“They have a castle in theclouds?” she breathed.
He smiled as he drew her close to kiss her forehead. “They do.”
When he took her hand, she fell into step beside him as they maneuvered past trees whose trunks were as big around as a water tower. The indents in their bark were so deep she could stick a finger in them, if not her whole hand, in some areas.
The leaves above her were a brilliant lime green, yellow, and blue mixture that rustled when a breeze drifted through them. Birds sang while they hopped from limb to limb.
These were not the birds of earth, unless ostriches suddenly started flying while also releasing a sweet song entirely out of place for their overly large, plump, and vivid orange bodies.
“What is this place called?” she asked.
“Colossal.”
“That’s original.”
Cole chuckled, but his eyes darted around the trees while he walked beside her. She tried not to let it bother her, but it was impossible not to notice the shadows gathering closer.
She’d never forget the shadows tearing into the Lord’s men in Verdan or the darkness creeping through him when he returned to the prison. How much longer could he keep them under control?
Lexi shuddered as she tore her attention away from him. In this land of giants, she couldn’t dwell on the morose possibilities of everything that could go wrong.
They had to try winning the giants over to their side, though that was easier said than done. Colossal remained untouched by the Lord’s army, probably because the giants sided with the Lord during the last war.
Finally breaking free of the mammoth trees, Lexi came to an abrupt halt. Her jaw dropped when she spotted the giant castle a dozen miles away. Despite its distance, it stood out in vivid detail as it was so enormous it blocked half the sky.
It might even take up more of the sky, but some of it was lost within the green clouds floating across the sapphire blue sky. Because the giants were so destructive, brutal, and monstrous during the war, she never expected so much beauty from their realm, but it wasmagnificent.
Giant, green vines twisted up from the earth and into the floor of the castle. She suspected the vines didn’t just go into the base of the castle butcomprisedit. Though the jagged, sharp edges on the vines could have been thorns, they probably weren’t, as those vines appeared to be the only way into the castle.
Lexi couldn’t help but think of “Jack and the Beanstalk.” She wondered if some human had somehow wandered into this magical realm and created the fairy tale afterward.
From the castle’s center, a brown stone structure rose thousands of feet into the air. It went so high its yellow, circular spire pierced the clouds floating in and out of the building’s windows.
“It’s beautiful,” she breathed.
“It is,” Cole agreed.
“Have you ever been inside?”
“Once, when I was barely more than a child. The clouds drift through the inside too. I tried to touch them as my father spoke with the giants, but my fingers would float through them. They dispersed before reforming around my hand. It’s the first happy memory I can remember after my mother died.”
Lexi’s heart clenched as she clasped his hand. She could picture him as a young boy, with his heart still trying to heal from the loss of his mother but so full of awe as he played with clouds.
“We have to climb the vines to get into the castle?” she asked.
“We do, and if the giants don’t want us there, they’ll let us know.”
Lexi gulped, but there was no turning back from this; they had to speak with the giants. She was about to step out of the woods when the tree beside her trembled.
CHAPTERFIFTY-THREE
With a barely suppressed yelp,she jumped back as Cole grasped her arms and spun her away. Lexi barely registered moving before she found herself staring at his back.
Then, the tree that had been deeply rooted in the earth pulled itself free of the ground with a loud, sucking sound. Dirt, sticks, and rocks fell from the tree. As they did so, she realized no roots dangled from the huge creation. Instead, the shaking off of debris revealed a brown shoe that planted itself firmly on the other side of the trees.
It’s not a tree; it’s a giant’s foot!
Lexi’s heart hammered as the giant bent down through the trees until its cheek nearly touched the ground. Its brown eye was almost level with hers. A black patch covered his other eye.
