Freya’s eyes flew open and she was surrounded by water. It was in her lungs and the pain was excruciating. Air! She needed air. She tried to swim upwards but her body was jerked back in place by the thick strong tentacles wrapped around her torso. The tentacle contracted and she was suddenly being pulled deeper into the water. She screamed and water poured into her throat again, seeping into her lungs. Some creature was trying to drown her, its tentacles holding her tightly immobile. She pushed at the thick tentacles but it was way too strong. Kicking and fighting the deathly pull with all of her strength, her blade of shadows sharpened in her fist and she stabbed it into its flesh. It thrashed, releasing her momentarily and she took advantage of the opportunity, swimming hard for the surface. She had barely swam two feet when the tentacles gripped her again, more than one of them. Her arms were bound tightly to her side and another tentacle crushed her throat. She couldn’t move a
Freya hadn't had this much fun in ages. After about an hour of the dwarves attacking her and she evading their strikes, she finally held the dwarf king by his feet and held him upside down while he squealed like a pig. Adrian came running, hands held at the ready to defend himself with magic and she flashed a grin at him."Welcome. You missed all of the action." She quipped and he lowered his hand and trudged forward. "Obviously." He muttered. She dropped the king whom she'd already tied and he fell on his forehead with a pained howl. "Any one else have a score to settle?" She asked the rest of the dwarves that were not bound. They clustered together and watched her with wide frightened eyes, shaking their head tentatively. They were not really the fighters of the group. All the fighters already came after her and were all tied and bundled together with their king.In what was supposed to be an ambush, one of the dwarves ran at her from her blind spot. She spun around and swept h
Finally, Freya felt human. She was clean and well fed and her life was no longer in danger. Sort of. She didn't miss the dangerous looks that followed her down the street, openly hostile. It was the least she expected of course. She and Adrian actually took turns babysitting their king whom they kept in chains. "Somehow your three suns don't look too bad when I have a roof over my head." She commented and they ignored her. Adrian and the conquered king were most likely still at the dwarves' castle and her feet froze in mid-air when she heard a scream. She spun around, tracing the sound of the wailing to a house and she started to run but the other dwarves merely looked in the direction and stood solemnly, none of them following suit. "What's going on?" She asked as she crashed into the clearing. The female dwarf was on her knees wailing as she clutched something to her chest. "What is it? What's wrong with her?" She asked but none of the giants paid her any mind. She walked to
The entire tribe of dwarves was here to see them off and for the first time, the dwarves were looking at them with something other than hostility. They had hope on their faces. Adrian adjusted the tight fitting breeches and his scowl was a permanent feature on his face. “Don’t be such a droll. It will be fun.” She teased him. She loved teasing Adrian, it came so easy. In truth, her blood was pumping hard and she felt excitement in her veins. She was looking forward to the hunt and the challenge.“Fun?” Adrian scoffed. “‘Fun’ is fucking and talking with you and watching you. ‘Fun’ is not walking into a trap set by these short folks.”Her elbow jabbed into his rib. “It’s crazy, one would think you never had any fun before I came into your life.” Said Freya. “I didn’t.” He countered with a deadpan expression and she nodded sympathetically. “Of course you didn’t.”He was looking into her eyes with an expression that made her wonder if he was being serious. “That’s besides the point
“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