“So Theo right? What’s your relationship with the king?” Freya asked their new visitor when they were finally on their path. “The king is my father.” Theo replied, surprising her“Your father?!” She had to ask again. “You two seriously don’t look alike.” She mused.Theo was tall for a dwarf, his head hitting over her waist where all of the others were decidedly below her waist. They didn’t have any facial resemblance as she would expect.“So you’re something of a prince then.” She asked and he nodded. “Yes. I am the next ruler of the Vanes.” He replied and gave a sardonic laugh. “Though one can now say you rendered by father heirless because of course I’ll die in this stupid hole like all of the others.”“Such pessimism. Does it look like Adrian and I have set out to get ourselves killed?” She asked and he glared at her. “Yes. I have watched our strongest and bravest men come into this tunnel and never return. The last one was a team of seven and I thought that if anyone could get
“It’s nice to meet you.” The woman that materialised behind Freya said.“Who are you?” She asked, watching her warily. She looked like a ghost, pale and surreal and the smile she had on her face did nothing to ease Freya’s mind. “I’m The Seeker. Your little rude friends above call me The Exhumer I suppose.” She said and Freya let go of all defence and called her magic. “There is no need for any of that.”“Where are my friends?!” She growled and set the arrow for her heart. “One wrong word and I will send you straight into the pits of hell.” “The hostility is entirely unnecessary.” The creature drawled. “Wrong answer.” Freya growled and let the arrow fly. She let it miss the creature’s heart by half an inch and her arrow pierced the female’s flesh and... nothing happened. Freya’s brows furrowed with confusion. “Like I said, the hostility is unnecessary.” The creature said. Freya let three of her arrows fly in close succession and not a single one of them made any impression on t
“Wait!” Freya screamed and the woman grinned. “This is what I was looking forward to. The reality is that truth comes with pain, and so does the lie. Do you feel it? Your lies caused someone so much pain that you might as well have just stabbed his heart. It tastes like heaven.” Her hands curled into fists with anger. The woman was putting her on the spot, creating a wedge between them. “Whatever is between us is not your business.” Freya gritted out. The pale ghostly glow around her was getting brighter as if their pain was truly giving her more power. “I know, but I have now made it my business.” She replied. “I ask again, who is Adrian to you?”Freya’s mind spun as she tried to find a way around this sick game and she came out empty handed. For now she needed to play along until an opportunity provided itself. “Who is Adrian to you?” She asked again, her voice rising. “My lover.” Freya replied. “Lie.”Adrian’s cage dropped and she bit her lip to contain her scream. His cage
“Your hand!” She grabbed Adrian’s bloodied hand after the glass cage finally crashed to the ground and shattered. “Fuck the hand, are you okay?” He asked her. “It took me so long to notice the illusion. I’m sorry.” It was what he was trying to tell her for so long and she never deciphered it. “You did well.” He said and gathered her to him for a hug. She held him close, the truths she spoke earlier an elephant between them. “Adrian, about what I said earlier-““Shhh.” He replied and placed a hand over her lips. “We’ll talk about it later.” He said and she dropped it. His air magic floated the body of the Exhumer across the chasm to their feet and Theo finally got free from his cage and marched forward. He kicked the body; positioned his hand below her nostrils and finally stood. “She’s dead. Is this a dream?” He whispered. “Is the Exhumer dead for real?”“Yes.” Freya said, staring down at the body. It turned out this large cat-sized creature was the same one that had been terr
The next few days were bliss. While the dwarves were busy in the day and night rebuilding and expanding their territory, the first letter came to Freya and Adrian only a day after they killed the Exhumer. Someone wanted to buy their services, if they could kill the rogue creature that fed on their livestock at night. “What do you think?” Adrian had asked her and she’d grinned. “Hell yes!”That was five days ago and since then, Adrian and Freya had killed four rogue creatures that they’d been contracted to kill. News about them was spreading like wildfire and the letters kept on piling up. Somehow, she had found her way back to her first job it seemed, doing what she did best; killing. She met Adrian’s gaze from across the grove and he pointed. She followed the line of the pointing and nodded. She and Adrian had never been better. After a day of hunting and killing, she loved nothing more than being in his arms. Being with him was so simple because she didn’t have to think. When s
She and Adrian went with them of course. There were far too many of the crocodile creatures for her to put up a fight without casualties. “Perhaps she just wants to host us for tea.” Freya whispered and Adrian scoffed behind her. They were in a large boat with the crocodiles, sailing the sea towards the tall castle that was coming into view over the horizon. Adrian let out a low whistle when the castle came fully into view. “Impressive.” Adrian observed b“That’s even huger than the castle in my realm.” She agreed. A show-off then? Or someone that loved grand gestures?They pulled up to the bank and the crocodiles climbed off, prodding her to do the same.“Don’t touch her.” Adrian growled and gripped the crocodile’s arm. “Let it go.” She told him and got off. “Let’s find out what the bitch wants.”The crocodiles led them into the castle which looked like what a state of the arts castle in the human world would look like.They came upon a double door which was pushed open and made
Adrian struggled to his feet when the pain in his chest became a little more bearable. “Freya!” She was on the floor, her knees drawn to her chest, her eyes shut tight with her entire body shivering. “Freya wake up!”Her face was carved into an expression of terror but no matter how much he shook her, she never stirred. He turned on the queen with a furious snarl. She had her eyes closed, a smile on her lips and her hands extended towards Freya. “What are you doing to her?!” He lunged at her but the crocodiles were there, grabbing his arms and holding him immobile. He growled and his magic sparked. He had every intention of torching the entire stupid castle to the floor and the queen with it but reaching for his magic made his body start to seize. He dropped to his knees, his jaws locked as the seizures rattled him from head to toe and he tasted blood in his mouth. The magic never manifested because he couldn’t reach it. It felt like someone had built a wall cordoning him off from
Adrian peeled his eyes open with effort, disoriented for a second but the pain reminded him of where he was.A sound of pain made him startle and he found Freya, her knees drawn up and her arms wrapped tight around herself as tears flowed down her face in rivulets. “Freya!” His tongue was heavy and his speech slurred, thanks to the savages that broke his jaw. “Freya!”His body screamed as he stood but he dragged himself to her, putting both hands on the sides of the face. “Freya look at me.” Her eyes were wide open but she wasn’t seeing him. Whatever she was seeing was terrible enough to put that fragmented light in her eyes. He shook her but she flinched and retreated from him. “Mother.” She whispered, a single tear rolling down her eyes. “Release her!”He turned back to the queen with a hiss.“Or what?” She drawled, her lips curved with ecstasy as an invisible breeze lifted her hair. “What can you do, sorcerer? Have you forgotten you are at my mercy? You have none of your powers