I had <i>no </i>idea how long I’d been out, but when I finally blinked awake, the sun was still shining. It couldn’t have been that long.
“Well, well, look who’s awake,” a voice rumbled behind me, deep and mocking.
I twisted my neck to see one of the giants sitting right behind me. Thick ropes pinned me to the ground.
“What do <i>you </i>want?” I asked tly.
“Nothing at all,” he said with an infuriating smirk.
“Sure. <i>You </i>went to the trouble of tying me up for ‘nothing.”
“You were trespassing on our territory,” he shot back.
“Funny. From what I’ve heard, this isn’t even yournd,” I replied coldly.
“Things change when you drag the ck witch into Avalon. Thanks to you, we’ve been forced
out of our home.”
“Where’s Malric?” I demanded, craning my neck.
“Busy,” he said, the corner of his mouth curling upward. “Very, very busy.”
The way he said it made my stomach twist.
“I didn’te here to bring the ck witch,” I said quickly. “We’re hunting her. I n on killing her.”
The giant erupted into a boomingugh, and the others joined in.
“You?” he scoffed. “Kill her? That’s rich.”
“I already forced her out of my world once,” I said evenly. “Why shouldn’t I believe I can finish the job?”
That made him pause, hisughter dying as he studied me. He must have realized I wasn’t bluffing.
“No one can defeat the ck witch,” he said finally, his voice lower now. “Not in this realm. And certainly not now that she’s allied with the evil Queen. You’re dreaming.”
“I didn’t think giants were so terrified of two women,” I taunted, narrowing my eyes. “Guess I
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was wrong. You just bully the weaker folk of Avalon because you’re too scared to fight real threats. Pathetic.”
The insult hit its mark. He rose to his full height, towering over me, trying to intimidate me.
“People say the Queen of your world is insane,” he growled.
<i>“</i><i>You </i>don’t know the half of it,” I said calmly, though my pulse was hammering.
While he postured, I’d quietly maneuvered my bound hands into position. With a small spark of magic, I burned clean through the ropes without making a sound.
I stayed perfectly still, pretending I was still tied, waiting for the right opening.
I noticed other giants scattered across the clearing, their massive shapes looming in the background. Then, from the forest, came the unmistakable sound of screams–Malric and Maxwell. My chest tightened. They were being tortured, and it was because of me. I needed
to reach them.
The giant strolled around to my side, a cruel smile tugging at his mouth. “Sounds like my friends are having a great time with yours,” he said, nodding toward the forest.
“Not as much fun as I’m about to have with you,” I hissed.
He spun around at the sound of my voice nowing from behind him. I was already standing, my hands glowing with zing fireballs.
His expression hardened, but before he could react, I threw my arms wide. Fire exploded from my palms, searing through the clearing and setting everything the giants owned aze -their hoarded food, their crude piles of clothing, everyst scrap.
The other giants scrambled to douse the mes, but the fire was far too intense. Every time they got close, their skin seared, forcing them to retreat with pained roars.
“Do you have any idea what dragon fire feels like?” I asked, my voice cutting through the chaos.
The giant in front of me froze. “Dragon… fire? You can’t-”
“Yeah,” I interrupted, my hands glowing hotter. “Still think I can’t take down the ck witch?”
His eyes flicked nervously to hispanions, then back to me. I aimed my fireced hands directly at his chest, and he instinctively stumbled back. He wasn’t brave enough to test me.
“Take me to my friends,” I ordered.
He hesitated, jaw clenching, but eventually gave a stiff nod and trudged toward the forest. I
< CHAPTER 79
followed a few steps behind, my palms zing the entire way.
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We reached a clearing where Malric and the others were strung upside down, their bodies battered and bloodied. They stared at me wide–eyed, stunned I was even standing there.
“Cut them down,” I demanded.
The giant shot a look over his shoulder. “Do it,” he barked at his own.
One by one, the Aetherion were freed, copsing to the ground and then staggering over to <ol><li>me. </li></ol>
“They’re not going to let this slide,” Malric rasped, wiping blood from his mouth. “They’lle after you.”
“I know,” I said, ncing back at the smoke rising from the ruins of their camp. “I just destroyed their supplies. I gave them a reason to.”
“You didn’t just anger them,” Malric said grimly. “You’ve enraged the giants.”
“You know what needs to be done,” Maxwell said, his tone dark.
I turned to face the group of towering figures ring at me, their faces twisted with hatred. But I wasn’t here to ughter them. All I had wanted was to free us and keep moving toward Morrigan’s castle.
Malric’s expression was hard. He clearly didn’t share my hesitation. “Lyra, they won’t let us leave. They’ll track us and butcher us before we ever get close to Morrigan.”
“I’m not a cold–blooded killer,” I said firmly.
“I know you’re not,” Malric replied, voice low. “But they are. And if we leave them alive, they’ll ughter us all. We can’t risk it.”
“You call yourselves a peaceful race,” I snapped.
“We are. But protecting Avalon outweighs our ideals,” Malric said, unwavering.
“No,” I said, my hands trembling at my sides. “What you really want is for me to do the dirty work for you.”
“We can’t kill them,” Malric said. “You can.”
I looked back at the giants. They stood defiant, trying to mask their fear. They knew the fire in my hands could end them all.
I didn’t want this. I didn’te here to burn anyone alive, not unless it was the ck witch.
:.
< CHAPTER 79
But Malric was right: if we let them live, they would hunt us relentlessly.
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My gaze met the leader’s. His expression had softened, like he was silently pleading with me
not to do it.
But I wasn’t na?ve. I wouldn’t let his act fool me. He and the others would be on our heels the
second we left.
And there was only one way to make sure that didn’t happen.
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