by Lily Thomas
Dryden shook his head and looked up at the night sky. No stars shone because there was never a break in the clouds, or the snow, this high in the mountains. They lived in a tough part of the land, but it usually kept intruders out of their hair.
Dryden turned away, giving up on the sky for answers.
He reentered his tent and found the human female shivering. These delicate females weren't made to be out of their castle walls.
He put another fur on her and then paced around his tent. He paced to one side, looked down at her, and then paced to the other side. He did this well into the night until he finally grew too tired to keep it up.
Dryden made his way over to the female and his furs. Unless he wanted to sleep out under the cloudy sky, he would have to sleep beside her.
He growled low in his throat. He wasn't happy that she wasn't heating up as she should be. Her normal color still had yet to return to her. She looked so fragile, and he was afraid she wouldn’t make it through the night. Her shivering seemed like it would never stop.
Gradually, Dryden stripped his clothing off, pulled back the covers, and peeled her clothing off of her body. The clothes were now wet with the melted snow and ice that had clung to her.
He grabbed a fur to wipe her down. As he dried her body, he was amazed by the immediate attraction he felt.
Her breasts were pale, with pert little pink tips, and her body, though slender, curved deliciously at the waist into a set of nicely rounded hips. His mouth watered at the sight. He took a deep breath. He’d been too long without a female if a human body made his cock hard.
He kept wiping her off. Once done, he averted his eyes and sucked in another breath to steady his mind. Shaking his head, he wondered about her power over him. She called to him, and he had yet to even interact with her.
He became divided. Her inability to warm up underneath the furs had convinced him that she was severely hypothermic. To save her, he needed to sleep next to her and give his warmth to her. On the other hand, he was afraid of how she might make him feel, as he laid next to her naked body through the night.
At that moment, a whimper escaped the human female’s full lips, and she shivered even harder. Steeling himself, he laid down next to her, wrapping her in his arms. He could feel her body absorb his heat hungrily, and he held her close to his chest.
When a small sigh escaped from her, and she stopped shivering, he quickly checked to make sure she was still alive. Reassured she was, he snuggled her closer to his chest, pulled up the furs, and laid his head down on the ground.
Despite the female’s attractiveness, the immediate reaction of his cock still surprised him. Her small, yet firm butt felt so good rubbing up against him, and he couldn't help but groan aloud. Dryden surmised his reaction was due to his lack of having slept with a female recently. He’d been out on the border for a couple of weeks now.
As she slept soundly in his arms through the night, he laid awake, finding it hard to sleep. This evening would be torture for him, and he only hoped the human would appreciate how hard this night had been for him.
Jasmine had been in a dark place in her mind, somewhere where the sun was nervous to come out, scared to light the shadows. She was so cold, shivering constantly, and she was sure she’d seen her last days.
As the dark threatened to swallow her up, she felt the presence of someone else beside her.
Thinking of Keir, Jasmine tried to break free but was unable. The drug she’d been forced to drink was still crawling around in her mind. Frustration welled up in her throat, and though she wanted to cry out, she was unable to.
Instead of pain, though, a fuzzy warmth soon surrounded her, as she felt like she was picked up and wrapped within something.
She faded into a deep sleep only to awake later shivering once more.
Now, not only did her mind register the fact she was cold, but she was also wet and wrapped up. She was unable to move her arms, which made her heart skip a couple of beats.
Then the wet clothing was taken away, and something brushed over her entire body drying her carefully.
She felt an overwhelming feeling of hope, as she realized someone had found her and was taking care of her. Unless, of course, this was the way her mind was trying to protect her from the truth as she lay dying.
Jasmine dearly hoped she was in someone's care. Someone who would help her return to her sister to prevent Lord Gothar from carrying out his horrible plan.
Soon, Jasmine felt a radiating warmth snuggled against her back, enveloping her. Jasmine felt her body take heat from the source behind her, sucking up as much as it could to unfreeze itself.
Jasmine drifted back into a sound sleep. Now that she knew she was being taken care of by someone, her restless mind relaxed.
Chapter 3
One moment, Dryden was in a deep sleep. The next, he was wide awake, hearing his name.
“Dryden!” Mathar called again from outside the tent.
Dryden passed a hand over his face, annoyed. With a groan, he sat up on an elbow and looked down at the human female beside him. Her breathing was even and easy, and there was no more shivering. A normal color had returned to her face, and her lips were no longer blue. He smiled down at her, thankful she was doing better in so little time.
Tucking the furs around her more firmly, he rose from the bed and grabbed his clothing.
He slipped into his undergarments, his armor, and then strapped his swords onto each side of his hips. With one last look at the human to verify sure she was still fine, he left the tent, almost smacking directly into Mathar, who stood just outside his tent flap.
“Good morning to you as well,” Dryden grumped.
“I thought you would like to be woken up, since you slept in so late this morning,” Mathar observed, with a glance at Dryden's tent.
Dryden rubbed his hand down his face. “I was unable to get to sleep.”
“The human female kept you up?” Mathar asked with a wiggle of his eyebrows.
