Aelthiriel's POV
The massive creatures grunted and growled, looking visibly pissed that their nest had been disturbed.
They came at us like a landslide. The earth vibrated beneath the heavy strength of their bodies. They were giant male ogres, more than twenty-five feet tall.
The first ogre burst from the trees to my left, uprooting a sapling as it charged, its club—a whole tree trunk stripped of bark—dragging furrows through the earth.
Another crashed down from the ridge ahead, landing so hard the ground shuddered beneath my boots. Two more flanked us, cutting off retreat with ugly, tooth-filled grins.
My heart slammed against my ribs, and I dropped back, pain shooting fast to my skull like silent pellets. I hid under the cover of the trees, not from fear, but because I knew I wasn't much use for him in the fight except for surveillance.
I didn't want to get in the way, just as I didn't want to be split open by a starving ogre.
"Left!" I shouted instinctively. "Raelion—left!"
There was no time to argue about who was right or wrong. Right now, we are both in this. If he lost, it was both our asses on the line.
"Left," I screamed again, at the top of my voice. "Move left. One of the big things is coming from the left."
But Realion didn't move. Instead, he dragged his ears to the air, listening for the movement, rather than relying on my guide.
I didn't know if he was being stupid or was trying desperately to prove a point—that he doesn't need me. I just watched him, shocked and confuse.
The ogre's club whistled through the air. He sensed the attack and twisted at the last second, but he was too late. His staff snapped up just in time to deflect the blow—but the impact sent him skidding backward, boots carving lines in the dirt.
He caught himself, breath sharp, staff vibrating in his grip. His whole body was rigid and standing but still trembling.
"Let me guide you, Raelion," I said urgently. "I can see them, you don't, and you need me—"
"No," he snapped, already moving again. "I don't need anyone."
Damn it! I grunted, biting down hard on my lower lip. Why wouldn't the bastard just forgo his ego and listen?
He was just out to doom us both today.
Another ogre roared and charged from behind him.
"Behind you!" I screamed.
He refused to turn and instead listened for the sound first before he moved. And again, he wasn't fast enough. There was a little time lag between when he could hear evidence of the attack and the time he could react.
A problem that could be easily solved if he listened to me and relied on my eyes.
The ogre's fist caught him square in the ribs.
A sickening crack snapped loud and sharp. It rang like a bell under the forest air.
Raelion flew, slammed into a tree, and dropped hard to one knee. Blood splattered the bark.
"Damn it!" I barked at him. "You're blind, not invincible! Just let me help. You need my help."
"I don't..." He spat blood onto the ground and forced himself upright, jaw clenched so tightly his teeth looked like they might shatter. "Just stay out of this fight. I don't need you."
Idiot. Stubborn, arrogant, suicidal idiot. Millions of surly adjectives and curses filled up my head. I itched to scream them at him. It took all of my self-control to just mutter them under my breath.
I just hoped he didn't doom us both. Males loved their egos, but he—worshiped his.
My heartbeat spiked to a tempo that beat against my ears in a loud, ominous rhythm as I watched.
The Ogress surrounded him, circling him in a coordinated effort.
He quickly summoned a shield, and magic flared around him—raw, violent pulses of force snapping outward like invisible whips. One ogre swung his voluptuous fist at him. It bounced against the shield.
The ogre screamed as its arm bent the wrong way, bones crunching with a charade of cracking noises like a crumbling pack of wood.
With one scream, the circular formation around Raelion broke.
He scooped magic from the shield around him, morphed it fast into a massive boulder of light, and threw it. Another ogre staggered then as a blast slammed into its chest.
It affected its balance, and it kissed the soil. The ground trembled beneath my booth again.
Raelion had delivered some damage, but magic without sight was going to lead nowhere but chaos.
Raelion struck where he thought the ogres were, his magic just sailing off into space.
The ogres seemed to have learned quickly that he was blind.
One circled wide. Another feinted to the right while a third crept low from the left. They were brutish, yes—but not as stupid as their sizes claimed.
They all attacked at once. The magical shield couldn't endure all the damage, and it cracked instantly, flickering off in a ritual of glowing lights. A club slammed into Raelion's back then. He cried out despite himself, staggering, his boots unearthing soil and dust.
I would have let the ogres beat him to a pulp. Perhaps he would finally listen, but if he fell, so would I.
I ran toward him, ignoring my pain, even as it screamed through my side, devouring every nerve ending in its wake. My hands shook, as did much of the rest of my body.
"Raelion!" I shouted. "They're flanking you—three steps left, one behind—"
"STOP!" he roared, swinging blindly. "I can handle this myself." But his staff struck nothing but air.
One of the ogres grabbed him by the shoulder and lifted him like a rag doll before throwing him into the ravine wall.
My heartbeat rose to the extreme, following as Realion hit stone and slid down, unmoving for a while.
Panic clawed up my throat.
I ran to the idiot again, my teeth shattering from the agony sluicing up my veins.
"Get up, fool!" I screamed at him. "You'll die if you don't listen to me!"
He just huffed a loud grunt and whipped his head away. Then he pushed himself to his knees, breathing ragged, blood streaking his temple. His pride still warred in his eyes.
Just how far was he willing to go with his stubbornness? How stupid can this male be?
Another club came down. He tried to dodge. But at the speed it came, he was powerless. It caught his shoulder square on.
He screamed, thrown against the ravine again with a force that rattled the stones.
I was at his side in an instant, gripping his arm hard enough to bruise.
"Enough, fool!" I snarled. "This isn't about you anymore. If you don't want to live, I really want to? So get the hell up and listen to me." I barked at him.
"You shouldn't talk to me—" he growled.
"I will talk to you however I like." I retorted, the edge in my voice growing louder. "I can't let you have me killed. I have my plans, and I won't let you ruin them with your ego. So you better listen to me, or I will kill you myself." I made a gesture of crushing his neck with my hands. Though he couldn't see, he was blind.
There was a long pause between us, punctuated only by the ogres' eager and taunting grunts. Then, through clenched teeth, barely audible, Raelion grunted. "Okay…guide me."
Relief hit so hard my knees nearly buckled.
"Good," I said fiercely. "Now listen."