Page 9 of Terragnata and the Heir of the Earth

A woman with silver hair and a lined face stepped forward. “Terra, I am Jana,” she said, placing two hands on her chest, miming her words. “Can you understand me, Terra?”

My head nodded on instinct, but my eyes narrowed. She knew my name. Just as Fayzien had known my name on Spring Day.

“I am here to bring you somewhere safe,” she said, hesitating a moment. “Do you recognize me?” she whispered.

I had no recollection of the woman’s face, but her presence seemed friendly. Barring, of course, that she maintained the company of what appeared to be henchmen or warriors of some kind. But if she was using some sort of trust-building tactic on me by acting like she knew me, it wasnotgoing to work.

She took another two steps forward, more urgently this time. “We don’t have much time. We must go now,” she said, holding a hand out for me. I extended my hand as if to place my palm in hers. Instead, I snatched her wrist and yanked the woman towards me, shifting my body to the side as I pushed her into the three people standing behind us.

It was all the distraction I needed. In a flash, I darted through the space she had stood and I was out of the house that no longer served as my home. My diversion worked. No one followed me as I raced back into the forest, darting from rock to root to lessen my tracks. To Gia’s. I had to get to Gia. I had to make sure she was safe.

But less than a minute after entering the trees, something firm crashed into me from behind, taking me down to the ground.

I braced for the fall, somehow directing myself toward a patch of soft grass. Lightly tanned, muscled arms framed my vision on each peripheral. The hard point of a knee pressed into the small of my back, pinning me down. I let out a wheeze of pain from the hard impact, and the pressure on my back softened. It was the space I needed. I shifted my weight just slightly, giving myself enough leverage to flip onto my back and knock the knee away.

The terror that had a firm grip on my mind loosened. Like the blue-eyed man, my attacker was unnaturally large, with features that seemed to be cut from glass. But he wasn’t as unsettling as Fayzien; his face was warm and had a soft golden hue. And his ears… they came to sharp points, unlike any ears I’d ever seen. But all of those details were nothing compared to his eyes. Set behind thick curling lashes, they were an unnatural green, like smoldering emeralds.

His brows furrowed, and I snapped back to the present moment. He heaved, like he was winded. I immediately tensed and tried to shove myself backwards.

His body stiffened in response to mine, and he grabbed my wrist, pulling me up. He stood a head taller and clearly outweighed me. His broad chest hadn’t stopped heaving, and I knew it was my best chance to run. I pulled myself close to him before he could react and sent my knee straight into his manhood.

Surprise flickered on his face as he keeled over, huffing in pain, but didn’t release me, the pressure of his fingers still hard on my wrist. “You know, this would be far easier if you didn’t play little warrior,” he grunted out.

The deep tenor of his voice sent a shock through me, but I didn’t let the feeling breed hesitation. I twisted my arm in his and maneuvered to hold on to his wrist. I yanked hard, putting one hand on his shoulder and using my other to bend his arm behind him. Then I jammed the heel of my foot into the back of his knee. That made him falter, dropping to the ground, and he released me. I blinked in shock at the efficacy of the move. But before I could turn to run, he swung a leg around, sweeping me off my feet. I fell face first into the dirt and a wash of heat ran through me, my cheeks reddening.

I rolled over my shoulder and found him standing once again, staring at me.

“Pretty clever move, especially for a country human. I wonder, where did you learn to fight someone three times your size?” he asked, his tone challenging.

A country human—what odd specificity. And his question rang through me, like I had the answer sealed in a box my mind couldn’t access. I shook my head slightly, refocusing on my adversary. I stood and raised curled fists to each side of my ears.

An amused smile spread over the man’s face. “Bellatoriwants to dance, eh? Well, I never refuse when a lady asks for a dance.” With that, he lunged. He jabbed, I swerved. He hooked, I ducked. I blocked only when absolutely necessary, conserving my strength. I was in a cold focus, landing a few blows to his unguarded ribs. HowdidI know how to fight? It felt effortless, like my muscles remembered something I did not.

The man watched me with a wild intensity as we “danced.” He seemed hesitant to strike me and unaffected by the punches I made to his gut. Eventually he landed a hit on my jaw, which left me staggering back, spitting blood. He made a move to seize me again, and I let him think my moment of vulnerability was his triumph, wobbling back towards a lone aspen as he grabbed me. I flipped my grip on his wrists once more and twisted them behind his back. He was far too strong for me to hold, but I used his weight as momentum. I let him fall into me, let his struggle collide with my strength as I pivoted and forced him forward, slamming him into a nearby tree.

He collided with it headfirst. I let him slump to the ground and took off running once more.

I ran full speed to Gia’s. Dusk set, and Gia’s was the only place I had to go. My association with Gia must have posed great danger to her now, with so many looking for me. I approached her house on light feet, triple checking for anyone on my tail. Crossing my fingers that she would be home, I tapped a pebblethree times on her window, our private signal to meet at our favorite maple, just a few paces into the wood and out of sight.

It took ten long,dread-filled minutes before I finally heard Gia’s distinct footsteps. The sound of her approaching sent a wave of relief over me and I exhaled, not realizing I’d been holding my breath.

“Terra? Is that you?”

I stepped out from behind the large trunk, letting the moonlight cast shadows on my face. “Oh, the gods, look at you, where have you been!” Gia cried as she embraced me. “Mav told me what happened at Spring Day. I can’t understand it. The whole town looked for you everywhere, including that stranger—Fayzien.”

I grimaced at her words. The mere mention of Fayzien’s name gave me chills.

“Eventually, they all assumed he found you and you left with him. But I knew you wouldn’t have gone willingly without saying goodbye… and I went to your house, and everyone was gone, and blood stained everything and, oh, Terra, I was so worried,” she babbled.

But she stopped when she noticed the tears streaking my mud-soaked face. I couldn’t hold it in anymore. Now that I felt an ounce of safety, I let them come, in loud heaves. She held me as I sobbed and sobbed, eventually pulling me into her small lap on the ground. And she sobbed too, her wailing rivaling mine. For she realized what I had lost. And she realized what she had lost too, for her betrothed had been my brother Danson.

Long after our tears dried,the sun had set, and we clung to each other like we were all we had left. I guess that was true. Gia was all I had, at least. Eventually, I pushed myself up to sit.

I rested my head on my knees. “I’m so sorry Gia,” I mumbled. “They killed him because of me. I don’t know why, but they were looking for me and, and I just…” I trailed off.

Gia sat up and faced me. “Terra, it is not your fault,” she said softly, squeezing my hand. “Do you know what they did with his body?” she asked, a moment later, tears re-forming in her eyes.

I shook my head. “They were all gone when I came out. I was… I hid in the cellar when he killed Mama, and I couldn’t—” I choked, unable to finish my sentence.

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