Grounded By Love (The Giant Wars #2)(22)

“Claira!” He called out to her again, but received no response. Briefly, he wondered if she had wandered away from camp.

With the way she healed, like a mother goose, he would’ve thought she would come running to his side if she heard him call out to her. If she had wandered away, he was positive she would’ve stayed near enough to hear his bellowing.

She had such pride in her work that she wouldn’t want him to die on her watch. So where was his human?

Kaeldar rose quickly, and then paused as he put a hand to his head. His eyesight blacked out, and he swayed unsteadily on his feet. He needed something to drink and something to eat.

Looking around the small tent he found his shirt and shoved that over his head, and then grabbed his sword. As he left the tent, he tied the sword to his belt. There was no telling whether or not he would end up needing it.

The borders were never a safe place, for either side.

He still found it strange she would take such great care of him only to leave him. It seemed against her nature.

Everything within the campsite was in its place. The horse was still there and with her feet he highly doubted she would just decide to walk a great distance.

“Human!” He yelled at the top of his lungs.

No one responded. There was only the noise of the forest around him, and the nervous snorting of Claira’s horse. Had he rescued her only to have her get herself lost in the woods?

Kaeldar grabbed some water, while he looked to the ground for clues of where she may have gone. She would’ve left tracks of some sort.

Nothing seemed out of the normal, until he stumbled onto a pair of boot prints. They were too large for her, and they were too small to be Kaeldar’s.

Had someone from the village followed them? Those humans sure did have trouble letting go of their resentment. Or they were just completely dimwitted. He wasn’t in the mood for dealing with humans.

Kaeldar marched over to the horse, mounted up, and set out after the tracks.

If he were a betting man, he’d bet it was a man from the village. There was only one human village nearby, and only one human village that would hold a grudge against her. Which meant he only had to retrace their steps to find her.

Kaeldar wanted his healer back, but his heart beat too quickly for such a simple reason. He knew he could end up being too late to save her life. Claira had grown on him. Her gentle presence was soothing to his war ravaged soul.

She better be all right, when he found her or the villagers would answer to him and his foul mood. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d destroyed a human village, and he was sure it wouldn’t be his last.

The ride felt like it took forever, and as he was losing hope of finding her outside of the village, the sound of another horse's snort caught his full attention.

Slowly, he made his way around a few trees, until he saw where the other horse was standing. Kaeldar laid a hand on the hilt of his sword. This horse could be the sign he’d been looking for. He crept his way around the area and let his senses take in everything around him. He didn’t need someone sneaking up on him unexpectedly.

Holding out his hand he made soft sounds to the other horse. He didn't need it to shy away from him and cause a ruckus, but the horse didn't seem to be fazed by his presence. It stood there calmly, as Kaeldar searched its saddlebag, and then the ground around its hooves.

He couldn't find any prints on the ground. The horse’s owner had wondered off without a single trace, but he was sure the owner would be somewhere in the close area.

Kaeldar made his way back over to his horse, when he heard a scream. A scream that came from a voice that sounded very familiar to him.




Claira struggled underneath Robert's weight, as she tried to shove him off. She’d survived a witch burning, with the help of a rock giant, so she wasn't about to lose now. She would come through this. She had to believe in her ability to come out on top.

She knew she was fighting a losing battle, but she had determination on her side. Claira was getting ready to try to knee him in the groin again, when he suddenly disappeared.

Puzzled she sat up and looked around. The sight before her stole her breath away.

There was Kaeldar holding Robert by the neck. Robert's feet weren’t even able to touch the ground, because the giant was holding him so high. Robert's hands grasped at the one hand Kaeldar was using, but it was in vain. A flicker of light made her glance down at the rock giant's other hand.

A dagger. He was holding a dagger! Suddenly, she realized what Kaeldar was planning.

“No!” She cried out, as she leapt up and reached out a hand.

It was too late. Kaeldar plunged the dagger deep into Robert's gut.

Claira covered her mouth, as she gasped. Sure, Robert had turned into an evil monster, but she was a healer. She hated to see a dagger sticking out of his body. To add insult to injury, the rock giant twisted the dagger within Robert's chest, seeming to take pleasure in it. Robert gave out a chilling wail of pain.

It froze the blood in her veins and caused goose bumps to spread out all over her skin. Claira couldn't stand it. She rushed over to the rock giant.

“Let him down! Let him down now!” She screamed at full volume.

He stared down at her with his hard onyx eyes, and at that moment she would’ve described them as soulless.

He, slowly, let go of Robert, setting him down on his feet. Robert promptly sank to his knees, and then fell onto his back. He coughed a little, as blood sputtered up from between his lips. His hands came up to clutch the dagger that was still imbedded in his chest. Robert turned his head, so he was able to see her, and Claira read the shock and blame within his eyes. Her fault.