Page 15 of Winter's Scorching Kisses
Chapter 5
Mathar bent over his kill. The large buck had one of the best racks he’d laid eyes on. He’d never found a ten point buck before, but he wasn’t only hunting for pleasure. This deer meat would be useful. He yanked out the arrow that had flown true and killed the buck instantly. It’d been the perfect hunt.
Unwrapping the rope from his saddle, Mathar strode over to the buck and tied the rope around the beast’s neck, then he tossed the end of the rope over, what appeared to be a sturdy tree branch and pulled the deer up. He grunted with the exertion as he slowly wrapped the rope around his arm as he tugged on it. The fibers of the rope dug into his skin.
Once he had it hanging, he walked over to the base of the tree. He kept the rope taut and tied it around the base of the tree. After a couple of quick knots, he had it secured.
Now he could get to skinning and harvesting the meat off the buck.
Removing a hunting knife from his pack, he strode over to the buck and wrapped a hand around one of its legs to hold it steady. He drove the knife into the buck and opened up the belly of the deer and began the careful task of removing the organs.
The sound of hooves beating against the cold ground had Mathar’s head shooting up, and he watched as a fellow ice giant rode through the snow, racing straight for him.
Slowly, he pulled away from his kill unsure why he was about to receive a visitor. It wasn’t usual for him to be interrupted during a hunting trip.
The man pulled up on the reins, his snorting horse throwing out its front legs as it stopped suddenly, snow flying everywhere. “King Dryden and queen Jasmine have requested your company in the castle gardens.”
Mathar glared at the ice giant in front of him. “Did they say why?” Did they know they were interrupting his day? His pleasant mood slowly waned as he realized he would have no choice but to cut his hunting short.
The servant shook his head.
“Did you even ask?”
“I would never presume?”
Mathar waved a hand in the air, cutting off the servant. Of course, he wouldn’t feel comfortable questioning his king and queen. The man just took orders.
He gritted his teeth. Dryden and Jasmine usually left him alone after what he did for them a few months ago. It didn’t bother him that they’d asked him to kill a man. Killing a man who deserved it, or didn’t, had never left a bad taste in Mathar’s mouth, but there was an unsettling feeling in his stomach about this summons. They would have a task for him, he was sure.
“Let the king and queen know I will be there as soon as I’m finished here.” They might be requesting his presence, but they would have to wait. Perhaps it was stupid of him, but he wasn’t scared of angering his king.
The man nodded, his white hair waving around his shoulders before he turned his prancing stallion around and raced back to the castle.
Mathar sighed as he turned back to his kill. In no time, he skinned the dear and harvested the meat. Once he had it all packed away in packs attached to his horse’s saddle, he discarded the carcass, leaving it for the wild animals to pick at. It would be an easy snack for them in this constant cold of the ice giant mountains.
Then he mounted up and rode for the castle. When a king called, people hopped to it. He might not be afraid of angering his king, but he wasn’t about to make Dryden wait any longer then he had to.
Within an hour, the dark stones of the castle came into view. It never ceased to amaze him how formidable the castle looked with the white and green backdrop of the surrounding snowy mountains. Jasmine always referred to it as a fortress for demons, and he wasn’t too sure he could disagree with his human queen.
Mathar plowed through the village. People scattered out of his way as his stallion galloped through the cobbled streets. The moment he rode into the castle courtyard he leaped off his horse and tossed his reins to a stable hand who rushed to his side.
“Make sure my steed and deer meat are seen to.” He’d spent time hunting and collecting that meat, and he didn’t want it to go to waste.
As he headed off, he looked down at his hands which were still covered in blood from the buck. Quickly, he bent over, grabbed a handful of snow, and used it to wash away the blood. It wouldn’t do to show up before his new queen with blood covering him.
Once he finished cleaning himself up, he marched towards the indoor garden. His steps faltered every once in a while as he dreaded what the summons might be about.
Jasmine was planning a human wedding, and he feared Dryden was going to ask him to be a best man, whatever that meant. He wasn’t sure he wanted to be honored in a human tradition that made no sense to him. He preferred to be in the shadows, lurking nearby, ready to protect his king and his people, not front smack in the middle, clearly seen by all.
Mathar quickly made his way through the maze of the ice giant castle. He may not want to be honored by a position in their wedding, but that didn’t mean he could ignore a summons from his king even if he dreaded the topic they were sure to bring up.
He pushed open a wooden door and entered the castle gardens, a place he wasn’t too familiar with. He preferred to stay near the stables, the practice arena, or far away from the comforts of the castle. He enjoyed solitude and silence, and one rarely got either of those in a castle.
He shut the door and let the humidity and warmth wrap around him. It seemed so strange and foreign. He’d been born and raised in the snow, and this new environment was so different, but slightly… enjoyable.
The intense fragrance of roses greeted his nose. It was a rare pleasure to see flowers in bloom so far up here. The ice giants lived far enough up in the mountains for winter to be their one and only season. It kept the humans far away because of their delicate bodies and their inability to tolerate extreme environments. It was a sanctuary for them.
Dryden, his king, had wanted to please his queen, so he’d had an atrium built with a large glass ceiling to help capture any sunlight and heat the room. They also had raging fires in a few strategically placed hearths to keep all the plants inside at a pleasant temperature.
