Vann appears at my side, hacking away at the mid-section of another giant warrior. The ugly, squelching sound of blood pouring out accompanies the grunts and shouts of the giants.
Five lay at our feet, then ten. Then I lose count as my sword lobs off another head. It won’t change my mother’s death, but it will teach the giants a lesson.
A horn breaks through the battle. My father. I look up, trying to see him amidst the piles of bodies, only to look back to my dead mother. The rage reignites and I lift my sword about my head and charge.
Something smacks me. My instincts take over, grabbing the person standing over me and pinning them onto my bed.
I'm drenched in sweat, my heart pounding in my chest. I try to catch my breath and remind myself that it was just a dream. But the images are still so vivid. I can’t even see beneath me.
“Teo, wake up!” Estela says, panicked, her hands on my cheeks. It’s disorienting. “You were having a nightmare.”
I take a deep breath and sit back, wiping the sweat from my forehead. The room is dimly lit, the only light coming from the flickering candles on the bedside table.
My eyes drop to the woman laying on my bed. Her cheeks are flushed, and she looks angry.What plans I have for that pretty mouth, I think.
She startles and pushes herself up. “You hurt me,” she accuses, pointing to the beginnings of a bite mark on her throat.
Blood stirs in my groin. Bite marks aren’t intended to hurt. I push off the bed, trying to shake the heat.
“Well, you tried to kill me,” I pant. “What are you doing here?”
She scowls at me. “You looked sick. They made me bring you food.”
I groan and rub my temples. This is exactly what I needed, Estela being here, after the dream. “I don’t need food,” I said. “I need space. You can go now.”
Her face turns red with hurt and anger. “Forgive me,” she says, her voice cracking. “If I haven’t said it yet, I am sorry.”
I close my eyes, and the images of my mother, and the giant king cloud my mind once more. The dream was a reminder that I can't trust anyone, not even Estela. “Nothing’s changed, Estela. You still tried to kill me. I don’t need empty apologies.”Isn’t that exactly what you wanted?I think. No, she has to mean it.
Her lips purse and she stands up. “Fine.” Then she leaves.
Chapter22
Nephrite
ESTELA
Two days have passed since Teo bit me and the world feels different. Liana still hasn’t let me have my first lesson with the Fuegorra, Teo avoids me, and I hardly see Arlet while I work with Ulla. Each day that I walk over the bridge to my workstation is a day I feel stronger. The healthier I am, the better I will be when I finally get to free Mikal.
I keep coming back in the mushroom house, finding solace with the fungi. I like learning about their shapes, their flavors, and the way they grow. They inspired me so much that I brought the few herbs in my box.
“These flowers have seeds in the center. Do you see?” I say, rubbing silky pink petals between my fingers.
Ulla nods. “But how do we use those to grow under the mountain? Plants need light, yes?”
I nod. “Exactly. But I have been thinking, if the Ardorflame works for humans, why not plants? Liana told me the spell lights are powered by the Ardorflame, too. If we put the plants under them, and you sing to them once per day, perhaps we could encourage growth.”
Ulla smiles as she kneels next to me. Her large, feminine fingers splay out over her knees while she watches me pop out another seed. When her humming starts up again, I pause.
“I wonder if there is a song for plants,” I muse.
She pauses. “There may be yet. We have songs for everything else. I will have to look through the remaining ancestral library.”
I start digging a hole in front of me, but my eyebrows draw together. “I never learned to read the common tongue. We humans… well, the written words we once had are meaningless.”
Ulla picks up a few of my seeds. “Would you like me to teach you to read in my language?”
I look up at Ulla, surprised. This newfound willingness to help catches me off guard, considering how hostile she was initially.