Balam: Virgo the Pure (Trials of the Zodiac Book 2)

THE BERSERKER KING

BALAM

My scythe cut into the arm of the giant queen. She gritted her teeth and fell back; in her burning fist was a bloody dagger. I lashed out with a broad attack, pushing her further back. Queen Sigrid threw the knife, and I executed a backbend to dodge it. The blade lodged into the stone wall behind me up to the hilt.

Bent over, I could see the chaos happening behind me. Most of the giants were running, but a few, both frost and fire giants, had knives and axes in their hands. This was a planned assault. Prince Breki was obviously in on it. He smiled like a lunatic as he attacked a helpless dwarf. I shortened my weapon and flung it at him. His face curved downward as he dodged out of the way.

Below me was King Kivi, his blood soaking the leather sandals I was wearing. Zakhar sat on his knees, his body shaking as he contained tears. I returned upright when I locked eyes with the queen. King Dov slid into place beside the Fire Queen. He was holding an ax like it was another limb. Frost Giants were masters of the weapon.

"What are you doing, boys? Fight," Queen Mona ordered. She made prayer hands, and mighty tremors rocked the palace. The stone balcony shuddered and cracked until a rod of stone grew at her side. Queen Mona pulled it from the ground and spun it around her. Without fear, she engaged frost and fire giants with their bladed weapons.

Rashid ran forward with his sword drawn. His target was Queen Sigrid. She stood ready, her body an inferno, the heat almost too much to bear. Luckily, we had Jalen, who had found some water, bending it into an arc that quenched the flames, dancing along the Fire Queen's upper body.

A giant sailed between me and Rashid, sailing over the railing and out of sight. I turned and saw Kai with his fist in the air. He caught my eye and pointed at Zakhar. I knew Zakhar was hurting, but he was a sitting duck. He had to join in, or they were going to kill him.

I turned and kneeled next to the king. I wasn't bothered by the blood soaking into my clothes, only sad. He was a lovely man who didn't deserve this. "Zakhar, please, you have to fight. You have to help us. We're outnumbered, and they have weapons. I can't protect you and defend myself at the same time."

He looked up at me, anger and hate radiating off of him. I wished I could have shielded him from this. I wanted to hold his hand and let him cry, but now wasn't the time for sentimentality. The loud clash of weapons and the thunderous roars of Giants replaced the music of the harpist. The palace had now turned battlefield and smelled of death rather than baked goods.

I turn back to our opponents. Two Frost Giants were coming after us, both bearing wicked smiles. They took a step forward only to fall out of existence. The ground beneath them had suddenly opened, dropping them hundreds of feet below the balcony. Two dwarves remained behind them, their hands in the same prayer motion as their queen.

Mountain Giants and Half-Born were doing their best to defend themselves against the Giants of Fire and Frost, but the pool of blood was growing. Without weapons, our side was gaining heavy losses. Guards tried increasing in stature to gain an advantage, but our enemies had that gift too.

I wanted to return to fighting Queen Sigrid, but Jalen and Rashid were doing a good enough job holding her back. She was against the railing, only able to dodge attacks without her knife. Me jumping in would only disrupt their synergy.

She was the least of my worries. King Dov caught my eye. His axe, made from what looked like bone and steel, was raised and ready as he charged us. Despite his size and bulk, he moved almost as quickly as Kai. That was unnatural; the frost giants were known to be ordinarily slow. Curses were being used on the giants to aid their speed and strength, but by who? Sebastian couldn't have had his claws in them, could he?