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When I stepped out of the cavern, Malric and his soldiers were already waiting there, looking tense and anxious.
“Thest he knew, she was staying with someone named Morrigan,” I told them.
“He just told you that?” Maxwell asked, sounding doubtful.
“No. I mmed him onto the bar and threatened to kill him without even touching him. That was after he tried to hit me with an electric bolt. But that’s not the point. Who is Morrigan?” I
asked.
“She’s evil,” Malric said tly.
“Yeah, I’d already guessed as much,” I replied.
“She’s a Queen in this realm. A cruel, malevolent Queen,” he added.
“Is there ever any other kind in worlds like this?” I asked.
“I didn’t know the ck witch had ties to her,” Malric admitted.
“Well, she does. At least she does now. How far is her ce from here?” I asked.
“It’s at least a full day’s walk,” he said.
“Alright, then we’d better start moving,” I said as I turned and walked back into the forest, the Aetherion soldiers falling in line behind me.
They could clearly tell I was determined now, and I hoped they understood why. I had to get home. I needed to get back to Elias and make sure he was safe. Thest thing I’d seen was him locked in battle with my father, and I still had no idea how that fight had ended.
We kept walking well into the night before the soldiers finally decided it was time to set up camp. I tried to talk them into pushing on further, but they were exhausted and needed rest.
One soldier got a fire going while a couple of others headed off to hunt for food.
When they returned, they began skinning the animals they’d caught and roasted them over the mes.
I eventually gave up arguing with them for the night and sat down to eat something as well. They chatted quietly among themselves while I sat there lost in thought, staring off into the distance. Later, when I found a ce to sleep, Iy on my back, gazing up at the stars and the moon. I wondered if Isolde could see me here or if her presence was limited only to our own
world.
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She was the moon goddess, so I chose to believe she could see me even in this realm–and that she could hear what I was thinking. More than that, I hoped she could hear silent
my
pleas.
I was awake at first light, and the others were already beginning to stir.
They busied themselves gathering their supplies while I looked around, trying to get my bearings, hoping to figure out the quickest way to Morrigan’s castle.
“Is everything alright?” Maxwell asked.
“Yeah. We should reach Morrigan’s castle today, right?” I asked.
“Yes, though it’s likely another full day’s walk,” he said.
“Alright. I can feel the power radiating from this ce–it’s coursing right through me,” I said.
“Yes. This realm is saturated with magic, unlike Earth. But if you’re stronger here…”
“Then so is the ck witch. I’ve already thought of that,” I interrupted.
“Good. I just wanted you to be ready for it,” he said.
“Don’t worry. I am,” I said firmly.
We set off once again, with two soldiers walking ahead of me and the rest surrounding me on all sides. I was kept squarely in the center, as if they believed I needed constant <fn533d> N?w ?ovel chapt?rs are published on Find1Novel</fn533d>
protection.
Maybe they just thought it was their responsibility. I wasn’t sure, and honestly, I wasn’t in the mood to argue with them about it.
We had been walking for a few hours when I noticed the Aetherion start to behave oddly. They were sniffing the air, almost like they could sense something that didn’t belong there.
“Stay here, Your Majesty,” one of them instructed.
A few of the soldiers went ahead, and I nced around at the sparse forest surrounding us. The trees had thinned significantlypared to the dense woods we had traveled through earlier<b>, </b>and now I couldn’t even tell which direction was which. Still, I could sense that trouble was close.
I reached out, trying to detect the same power I had felt before, but I couldn’t find it.
“It’s not the ck witch,” I said.
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“No, it’s something different. They’ll find out what it is and report back,” Malric responded.
“It could be anything. The ck witch being in Avalon changes everything,” he added.
“Avalon? Are you seriously telling me we’re about to bump into King Arthur while we’re here?”
I asked.
“Probably not. He tends to keep to himself around here,” Malric replied, his tone casual. I
stared at him like he had lost his mind.
“King Arthur died hundreds of years ago,” I said.
“I’m not sure what they teach in your world, but here, King Arthur is very much alive,” he
stated.
“And where exactly is this legendary King while an evil witch is running loose?” I demanded.
“My guess is that he’s already upied, considering the kind of destruction she brings wherever she goes,” he said.
“Oh my god,” I muttered.
Soon after, the scouts returned, their faces marked with worry.
“What is it?” Malric asked immediately.
“It’s the Giants. They’ve set up camp just over the hill,” one soldier reported.
“The Giants never travel this far north,” Malric said in disbelief.
“Something must have forced them out of their territory. But they’re here now,” the soldier confirmed.
“We have to go around. If the Giants catch sight of us, we won’t stand a chance,” Malric said.
“Do they work for the witch or for Morrigan?” I asked.
“No. They work for no one. But that doesn’t mean they’re harmless. They’ll devour anything that crosses their path,” he exined.
“Yeah, going around them sounds like the best n,” I agreed.
So we veered left, attempting to skirt around their camp while keeping as silent as possible. We paid careful attention to every step we took.
Giants had exceptional hearing, and even the smallest twig snapping beneath our feet could alert them and send them straight after us.
:
< CHAPTER 78
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I felt sweat gathering on my skin as we crept past their camp, the tension in the air almost
unbearable.
I could faintly make them out in the distance, though calling it “faintly” was a stretch. They were so massive it was impossible to miss them.
The Giants had clearly established a camp, and they looked likeplete savages. Like wild beasts. They were fighting viciously among themselves over a piece of livestock that one of them had captured, each one battling for the right to finish it off.
Then, suddenly, something else caught their attention.
“Do you smell that?” one of them asked, standing to his full towering height.
“I sure do. Royal blood,” another growled.
“What the hell?” I whispered under my breath.
“They can smell you. Get behind me, Your Majesty,” Malric ordered.
“You are not dying for me. You have a family,” I said firmly.
“And I promised to get you home to yours. You’re the only one capable of defeating the witch,
he countered.
<i>” </i>
“And what if you die? You won’t be able to get me home,” I said.
“My people can,” he insisted.
“I said you are not dying in front of me. We can start running,” I told him.
“We’ll never outrun them,” he replied grimly as the Giants began moving toward us.
“Well, there’s no harm in trying,” I said, striking his side, which caused him to rear back before bolting past the Giants‘ camp. The rest of the group immediately followed.
One of the soldiers grabbed me mid–stride and threw me onto his back, realizing I couldn’t keep up while running.
Heunched into the air, flying higher and higher and picking up speed–but it wasn’t fast enough.
I saw a massive giant hande hurtling toward us, sweeping in from ahead, and it knocked us brutally out of the sky.
We crashed hard to the ground, and as my vision began to blur, I saw one of the enormous Giants striding toward us. That was thest thing I saw before everything went ck and I
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