Dryden pushed past him. “I was kept up because of worry for her life. Don’t get any strange ideas.”
Mathar was making a harmless joke, but it caused Dryden to feel a little self-conscious. He felt an undeniable, though inappropriate pull to her. He didn’t want to admit, even to himself, how much he had enjoyed sleeping next to her naked body.
With a shake of his head, he focused his mind on the day ahead of him. He didn’t need nor want a human female fogging up his mind.
A flake of snow floated down from the sky and landed on the tip of his nose. Casting his eyes skyward, he watched as the grey clouds released millions upon millions of little snowflakes down upon the tops of their heads. The snow barely stopped up here in the ice giant territory.
“I assume you woke me for a good reason.” Dryden turned to face Mathar.
Mathar nodded. “Yes, the scouts came back from the human border.” After a brief pause, he continued, “They saw a troop of fire giants enter Arcaern.”
“The human kingdom? Why would they go into the human kingdom?” Slowly, he turned to Mathar, and his eyebrows drew down over his eyes. “They can't be about to start something with the humans, could they? First, the rock giants attacked, and now the fire giants are acting strangely? What is going on in this land?”
Mathar shook his head and shrugged his broad shoulders. “I thought you might want to go and see what they were up to, but now,” he eyed Dryden's tent, “you have that little human female in your keeping to tend to.”
Dryden ignored Mathar's comment.
“Even if they didn't go in there to cause mischief, if just one human sees them, the humans will want to start something. They are tense enough as it is.”
The fire giants barging into human territory was a more significant concern than his human female. The rock giants had already caused so many issues with their war with the humans.
“We can go and see what the fire giants are doing in the human kingdom. Perhaps even stop them if th
ey are about to start a conflict with the humans.” Mathar suggested, trying to be helpful.
“I would like to check on the human female first,” Dryden said, as he made his way through the ankle-deep snow back towards his tent.
“We could lose the opportunity if we wait too long,” Mathar warned from behind him, but Dryden kept trudging his way toward the tent.
As he entered, he saw the human female had moved in her sleep and snuggled deeper into the warmth of the furs. Dryden bent down beside her. He was glad to see her color remained peachy. Perhaps she would make a full recovery, but would she survive the journey if he moved her now?
He wasn't quite sure how durable a human female was. This was the closest he had ever been to a human. She should probably be kept here for at least a few more hours before he even attempted to move her.
His fingers drifted lightly over her jawline and up over her smooth lips. Her lips were now a deep beautiful red, full, and ready to be kissed. Absently, he wondered how it would feel to kiss her on those full lips.
Slowly, he leaned in. Right when he was about to touch his lips to hers, Mathar called for him.
With a groan, Dryden straightened quickly and glared down at the human female. She was bewitching him with her beauty, but it was nothing a giant female couldn’t cure.
Turning on his heel, he left the tent to find out what Mathar needed from him now.
Mathar didn't even wait for him to exit the tent before asking, “Is she fit enough to travel?”
“I would prefer to give her a few more hours before we move her. She’s only just regained her coloring.”
Mathar nodded. “I thought you would say something like that. May I suggest we have a messenger tell the troops in the west to keep their eyes on what the fire giants are up to?”
“Yes, and make sure to tell the men to get ready to leave in a few hours. I won't spend a second longer than we have to here.”
Mentally, Dryden kicked himself. He was already doing something he shouldn’t. No human female should come before his people.
Fighting the haze in her mind, Jasmine felt the warmth around her disappear, and slowly the pinpricks of the cold touched her once again.
Bit by bit, Jasmine fought against the drug that was clogging her mind. She struggled to the surface clawing her way up, but it took all her time and patience to do so. Eventually, she was able to pull open her eyes and take a rapid glance around her.
She felt as though she were gazing through a tremendous smoky cloud, as her eyes tried to send what she saw to her brain. Then her mind took a few more seconds to process exactly what she was seeing.
A tent?
Jasmine glanced down her body, her head slow to react when she tilted it. Covered by furs?
Naked?
Her mind woke faster and faster, and as her heart rate soared. Then she put it together. She was in a tent, with the lower half of her body covered by furs and her top half wholly exposed to the cold air in the tent.
For one split second, she was confused about how she got there. Then it all came rushing back to her.
She had fallen from the stable rafters in front of Lord Gothar, and then he had Keir take her far into the mountains to leave her to die because she knew Lord Gothar’s dark secret. He was going to kill her sister so he could claim the money and land that came with marrying her.
Did that mean Keir was somewhere outside of the tent? Was he the one who had undressed her? Had he done anything more after undressing her while she was unconscious?
Her throat closed up, as her breathing hitched in her chest. She was unable to make her mouth move in any way. If he had kept her alive, then surely he had a plan for her, but she might not want to know what his plan entailed.
Wishing they had just killed her instead of making her wait for her fate, Jasmine faded back into the blackness of her mind once more.
She tried her best to scratch and claw her way back up, but it was too strong a pull for her to resist. Eventually, Jasmine conceded defeat, as the darkness swallowed her whole.
