Page 123 of The Sea of Zemira (The Zemiran Chronicles 1)

Though immensely tall, the giant’s body was not broadly built. Her gangly, dingy-grey-colored figure hunched forward; her skin wrinkled like old leather. She tilted her head backward and inhaled, followed by a grimace as if disgusted by their scent.

I do not know what I was expecting, but it was not this, Nola said in her mind.

Mazie took her fist and pounded it to her chest. The corner of her lips quirked, and her eyes lit up in excitement.

“Over here, you dimwitted twat,” she shouted, her voice held confidence and vigor, even though a heavy wave of nerves billowed in the pit of her stomach.

The giant turned her gaze away from the queen and over to Mazie. She hastily unsheathed her sword and widened her stance, ready for the giant to charge for her, expecting an immediate blow to the chest. Tauntingly, Raven twirled her sword around and stopped, wielding the blade high above her head.

“Nola,” the queen said, “Meet Beatrice.”

Oh, she even has a name! Excellent!Nola thought, disgusted by the situation.

“That’s right, you ugly piece of shit. Get over here!” Mazie shouted as Beatrice stomped once in her direction, shaking the ground. The giant jumped and landed next to Mazie on the platform.

The wooden boards split in two, tripping Mazie backward. The pirate winced as a piece of the broken wood smacked her in the face. She hurried back but kept the sword wielded high above her head. Mazie’s right hand came up to wipe a small amount of blood dripping from her nose.

“Bitch!” the pirate cursed before jumping to her feet and charging for the giant. She swung her sword to the side, slicing through the giant’s ankle. The creature roared in pain.

Mazie’s proud moment dwindled when she heard gruff laughter from the crowd. It annoyed her. When she agreed to fight the giant, she had not expected the queen to make a performance out of it.

The giant was huge, but not as Mazie had imagined. She looked to be about twenty feet tall. Her copper hair was cropped short to her shoulders, ratted with leaves and twigs as if she had just awoken from sleeping on the forest’s grounds.

Her fingernails were stained, and her skin appeared rough and covered in aging spots. Beatrice flashed her crooked, brown teeth at Mazie as she stomped forward again. Suddenly her face twisted from pain. She quickly looked down and saw a long laceration on her ankle.

The giant let out a piercing cry, then lifted her hand, backhanding Mazie so hard against the face she flew airborne towards the crowd of anxious onlookers. One of the fairies caught her but shoved her back into the arena.

“Oh, you got it comin’, disgustin’ beast!” Mazie was ready to go right away once she planted her feet back on the ground. That time, she raced towards the giant, her sword out forward. The fear she had at the beginning was gone. The only emotion left was the determination to end that fight before she could get seriously injured.

The giant screamed and looked down as Mazie slid between the giant’s leg, slicing the other ankle. The giant bent her knees, grabbing Mazie’s hair with the tips of her fingers, and lifted her like a rag doll.

As the monstrous beast brought Mazie closer to her face, a low growl escaped her lips.

“Oh...bloody hell!” The pirate gagged as a foul smell flowed out of the giant’s mouth.

Beatrice gripped the pirate around the waist with her enormous and rough fingers and squeezed.

“Mazie!” Kitten yelled as the rest of the crew growled and complained.

“I’m fine,” Raven shouted back, not wanting them to get involved. She knew they would if she was in real trouble.

Get it together,Mazie, she said to herself.

She was not going to lose to a giant known to have the intelligence of a Woodland troll.

“Fuckin’ monster.” Mazie winced as the giant squeezed tighter, feeling one of her ribs crack. For a slight moment, her mind tried to leave her body as if blacking out from the pain—escaping the reality she might die.

The crowds’ shouts were a mix of horror and excitement, and the black-haired pirate was not sure if they were cheering her on or hoping the giant would kill her.

Come on, mate, you got this. Think!Lincoln thought, gripping hard at the arms of his chair.

As if Mazie had heard her captain, she quickly reached out and dug her nails into her enemy’s nostrils, pulling her face closer to hers. The black-eyed pirate chomped down, digging her teeth into Beatrice’s thick and repulsive skin.

A low squeal left the giant’s mouth, then released the pirate to bring both her hands to her wart-covered face.

Time to die, you beast!Mazie sucked in a deep breath as an idea hit her.

She bolted again in the same direction as last time, climbed up the rows of seats, and pushed a few fairies out of her way. Raven cared little about their safety as they stumbled down the steps. Then she jumped over the rail, landing outside the arena, and sprinted towards the forest.

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