It watches me.
I turn away and stand in the regular slave lines, but find other men whispering quietly as the guards bring in the racks of tools on carts. I let out a long sigh and glance between me and the other men.
Rodrigo is one of the men speaking to the others he surrounds himself with. I look away when his amber-brown eyes flick up at me and let my ears tune into his conversation.
"The whore's in the pit," one of them says.
Another hums. "So, Eneko is gone, and he didn’t want her wandering. Shame.”
Flames spread across my skin. Dozens of questions swirl. Why is she in the pit? What is the pit? Is that why she can't speak to me or hear me?
One of the giants notices the unusual chatting and puts a hand on his whip in warning.
"Quiet!" he calls.
Everything goes silent. I barely hear the giant’s speech as they drone on, so I force myself to get my tools and go to chop.
Chapter 29
RA’SA
When I finish, it’s nightfall. I go back to the forest to look for this‘pit.’Darting behind trees and around different shadowy corners, a beast emerges from the trees.
That same damned creature.
“Coco?” I say, using the name Melisa and her daughters used.
The creature’s ears perk up, tall against its broad forehead and narrow snout. It whines. Moving its head again.
My heart softens. “You wanted me to go with you earlier… to get to Melisa.”
The beast stamps its foot on the ground.
Dropping to my knee, I hold out my hands for the beast, allowing it to smell me.
“Thank you,” I say, noting how it looks at me with deep, suspicious eyes. When I move too fast, it bares its teeth and backs away.
I stand, following behind it. It leads me down the hill, away from Eneko’s house and the slave pens, and then, passing a few more trees. I see two giant guards standing by two bars sticking out of the snowy ground.
A wooden lid and a foul stench are shadowed by the trees that backdrop the scene. Inhaling deeply, I sort through the smell of filth, excrement, and rotting food.
Under all of it... there it is. The sweet smell of cinnamon and roses.
I stumble, causing a sound to come from the tree I've been hiding behind.
The giants' heads snap in my direction, eyes squinting to see through the low, snow-covered branches.
"What's that?" one asks as the other approaches me.
Melisa?
I look for her through our bond.But there is nothing.
An idea sparks in my mind as I look down. A stone sits near my foot. I ease into my magic and out of my skin, sharing just a drop of my power with the stones scattered under the snow. Grabbing a hold of them with my mind, I cast rocks upward.
They shoot in every direction, raining through the trees.
"Fuck!" one of the giants yells.