Page 16 of Troll Queen


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MELANTHA REFUSED toglance over her shoulder as her new husband led her away from her family toward the pack of trolls who had witnessed the wedding. She could not show any weakness or these trolls would eat her alive.

The fire in her chest built until she barely stopped a scream from pouring out. How was she going to survive this constant fire burning her up inside?

She was all alone now. Her family hated her, all except Farrendel, the one who had the most reason to despise her. Her new husband was only marrying her to secure peace between their two kingdoms. She could not trust him. And her new people? They would as soon kill her as look at her.

Would her family even care if she were stabbed or strangled some night? Or would it be a relief that the worst scandal of their family was now eliminated without Weylind having to order her execution?

The heat in her chest strengthened her spine even as it shredded her inside. Who cared what her family thought? Or what these trolls thought? She would not be cowed. She would not bend. She would wear her regal mask even as she burned away from the inside out.

As they neared, the gathered trolls remained silent and staring. Were they sizing her up to figure out how best to off her?

Prince Rharreth let out a piercing whistle that had Melantha flinching. “To Osmana for the wedding feasting!”

That earned a roar from the gathered warriors, including a stomping, hooting kind of cheer.

Melantha eased closer to Prince Rharreth. At least she was currently tied to him. She did not have to worry about getting separated in this crowd.

Three trolls closed around her and Prince Rharreth. After nodding at them, Prince Rharreth started in the direction of Osmana, the trolls’ capital city. Even with her own long legs, Melantha still had to trot to keep up with him as he was still several inches taller than her.

Melantha sneaked a glance up at him. His tousled white hair brushed his forehead and the collar of his shirt. His gray skin was the same color as the stone around them. His shoulders were bulkier than the sinewy build of the elves while his square jaw and chiseled cheekbones were broader than the slim features she was used to seeing.

About the only thing familiar to her was the tapered point of his ear, which showed the shared ancestry the trolls and elves had. Thousands of years ago, they had all been one people, the forest elves and the mountain elves, until war tore them into two.

Prince Rharreth glanced at her and raised an eyebrow.

Melantha quickly looked away. She had been staring. But, she was stuck with him now. Was it too out of the ordinary that she would stare?

She stumbled over a rock, catching herself by her hand still tied to Prince Rharreth’s. Perhaps she should spend more time watching her feet and less time studying the troll she had married. The trail at the bottom of the valley was littered with rubble from all the nearby mountains that Farrendel had blasted apart less than a week ago. Her soft slippers were not suitable footwear for hiking in these northern mountains.

When she glanced up, they still had over a mile to hike to reach the wall of Osmana, rising across the far end of the valley. Melantha tried to pretend she was not breathing hard. How far would she be expected to walk every day?

Prince Rharreth cleared his throat. “Princess Melantha, I would like to introduce you to my shield brothers, Zavni, Eyvindur, and Nirveeth.” As he spoke, he gestured to each of the three trolls surrounding them in turn.

Zavni grinned and gave her a small wave. His front teeth had a large gap between them, and his light blue eyes had a twinkle to them.

Eyvindur crossed his arms and studied her intently. When he huffed and looked away, Melantha felt as if she had failed his inspection.

Nirveeth just grunted, and that was all.

“Shield brothers?” Melantha glanced between them. If Kostaria was going to be her home for the rest of her life, she would need to figure out their customs.

“When a troll becomes of age, they form a shield band of thirty to forty shield brothers and sisters to train. As long as they maintain their honor, they remain a part of this band for life, even when age or injury force them to retire from fighting.” Prince Rharreth kept his gaze focused ahead. “I have only eight members left in my band, counting me. The war took the rest.”

By the war, he probably meant Farrendel had killed a large portion of those. “Were those your shield brothers with you when you...on the mission to...” Melantha was not quite sure how to ask about Prince Rharreth’s mission to capture Farrendel. “On the mission to Escarland?”

“No. Our mission was to capture the elf monster Laesornysh. It was considered a suicide mission.” Prince Rharreth’s tone was flat. He might as well have been talking about the weather. “I was sent with a band of those who had dishonored themselves in some way. For going on that mission, their honor was restored, whether they lived or died, as long as they fought bravely at my side.”

As only one of the trolls who had gone with Prince Rharreth had survived, it had truly been a suicide mission.

Melantha raised her chin. She was not sure if this would be an inappropriate question to ask, but she needed to understand the trolls’ mindset about honor if she was going to survive as their queen. “What would have happened if they had not fought bravely?”

“If someone dishonors themselves once, they wear that shame but are allowed to live and are given the chance to redeem their honor.” Prince Rharreth’s deep blue eyes flicked to her before focusing back on Osmana ahead of them. “But if they throw away their honor a second time, they would be doubly dishonored. If they died, their bodies would have been burned instead of interred in their family’s crypt. If they lived, they would be hunted down, executed, and then burned. Their name would be expunged from their family. Their whole family would wear the shame and dishonor until someone in the family does something especially great to redeem the family.”

Melantha stared down at the path for several moments, navigating around the pieces of rock rubble.

By the trolls’ standards, she was dishonored. Perhaps even doubly dishonored, considering the severity of her crimes. She had turned traitor to her own kingdom and had attempted to kill her own brother. Was death and being blotted out of her family the only thing left for her now?

Or was there a way she could redeem herself? What could she do to earn redemption?

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