An hour or so later, Augustina returned with an entire boar slumped over her shoulder. Stephen’s jaw dropped in shock as his mind tried desperately to process what he was seeing. Augustina had only a single bead of sweat running down her neck. Kate had found some stone dishware tucked away and was polishing them with a plain cloth.

“Really, sister? An ENTIRE boar?” Kate sighed, “It’s going to take us hours to prepare it.”

“I couldn’t pass it up,” Augustina explained as she let the boar drop to the ground with an incredible thud, “the beast was sipping lazily from the lake when I shot it. Took an hour for the creature to bleed out, it was exhausting just tracking the thing.”

“That’s the exhausting part?” Stephen said incredulously.

Augustina fixed Stephen with a proud glance and lifted her sleeve to reveal a thin shining silver bracer, “They’re enchanted. Very handy for combat, hunting, and wrestling Wyverns.”

“Wyverns?” Stephen scratched his head, recalling the battle between Sebastian and Augustina, “You mean that winged monster you were riding before? The thing Sebastian called a Shadow Beast?”

Augustina nodded, but she looked wounded by Stephen’s words, “Monster might be a little harsh of a term, but I can understand your ignorance.”

The corner of Stephen’s mouth twitched in annoyance.

“You’re correct, however, that Shadow Beast was a Wyvern,” Augustina continued, “They’re only slightly more intelligent than other Shadow Beasts, so they can be trained.”

Augustina ran her finger over the bracer tenderly, “It was a gift.”

Kate spoke up, “From Kaxure?”

“Rapture?” Stephen asked, not sure if he heard Kate right.

“Kaxure.”

“Casper?”

Kate giggled, “Kaxure. Cack-sure.”

“It’s Kaxure,” Augustina said firmly, “and yes, it was from him.”

There was a long pause. Stephen stood to the side, watching as he saw each of the sisters avoiding eye contact.

“So it’s true,” Kate said dolefully, “I’d heard you fell for him, but I thought it was just a rumor.”

“It’s complicated,” Augustina turned away from her sister, “Anyway, we can save the serious talk for later. For now, let’s focus on dinner.”

“I’ll get more firewood,” Stephen said quickly, eager to escape the tense air.

Kate opened her mouth to object, but nodded. Augustina shrugged, “Go ahead, Kate and I will begin work on the pig.”

Without pause, Stephen left the cabin. It was the afternoon, but the sky was overcast, so the air was cool and refreshing. Stephen took in a few deep breaths. There was no rush to grab firewood, so he walked towards the lake and took a seat. Leaning back, Stephen closed his eyes and put the past day’s happenings aside.

--

Stephen opened his eyes when he felt something drip on his face. The sky was darker now. Stephen could hear deep thunder in the distance that shook the ground. Rubbing his eyes, Stephen realized he’d fallen asleep. For a moment, his memory of what happened was fuzzy.

“That’s right, the sisters were fighting,” Stephen stretched, “Better get that firewood, before they get angry with me, too.”

Stephen walked towards the cabin and turned left. If he remembered correctly, the pile of firewood was just around the corner. As he stepped around, he heard someone gasp from inside the cabin.

Augustina's voice could be heard through the cabin’s walls, “Kate, what’s the matter?”

A chill filled the air that filled Stephen with dread. He couldn’t register what was happening, at first. But he could see, behind the pile of firewood, a shadowy shape stretching upward like a snake rearing up to strike. There were no eyes, but Stephen could make out an outline of a head, neck, and long sharp arms.

In the shadow’s hand was a silver dagger with a needle-like blade. The shadow moved from behind the pile like a gelatinous cloud. Stephen’s legs were icy and numb. He tried to shout, but the air had left his chest. As the shadow grew closer, Stephen could do nothing but scream in his mind.

A flash of lightning streaked across the sky, blotting everything out in a split-second curtain of light. Kate had appeared in front of Stephen, her dagger crossed against the shadowy figure’s. Her arms shook from the strain of holding back the being’s attack.

“Run!” Kate shouted above the thunder, “I’ll hold it off, just run!”

Stephen’s mouth moved, but no sound came out. Or, rather, the thunder itself had become so loud, so close, that it drowned him out.

Augustina wrapped her arms around Stephen and lifted him with ease. She shouted in Stephen’s ear, “He’s here, let’s go!”

“K-ate… Kate!” Stephen choked out the words. He wasn’t sure why he was so fixed on her now, but he’d already lost Sebastian. He did not want to leave another person behind.

“Kate’s got it,” Augustina said through gritted teeth, “I’m sure of it…”

Stephen didn’t believe Augustina, the last of her words wilted from her mouth.

Another crash of thunder shook the ground so hard the cabin rocked. Energy rushed through Stephen’s body. He kicked his legs as his mind realized that the thunder was, in fact, the giant’s footsteps.

The wet, seaweed hair and haunting face of the giant loomed over the hill beside the cabin. Stephen was briefly grateful that Augustina was effortlessly running as she carried him. That is until he occurred to him that she was running towards the giant.

“What are you doing?” Stephen exclaimed, trying to twist around and break free.

“What do you think? That giant was sent to recollect me, after all!”

“Are you crazy?!”

“Shut up and hold still!”

Augustina raced uphill, the rain beating against her face as she carried the crazed body of Stephen up to the top, where the giant reached down and snatched the pair up. The giant deposited the two in a pouch sewn onto the side of its loincloth and turned away from the cabin. Its mission was fulfilled, so it started Eastward.

Stephen gasped, which was a mistake. He’d never smelled something so foul. It was much worse than B.O. To Stephen, it was like a sewer crawled into an old shoe and died.

Fighting the smell and motion-sickness, Stephen managed to croak out, “We have to go back for Kate!”

Augustina pushed away from Stephen, cursing Kaxure for not making the pouch bigger, “We can’t! This giant won’t be around much longer, we’ll just barely make it to the castle.”

“But she could be dying!” Stephen’s head spun, he was going to faint soon. He didn’t handle motion-sickness well and the smell alone was probably going to be sautered into his lungs.

Augustina turned her head away from Stephen, tears brimming in her eyes, “She’ll be fine. I’m sure of it.”

The last thought to run in Stephen’s head was the queen’s voice. Death waits around the corner. She couldn’t have meant Kate, right? The prophecy was supposed to be about him, Stephen thought. His mind flashed back to that moment; Kate was holding back the shadow’s attack, her arms shook, her eyes were wild and desperate. A single tear ran down her cheek, aglow with the lightning.