Page 21 of Winter's Scorching Kisses
Marching forward, he aimed for the first. It was best to kill a snake at its head, and he knew once the first man went down, the second would lose his nerve and be an easy kill.
With a roar, Mathar swung his sword at the first man, the blade whistling through the air before it landed against the sharp metal of the other man’s sword. The force of the blow caused the man to stumble back.
The crunch of leaves behind him had him spinning around. He raised his sword and blocked the strike from the second man on instinct. With a quick flick of his sword, he sent the man reeling.
The whistle of a sword blade slashing through the air had him ducking. The first man’s blade whipped past him, close enough to shave a few hairs off his head. Popping back up, he jabbed the sword tip into the man’s exposed belly.
Mathar didn’t waste any more time on the first human. Quickly, he yanked his sword back out and spun around to find the second had dropped his sword and had run in the direction of the manor.
With a growl, Mathar leaped into action. He couldn’t let the human get back to the manor.
Sprinting after the second human, Mathar easily covered the ground between them. Taking aim, he slashed his sword at one of the man’s legs, and he made contact. The tip of his sword cut through the man’s pants, and he went down with a howl of pain.
Using a foot to roll the human over who was now clutching his calf while continuing to howl in pain, he frowned in distaste. Forcing the tip of his sword down, he heard the blade crunch through the man’s ribcage, his pained howls gone in a second as he bled out over the ground.
Mathar shook his head. So much for this being a simple in and out job. He hadn’t anticipated curious humans roaming the forest, but if their bodies were found before animals got to them, no one would know it was a giant who’d killed them. There’d be no way for them to know.
Bending over, he rummaged around in the man’s clothing until he found anything of value on the second human. Then he strode over to the first and took anything off the body that looked valuable. It wasn’t because he wanted their things, but because he hoped it would simply look like a robbery by fellow humans.
Once he stuffed the looted items into a pack on his horse, he strode back over to Adorra.
The moonlight fell across her face, highlighting her lips, and he felt himself lean towards her as he knelt beside her. All he could seem to think about was leaning in and finding out if her lips were as soft as they looked.
Reaching out a hand, he cupped the side of her face and skimmed the pad of his thumb over her plump bottom lip.
Then he shook his head.
“What the devil are you doing?” Mathar pulled his hand back like she’d scolded him.
He glared at the soundly sleeping woman before him. The sooner they got back to the castle the better. He gathered her up in his arms, and grabbed a hold of the ridiculously fluffy dresses, and carried them all over to his horse.
Dropping her on the ground like a sack of grain, Mathar stuffed the gowns he’d taken, into one of his saddlebags. The damn things barely fit with all their layers and ruffles. He stuffed them in until he was able to tie the pack shut with a leather string. Those things were ridiculous.
Then he turned his attention back to Adorra. He picked her back up and bundled her up. Then he threw her over the rump of his horse. Sticking a foot into a stirrup, he mounted up, reached back behind him and hauled her up in front of him on the saddle. Time to get them far away from any humans and back to the ice giant castle.
Once he had her firmly tucked into his arms, he kicked his heels into the sides of his stallion. It launched into a sudden burst of speed, and the trees whizzed by in a blur of motion.
The lack of snow down near the border was a bit disturbing for him. He needed snow in his life, maybe not all the time, but he needed to have more of it than the humans got all the way down here. He’d been raised in it, and he wanted to die among the snow flurries.
The horse continued to charge through the forest without the hindrance of snow. They’d cover a lot of ground, which was good. After his little fight with those humans, he was worried about encountering more.
He knew how long he had until Adorra woke, and he planned on getting them far away from the manor, in case she decided to be a bundle of trouble. Humans tended to be way more resourceful than they should be. Jasmine had taught him that much with how she’d twisted Dryden around her little finger.
His arm tightened around her as his horse jumped a log, and continued galloping through the forest, eating up the ground with its large hooves.
With a day gone by, Mathar finally pulled up on the reins, stopping his horse. He’d given his stallion plenty of breaks and allowed the beast to go at different gaits, but now it was time for both of them to have a rest, especially now that Adorra should be waking from her dose of berry tea.
They were far enough away from the manor and any human settlements that any catterwalling she did wouldn’t be overheard by any passerbys.
Mathar draped her over the front of his saddle and then swung a leg over the back of his saddle as he dismounted. Turning back to his horse, he unstrapped a pack from the back of his saddle and rolled it out by whipping it into the air with a snap.
“Damn humans and their complications.”
Jasmine just needed to have her sister brought to her. She couldn’t just wed Dryden without her sister’s presence. He knew why she wanted her sister, but he didn’t understand it. Jasmine needed her sister’s approval and well wishes before she could fully give herself to Dryden.
He rolled his eyes as he popped up the fur tent. He turned back to Adorra, who was still unconscious, “It’s not large, but it will have to do because I don’t enjoy being burdened with dead weight, like you.”
He wrapped his hands around her waist and slipped her off the back of his horse. He laid her down on the ground near the tent so that he could get to another pack on his saddle. The one with furs so they’d have something to sleep on other than the unyielding ground.
