him, or any of the guards for that matter, but it didn’t help the guilt that ate at her. She was the reason they had been in that valley.

  She was sure the fire giants had kept the women alive for a terrible reason.

  Elizabeth knew what men could do to women. Even human men took advantage of women. She could only imagine what the giants were planning. The fire giants might be expecting to have some company in their tents this evening.

  As princess of Arcaern, it was her responsibility to protect her people. She would do her best to protect her ladies in waiting. Some of them were too young to know the passion of a man, like Esme. She was barely a woman, and Elizabeth would make sure she wasn’t touched. She wouldn’t be able to last through a night of lovemaking with a beast.

  Elizabeth's spine straightened, as she pulled away from the fire giant. He took his arm away, when she sat up, allowing her to put distance between their bodies. This was no time for her to be soft. She needed to keep herself ready for anything that might happen.

  As her mind woke from sleep, she noticed the scenery around them had changed drastically. How long had she been asleep?

  The terrain was rocky now. Large boulders were everywhere and there were steep sides to the mountains. They had to be getting farther within the mountains. She felt her eyes widen, as she took in what was around her. Even if they were dangerous, the mountains were breathtaking. She wasn’t above admitting the mountains were beautiful.

  Each peak seamed to reach high into the pillowy clouds overhead. Every once in a while, when they crested the top of a mountain, Elizabeth could see the whole mountain range spread out before her. It really was breathtaking, unfortunately the circumstances ruined any joy these views could bring her. Here was her adventure, yet the fire giants were spoiling it.

  Yet there was a bit of despair that flowed through her veins. This view wasn’t just beautiful. It reminded her on just how enormous this mountainous area was. Her father was going to have a difficult time in getting her back. She had better hope the fire giants planned on ransoming them, or they might be doomed to a life as servants.

  Everything around them was covered with green moss:the tree trunks, the rocks, and most of the ground. If she forgot fire giants had captured them, she could admit there was something alluring up here. Under different circumstances, she would have loved to admire the view while having a picnic.

  The image of their guards kept replaying in Elizabeth's mind. Those brutal images kept replaying through her mind. The captain hadn’t deserved a deathblow. He had been a kind man, one of the few Elizabeth enjoyed. Though they had died doing their trade, she still didn't feel any better about it. Those were lives these giants had violently snuffed out.

  She wished she could have done something, but she knew she couldn't keep beating herself up about it. There had been nothing she could have done to help those guards. She just felt guilty because they had been taking her to her arranged marriage. She had been the reason they had been travelling through the mountain valley.

  Trying to distract herself she decided to study the fire giants riding around them. She already knew the giant behind her was the leader of this group. He had been the one barking orders and controlling the warriors within the group.

  The one holding Sarah seemed to be the second in command, since her fire giant seemed to talk with him the most. Or she was wrong and he was only a friend of the leader. Sarah’s giant also had a necklace made of vicious looking teeth. Some of the teeth were so sizable, she had a hard time imagining the animal they must have come from.

  It just emphasized how dangerous these mountains could be. They were deceivingly beautiful with hidden dangers around every tree trunk. Her life at court had not prepared her for a life out in the wilderness. She knew how to sew, not how to hunt or survive in a mountain setting.

  Swords were strapped to every part of the giants’ bodies. It made them seem the barbarians humans thought them to be. Several of them had two swords across their backs, the hilts peeking out from behind their broad shoulders and
one tied to each of their hips. Elizabeth would be willing to bet some of them had at least one dagger hidden on their bodies’ as well.

  All the giants seemed armed to the tooth. If the size of those teeth on their necklaces were any indication of the animals that lived up here, it might be a good thing to be well armed.

  Stryme called out to his warriors to set up camp, as the sun set and the land became shrouded in darkness. Traveling at night was not recommended in these mountains. There were too many dangers lurking around and the best way to go unharmed was to wait for morning light so predators and hidden holes in the ground could be seen. He didn’t need any of the horses twisting an ankle.

  They were in no rush anyways. It would only take about another night or two to arrive at the fire giant fortress. Then he would be able to sleep in his own bed again instead of in a tent. He might be a battle-hardened warrior, but he still enjoyed the simple things in life. He wanted to have a real meal and perhaps even a bath to wash all this dirt off of him.

  He and his warriors had been gone from the castle for a couple weeks already. Stryme had felt it necessary to check on the progress of the war between the rock giants and the humans. It was a fight that the humans should have expected. They also poked and prodded their giant neighbors and one could only take so much bothering before lashing out.

  When he was satisfied the humans weren't about to come into the mountains, he had started the journey back to his castle. That was when he had stumbled upon the caravan heading through his valley. He had wanted to make sure the humans weren’t about to declare war on his own people, and he might have just ruined that. Taking these females might be the invite the humans needed to start a war with another giant species.