Twin Curse(59)

It was like trying to stand with a log on his shoulders. The heavy  weight pushed all the air out of his lungs, and his knees threatened to  collapse. How did warriors manage to run and fight in this stuff?

Oh, that's right. They had muscles. Something he lacked.

"I can't do it," he said helplessly. "I can't even walk in this."

Kriss stared at him, her arms crossed. "Well, this was a stupid idea, wasn't it?"

"It wasn't my idea!"

"It was your idea to stand up in the middle of the tent and announce  that we should try talking to the humans. What kind of nonsense was  that? What did you think would happen?"

"I … "

"You didn't think, did you? That's why you're not a warrior. A warrior  would think through the consequences before acting. And you'd better  start doing that, or you're not going to get out of this alive." She  paused. "Of course, the sooner you die, the less time I have to spend  hauling your butt around."

"Well, don't worry, I'll probably die pretty quickly."

He'd meant his comment to come out as a joke, but somehow, it sounded mournful. He should have kept his mouth shut.

Kriss turned away. He couldn't blame her for giving up on him. He was a lost cause.

"Here, try this." She held out a smaller breast plate.

Jasyn lifted off the huge one and swapped it with the one she held. At  least this one he managed to put on without any help, even if there were  gaps at the sides. He flexed his arms. He could move more easily, too.  "This is better. Why didn't you give me this one before?"

"It's the one we give to kids when they're training," she said dryly.  "It's not designed to stop anything more than a wooden sword."

"Do the humans have wooden swords?" Silly question, of course not. How  could they kill trolls with wooden swords? "I guess you want to see me  get killed even quicker," he joked.

"You won't die if you stay out of their way. Don't try to be a hero. Let  us do the killing. You just grab any food you see and stay low."

He couldn't follow her. One minute, she seemed like the considerate and  fair troll he'd met in the forest, and the next she was the cutthroat  warrior again. Did he dare to hope she'd thought about him since then,  too? Jasyn stared at her. "It's almost like you don't want to see me  die?"

"I don't want to see any of my warriors die trying to save you."

Jasyn swallowed. "No, of course not. I'll stay out of the way."

"And do exactly what I, or any other warriors, tell you."

Jasyn nodded solemnly. What was he getting into?

"Here." Kriss held out a sword.

Jasyn stared at it. "I …  I can't."         

     



 

"Trust me, it comes naturally when a human is running at you, screaming  bloody murder. I know you have no training, but they're puny and small  and not that hard to kill. Even you should be able to take a single  human out."

That didn't make him feel any better. He shook his head. "I can't kill someone."

Kriss raised an eyebrow. "Not even if they're trying to kill you?"

Images flashed through his mind. Humans running at him, swords swinging  wildly, followed by dying screams and blood. Jasyn's stomach clenched.  He shook his head again. "I can't."

Kriss stared at him in disbelief for a moment, then shrugged and put the sword back. "It's your funeral."





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Bound by Magic, United by Love.

Jasyn is at the bottom of the food chain in the troll camp. As a mage,  he lacks the brute strength that he could use to demand respect. He  certainly will never catch the eye of a warrior woman like Kriss. But  when he finds a book in a human village detailing unknown facts about  the curse of the trolls, he knows he has to act before the trolls fight  themselves into extinction.

Ever since she was a little girl being bullied around by her brothers,  Kriss has been determined never to be weak. She'd never look twice at a  troll like Jasyn. Strength and being able to beat anyone is her goal,  and she won't let anything distract her from it. Until Jasyn stands up  to their leader and insists there is another way. A more peaceful way.

The two of them form an alliance, bound in a marriage of convenience,  focused on finding a way to end the fighting. An alliance that tests  them in more ways than one. But can a people who have been ruled by  strength and war ever find a peaceful solution to their problems? And  can Kriss and Jasyn find time to look for their own happiness?