Dryden re-entered the tent after he got his men organized and ready to leave the camp. The human female was still fast asleep. She looked completely peaceful. Her lips were slightly parted, her hair spread out over the furs below her body.
As he walked over, he heard her breathing soundly, and a part of him relaxed. She seemed like she’d overcome the cold, but he wondered why she didn’t wake.
Dryden worried she might have a little way to go before actually recovering from her time in the cold.
As he wrapped her back up in her now dry clothing, he realized the journey would be better if she remained asleep. There was no way she’d respond well if she woke up to find herself among ice giants.
Dryden tried his best to put her very confusing dress back together, but at some point, admitted defeat. The dress just had way too many layers and way too many lace ties for him to figure out. He would never be able to decipher it within a reasonable amount of time, and he didn’t have time to waste.
Sending a prayer of thanks to his gods that giant females didn't wear such ridiculous clothing, he put her back under the furs and left the tent. He would mess with the ties later.
Dryden trudged his way to the edge of the camp.
“Where are you off to in such a hurry?” Mathar caught up with him.
“I need to find some of those little purple berries. I think keeping the human female asleep for most of our journey would be wise.”
Dryden walked deeper into the surrounding forest, and Mathar followed for a few steps. “I will go boil water for you, but remember a few berries will put you and me out, so don't make the drink too potent. We wouldn't want you to kill her by accident after all of this effort.” Mathar turned and strode back to the camp.
Dryden hadn't thought of that. With her current condition, it may not be a good idea to give her some of the berries to drink, but he’d feel more comfortable with her staying asleep during their journey. He didn't need her waking and throwing a fit while they tried not to attract any attention.
He would brew a reduced dose by using one or two of the berries, and then water even that down. He picked up his pace to search for the purple berries.
Dryden’s eyes searched for a spot of color in the snowy background, but the snow had covered everything up in a white blanket.
After some time, he located a small bush of the purple berries that was tall enough to be visible over the snow. He plucked several of the bright colored berries from the branches and hastened his way back to the camp.
When he arrived, Mathar had some boiled water ready for the berries. All Dryden had to do was plop a couple of the berries into the bubbling pot. Dryden twiddled his thumbs as he waited for berries to steep.
“Will you grab me a cup?” Dryden asked over his shoulder.
“Here.” Mathar handed him a cup.
By now the whole encampment of giants was watching in interest. With everything packed and ready to go, there was nothing else to do but watch what was going on. They had all figured out there was a human in Dryden's tent, which was drawing curious eyes.
At some point, he knew he would have a lot of questions to answer from his men, like how he’d acquired a human female in the first place.
Dryden poured a small bit of the liquid into the metal cup. Then he mixed in some cold water to dilute the berry juice and cool it down.
Hoping this wouldn't harm her in any way, he walked over to his tent and pushed through the flap to find her still sleeping soundly among the furs.
Her skin color was still healthy looking. Her body temperature felt regular when he laid a hand on her forehead. After some rest, she might wake up.
He had no idea how long she’d been out in the snow before he found her, but any time would be long enough. Without proper clothing in this frigid mountain weather, she was lucky to be alive and breathing.
Placing the cup down on the ground next to his pallet of furs, he b
ent down next to her side, put an arm under her, and easily lifted up her torso. Her head rested against the crevice of his arm and chest as he cradled her.
A weird hitch caught his breath as he gazed down at the top of her head. She was so delicate and fragile, but at the same time, she was so beautiful and strong. Only someone who was strong would be able to recover from an ordeal like hers.
He tilted her head back and grabbed the cup with his other hand.
Bit by bit, he poured the liquid into her mouth. At first, she didn't swallow, and it just spilled out over her lips. When he started to become afraid she would choke on the liquid, she swallowed and sputtered, and it all went down.
He sighed in relief. Now he, at least, wouldn't have to deal with her waking and causing a ruckus. He had some fire giants to spy on.
After wrapping her up in the furs, he carried her out of the tent. He needed to make sure she stayed warm since he couldn’t figure out her dress ties. He didn't need her relapsing and causing him to pick between the health of a human and the safety of his people.
He noticed every giant warrior lean in to try to get a glance at the human, but he kept her tucked firmly against his chest. No need to parade her around in front of his men like a trophy.
“Will you take her for me, until I get my tent put away and my horse readied?” Dryden asked of Mathar, who stood nearby.
Mathar raised a dark eyebrow. “Me? Hold a human?”
“Afraid she will bite?”
“No.”
“Then just hold her for me.”
Mathar inclined his head and held out his arms. “Fine. Hand her over, then.”
Dryden handed the human over, but there was a part of him that wanted to grab her back from Mathar. He felt the foolish need to keep her safe, even though intellectually he knew she would be fine with his closest friend and companion.
Maybe it was good Mathar had her. Clearly, Dryden required some time away from her. She flooded his mind with protectiveness, which he wouldn’t be opposed to if she were a giant, but she wasn’t.
