Page 104 of Frost Bound

The giantess slumped against the fence, sweat coating her forehead.

Lia waited for the spew of hatred, but it never came.

“He likes you.” A perplexed statement.

“Anwen likes my treats.”

Lumi frowned. “You shouldn’t spoil him. He needs to be in top shape.”

Dahlia hugged his face, pressing a kiss onto the tan star between his eyes. “One carrot won’t hurt him.”

Lumi huffed, but kept silent.

Lia hated the tension between them. She didn’t understand why the giantess hated her so much. She’d hardly had any contact with her.

Be brave. Show no fear.

“Why do you hate me?” she asked outright, fighting to keep her good eye open.

Lumi chuckled and turned her attention on the rest of the herd. “Because you represent all that is evil in the world.”

“That’s a little dramatic, don’t you think?”

The giantess snarled, her black gaze seeming to be on fire. “Youare the reason I’ve lost both parents.Youare the reason my brother is maimed.Youare the reason our people have suffered.Saloesare the blight on this world.”

Dahlia let the vicious words slide away. They weren’t really meant for her. They were the culmination of Lumi’s pain. “And what about you?”

Lumi frowned. “What?”

“What have your people done to mine?” She swallowed hard as old memories surfaced past the pain. “When something goes wrong, do you know who is always blamed first along your borders? Thesaloes. Do you know who gets beaten to death for the smallest crime while giants are given only a reprimand? Humans. You are not the only one to have suffered pain and loss at the hands of hate and prejudice. Stop acting like it.”

Her heart raced as the giantess growled, glaring at her. It would be so easy for Lumi to break her neck.

“You speak as if you’ve experienced these pains yourself.”

Lia’s pulse leapt, but she shrugged, petting the horse. “I feel what my people feel.”

Lumi swung her leg over the fence andtsked. “That’s not really an answer,saloes.”

“Do you want to tell me about your loss?” The giantess snapped her mouth shut. “That’s what I thought.”

“I could have pushed you over the edge,” Lumi whispered.

“You were going to.” Her heart lurched at the thought. “I saw it on your face.”

“I would have died if you hadn’t pulled me back.” The giantess met her gaze steadily. “I was convinced you were causing mischief, spying for our enemy, and you were what? Just trying to visit your horse?”

Her heart leapt. That was exactly what she was doing. “Something like that,” Lia muttered.

Lumi swallowed hard, her black eyes seeming glassy. “You brought the beast a bloody carrot. I am a fool. I almost committed a crime I could never come back from. You kept me from that. I deserve to have fallen.”

Lia didn’t answer. It wasn’t her place to condemn the giantess. The world tilted again, and Lia closed her good eye and hung on to the fence.

“You saved me. I owe you my life.” A pause. “Don’t go to sleep.”

Lia opened her eye at Lumi’s sharp tone. “My head hurts.”

“I should say so. You hit your head on the stairs. Your blood is … garish.”

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