Lorena smiled from ear to ear and drew my head down toward her, her tongue pushing between my lips. As her heat intensified, I found myself coughing.
Startled, she drew away.
My throat went dry all of a sudden, and a sharp pain throbbed in my head—the likes of which I hadn’t felt since I was a human. It was like an intense migraine. I sat up in bed.
“What’s wrong?” Lorena asked, squeezing my shoulder.
She pulled herself upright next to me and placed a palm over my forehead. She withdrew it instantly, as though I’d given her an electric shock.
“Kiev, your forehead! It’s… it’s warm.”
I brushed her hand aside and turned away from her as I coughed again. This time, specks of blood sprayed out of my mouth, landing next to Mona’s dried blood on the floor.
What is going on?
Chapter 2: Mona
I’d lost count of how many days I’d been traveling. I’d begun to believe that I might perish in the ocean before arriving at my destination. But finally, in the early morning hours, I caught sight of it in the distance.
I inhaled sharply. The ogres’ kingdom appeared even more terrifying than the rumors had made it out to be. I pulled my shawl closer around my shoulders as a gust of sea wind chilled me to the bone.
The island consisted almost entirely of black mountain ranges. A towering stone wall surrounded the island. As I drew nearer, screams and shouts rang in the distance, and the beating of ceremonial drums.
There were countless rumors about this place. But one was agreed upon by everyone:
He who ventures in doesn’t venture out.
I pulled the dolphins to a stop once we approached the beach, unpacked the small bundle of personal belongings I’d taken with me, and jumped out of the boat into the shallow water. I cut the dolphins free from the boat and they swam away.
I would have no more use for them.
Shaking, I walked across the sand until I reached the giant iron gate, spiked with what appeared to be human skulls. I knocked with all the force I could muster, yet it sounded pathetic against the thick metal.
I knocked again.
When there was still no answer, I shouted out, my voice trembling:
“Open the gate!”
I shouted for several minutes until eventually, there was a deafening crack—the sound of a large bolt being drawn—and the gates swung open.
Standing before me were two ogres—each easily five times my size. They wore nothing other than loin cloths made of animal skin around their rotund waists. Their leathery skin was a muddy brown, their dark tusks stained with… I didn’t want to know.
Before I could say a word, one of them grabbed my arm and flung me over his shoulder. He ran, and since I was hanging upside down with my stomach against his back, it was hard to even make sense of my surroundings, or where he was taking me.
Though I didn’t miss the sound of the gates clanging shut.
Finally, he stopped running and let go of me. I fell face forward onto a cold stone floor. Wincing and rubbing my head, I looked around. I was in the corner of a small empty hall—within one of the mountains, I was sure, since the walls were jagged rock. The place was poorly lit—there were only a handful of dim lanterns for the whole room.
Keys clanked behind me and I turned around to look at the ogre. He was standing outside a large door, fumbling to open it. When he managed it, we were hit by a wave of screams echoing through the darkness.
He swung me over his shoulder again as he entered through the door and began walking down a staircase.
“Wait!” I shouted over the noise. “I need to speak to your king.”
He made a sound that sounded halfway between a grunt and a chuckle.
He continued walking down the steps and once he reached the bottom, he lowered me to the ground again—a little more gently this time. I stood up and looked around me. We were in an enormous low-ceilinged dungeon. Every inch of it seemed to be covered with cells, except for some narrow pathways winding between them. The place reeked of sweat and mold. Again, this place was poorly lit, but I could just about make out the prisoners—all humans, it appeared. Hundreds of them.
I wondered how they could have gotten hold of so many. Though I didn’t have time to wonder for long. The ogre gripped my arm and dragged me forward. He stopped outside an empty cell and flung me in, locking the door after me.
“Wait!” I shouted again. “No! I need you to take me to your king.”
The ogre’s laugh was more pronounced this time.
“Why would the king waste his time on you?”
“I’ve come to offer my services, but I need to speak to him specifically… please. Tell him I want a meeting.”
He rolled his eyes and walked off. I prayed that he’d do as I had requested.