Slight and Shadow (Fate's Forsaken: Book Two) by Shae Ford Read Free Book Online Page A

been nothing. And Kael knew it was wrong.
    Death came closer, and closer. He drifted in like a fog across the seas. Soon, he was standing close enough that Kael could see his face — a face that looked so familiar and yet, he couldn’t grasp who it was.
    Then his heart figured it out.
    The throbbing inside his chest was panicked. His heart shrieked, pushing against his ribs. It stuttered like a friend who saw danger, but was too terrified to point it out.
    What? What? Kael heard himself say. He gripped his chest and peered at the man in white, trying to guess his face. What —?
    Death’s hand clamped over his mouth, firm and insistent. Kael tried to roll his head to the side, but couldn’t break free. He couldn’t draw breath. In his panic, he forced himself out of his dream, wrenched his eyes open and saw … Lysander?
    The captain was crouched over him; the worry on his handsome face showed clearly in the moonlight. He pressed one finger over his lips as he peeled his hand from Kael’s chin. It was uncomfortably damp.
    What? Kael mouthed. He realized that he was the one covered in sweat: it lathered his face, the backs of his knees and under his arms.
    Lysander held his hands out in front of him, as if he was begging Kael to stay calm. Then he cupped one hand around his ear.
    Kael listened. For a long moment, he didn’t hear anything. Then soft footsteps came from his left and he turned in time to see Aerilyn kneel down beside them. It looked as if she’d gotten dressed in a hurry: she wore nothing but her boots and Lysander’s white shirt, which covered her to the knees.
    An object passed between them, and Kael heard the sly hiss of metal as Lysander drew his cutlass from its sheath. Aerilyn’s quiver was strapped across her shoulders; she had her bow clenched in her other hand.
    Their worry put Kael on edge. What in Kingdom’s name was going on? He checked to make sure that his wallet of throwing knives was strapped to his upper arm. Then he began digging through his rucksack for his bow.
    “Why’d you have to toss it the whole way out here, Dred?”
    The booming voice came from just outside the bramble wall — so close that it made Kael jump.
    An unintelligible reply drifted in from further out, closer to the highway. “Well, one of you sorry blisters might’ve at least come with me … I know there are lions out here!” the voice snapped, after a second reply. “Why do you think I keep yelling? I want them to know that I’m not wandering around on my own.”
    Then came a sound that Kael most definitely didn’t want to hear — not at this time of night, and certainly not so close to their camp: laughter. Several voices worth.
    “Yeh, I hope His Lordship strips the meat off your back, Dred,” the voice near the bramble wall muttered. “It’ll sure hurt to laugh, then …”
    His words trailed off into a string of grumbles as he tromped closer. His footsteps were heavy. Each one sounded as if a full-grown man was driving both of his feet into the ground at once.
    Kael motioned for his companions to stay back. He grabbed his bow and dug an arrow out of his quiver. Then he crept towards the bramble wall.
    He was fairly certain he knew what sort of man lurked outside their camp — but he hoped that he was wrong. The brambles scratched at his cheeks as he pressed his face into a small hole between the branches. He squinted through the thorns … and saw that he’d been right.
    A giant stood outside of their wall.
    The giants of the Endless Plains weren’t actual giants, with toes the size of rum barrels and heads that scraped the sky. But they were exceptionally large men. As the giant wandered closer, Kael sized him up. If the top of his head reached the giant’s underarm, it would be a close thing. But even more alarming than the giant’s height was the thickness of his limbs. He might’ve been able to crush a slab of stone with his fist — or a man’s head.
    The giant stalked over to an