Grounded By Love (The Giant Wars #2)(78)

"What have you done with her?" Kaeldar asked again. He was starting to get sick of this back and forth. He just wanted an answer so he could go save her, and then he would come back and deal with his father.

His father puffed up again, knowing he had information Kaeldar was desperate to get his hands on. "I had her taken care of."

"Taken care of?" Kaeldar repeated dumbly, as he tried to calm his mind from running wild. "What exactly do you mean by taken care of?"

"You won't be seeing her around anymore."

Kaeldar growled and took a threatening step forward. "I'm losing my patience here."

“Don’t you talk to me like that boy. I created you, I can bring you down if I so choose.”

“I won’t leave, until you tell me where she is.”

His father’s eyes squinted at his son as he tried to read Kaeldar, but Kaeldar had shuttered his emotions. "I paid off your guard and had some loyal men take her far away from our lands."

Kaeldar's heart froze. "Did you take her to a human village?" He prayed it was so, else his father was having her body taken away from here, meaning she was dead.

"No, I had her dropped off in the forest. I don’t care if she survives, then at least she won’t be coming back here to distract you all over again."

Kaeldar fisted his hands and restrained himself from jumping over the table to pummel his father. He and his father had never been close, and it was one battle after the next.

But pummeling his father to a pulp wasn’t the right way to handle this situation. He had to take his father down in a challenge on a field of battle. He couldn't just leap over the table and kill his father without tradition and expect his people to crown him king.

The humans might think they were barbarians, but they had rituals to solve problems. Rituals that if followed would make it possible for Kaeldar to get rid of his hate filled father once and for all.

The last straw had been thrown on his back. He left the room, before he did something stupid. He had to get to Claira, before something else did, like an animal or the environment.

Walking out of the chamber Kaeldar pointed to the first male he saw, “Get my horse ready, I’ll be leaving as soon as possible.”

The giant nearly tripped over his own feet, as he rushed to do Kaeldar’s bidding.

There was a dark cloud following Kaeldar that everyone was able to see, but Kaeldar didn't have enough time to feel sorry for how he was acting. He had only a few precious hours to get to her.

His father must have known she took calls at all times of the day and night and that there wasn't a single night where there wasn't some sort of call.

Thankfully, when he arrived at the stables, after stopping off at the kitchen, the horse was saddled and ready to go. He’d grabbed some dried meat and fruit for Claira, because he would find her. Kaeldar refused to believe otherwise.

Dread made his heart beat skip a couple of times. He wasn't sure whether or not he was going to find her alive or not.





Chapter 20


Claira woke to find herself blanketed in darkness and draped over the back of a horse. The horse’s backside was digging into her ribcage, and the pain was almost unbearable.

How long had she been laying on top of the back of the horse, and where was she headed?

She knew someone had jumped her in the hall. They had better pray Kaeldar didn’t find out who they were or she was sure they would wind up dead.

She couldn't believe she was wrapped in a bag. Her heart rate was out of control, and she was having trouble thinking clearly, but, ever so slowly, the panic faded away, and she was able to once again process what was going on.

That is until a throb in her head began. With the way she was draped over the horse, all the blood was rushing into her head. Attempting to raise a hand to her brow Claira discovered her wrists were tied together.

What was happening here? Who had the people in the corridor been and were they the same people who had her at the moment?

The bag was so thick she wasn't able to see anything. She couldn’t make a guess whether it was day or night.

The pressure on her stomach worsened, as the horse kept plodding along. It was a great thing she hadn’t eaten anything before they kidnapped her or she would be sharing the bag with her barf. That idea made her cringe.

At some point, Kaeldar would swoop in and save her. Unless it took him awhile to realize she was missing. Who knew what kind of head start these people had.




Kaeldar couldn't believe his father had decided to get rid of Claira. Had he thought Kaeldar would just decide it wasn't worth it to get Claira back, when he had originally brought her to the castle?

The guard would be dealt with later, for now, he had to find Claira.

He had to stop blaming himself for what his father did. In no way could he have predicted his father’s actions. Then again maybe he should’ve known, but right now he needed to keep his mind on the journey ahead, not on his faults.

He’d been able to dig up some more information, before leaving the stables. Some of the stable hands had heard some information, like where his father’s men would abandon Claira and how they had taken her.

He knew he must look wild eyed and feral. He wasn’t one to be messed with. Digging his heels into the horse's side he forced it into a full out gallop. He needed to get there, find her, and bring her back.