He glares at me, his eyes dark with fury. "I will not be mocked," he snarls.
I lean forward, my own anger simmering beneath my calm exterior. "I am not here to mock you," I say, my voice low and dangerous. "Now, I want my slave."
He scoffs and wipes his disgusting mouth with the back of his hand. The acidic smell of his sick is filling my nose.
"I'll take you to their rooms in the morning. You can choose then." He tries to wave me off with his hand.
My muscles are tense. "No, now. I won't have you backing out of the deal."
"They'll be asleep. Who knows what revolting things they do when they're alone," the prince retorts.
I stand. "No need to find out. I already know who I want."
The prince appears completely sober. He waits for my next words with a lethal concentration that shouldn't be possible for someone who just downed enough mead to tranquilize a bear.
"Give me this slave." I jerk my head to my mate, still not daring to look.
The prince is deadly serious. "No. Now stop with your games. We will look in the morning."
I lean over the table, grab him by the shoulder, and pull him up to his feet. His weight nearly throws me off balance, but I keep my grip tight.
"I'm not playing games anymore," I growl. "Yousuggested themaleslave. I agreed that I wanteda slave. Her." The laws of the council be damned.
"Unhand the prince, troll!" the warrior yells.
The prince fights against me and spits right in my face. "She belongs to the royal family.”
"Not anymore."
Frantic, Keksej looks to the side toward his warrior. "Take her!" he cries.
I press the crystal on my wrist, causing it to light up seconds before the six hunters burst inside the room. They are too late, as my mate is already in the hands of the giant. He holds a knife the size of her head to her throat.
A primal instinct roars to life inside of me. Throwing the prince to the ground, I leap across the room. I catch the warrior by the throat. He is knocked off balance, and the woman falls to the ground. My tail swipes up across his throat, leaving a red line behind.
He chokes, but I don't let go. Rage is burning in my eyes.
"You will never touch her again," I say, sinking to his level. The point of my tail plunges into his chest, finishing his death with a metallic gurgle. I stand up and look directly at my mate. She is shaking, eyes wide and horrified.
The prince bellows,“Help!” in giantese, and another warrior runs into the room from the hallway. No sooner than he lunges toward me, than one of my hunters swings his hammer, crushing the man's skull.
My mate screams and runs from the room. One of my men follows her. This is all spinning out of control faster than I can blink. I was supposed to win her, and then we would command them to leave. Instead, I have spilled blood for the first time since the war.
"Stop," I command, and the whole room freezes.
Two dead giants lay before me, and another stands in the doorway. I whip back around to the first prince. He is telling the man not to attack—that he knows his odds of survival. Luckily, he doesn’t know I am fluent in his language. Half of his guard is slain, and with his drunkenness, they would lose their fight before it ever began.
“Accept it. You revealed his hand too quickly,” I say in giantese. “There is no reason to rekindle a war, prince.”
Now, he is staring at me with disbelief, his face contorted with fear.
“I’ll be telling my father about this,” the prince spits out, his voice shaking angrily.
I let out a low growl, my claws digging into the stone table. "You started this," I say, my voice low and dangerous. "If you would have given me the slave, all would be well."
The prince backs away, his eyes darting to the two dead bodies on the floor. “I doubt the king will see it that way,” he says. “You aren’t allowed to own them at all.”
“Will the king be so eager to give up the diamonds we trade with him?” The giant prince grimaces. I am not afraid of him. I am not afraid of death. All I care about is protecting my mate and my people. "Leave," I say.