Chapter 6: The Girl in the Carriage
The road was empty and cold.
Ian crouched in the treeline with Gnasher hunched beside him. The Titan's breath came out in little puffs of steam. His beady eyes were fixed on the bend in the road where the carriage would appear. Every few seconds he shifted his weight. Nervous. Eager.
"Steady," Ian whispered.
Gnasher whined softly but stayed put.
On the other side of the road, hidden in a thicket of bare trees, Sera waited with Grip. The gray Titan was perfectly still. His long fingers were wrapped around a tree trunk, feeling the bark. Sera had stopped trying to make him stop. At least he wasn't making noise.
The plan was simple. Carriage hits the bend. Gnasher steps into the road ahead. Grip steps out behind. Boxed in. Horses panic. Guards panic. Ian grabs the girl while everyone's looking at the monsters.
Simple.
Ian's heart was pounding. Not from fear. From something else. Anticipation. This was the moment. The line between being nothing and being something.
He thought about Marta back at the manor. She'd kissed him before he left. Soft and warm and tasting like sleep. "Come back," she'd said. Not a question.
He thought about Sera beside Grip. She'd touched his hand before they split up. Quick. Almost shy. "Don't make me regret this," she'd said.
He planned not to.
The sound of hooves. Distant at first. Then closer. A driver's shout. The creak of carriage wheels.
Ian tensed. "Ready."
Gnasher's vertical mouth opened slightly. Tongue lolled. He was ready.
---
The carriage rounded the bend.
It was a nice one. Dark wood. Gold trim. The Valdris crest on the door. Four guards on horseback. Two ahead, two behind. Exactly as Sera had said.
Ian waited until the lead guards were twenty feet from Gnasher's hiding spot. Then he pointed.
"Now."
Gnasher lurched out of the trees.
The effect was immediate. The lead horses screamed. Reared. One guard was thrown backward off his mount and hit the ground hard. The other managed to stay on but his horse was backing up, eyes white with terror.
Gnasher stood in the middle of the road. Three meters of pale skin and needle teeth. His vertical mouth opened wide and he made a sound that wasn't a whine. It was a screech. High and piercing and wrong.
The driver of the carriage yanked the reins. The carriage horses tried to turn. Too fast. The carriage tilted. Wood groaned.
Then Grip stepped out behind them.
Four meters of gray skin and impossible arms. He didn't screech. He just stood there. Silent. Smooth face tilted. Long fingers flexing at his sides.
One of the rear guards drew his sword. His hand was shaking. "What in the hells—"
Grip reached out and took the sword.
Not fast. Not aggressive. Just plucked it from the guard's hand like you'd take a toy from a child. He held it up. Turned it over. Felt the steel with his fingertips. Hummed.
The guard pissed himself. Ian could smell it from the trees.
"Go," Ian muttered to himself. Then he moved.
---
The carriage door was stuck. The tilt had jammed it. Ian grabbed the handle and yanked. Once. Twice. On the third pull it screeched open.
Inside was a girl.
Lira Valdris was small. Dark hair pinned up with little silver clips. A green dress too fine for travel. Wide brown eyes that were fixed on Ian with pure terror.
She opened her mouth to scream.
Ian clamped his hand over it. Not hard. Just enough.
"Scream and the monsters get curious. You don't want them curious."
Her eyes flicked past him to the road. To Gnasher, who was now sniffing the fallen guard. To Grip, who was still examining the sword like it was the most interesting thing he'd ever touched.
She didn't scream.
"Good girl." Ian pulled her out of the carriage. She was light. Too light. Nobles didn't eat enough. "We're going for a walk. Quiet. Calm. You behave, you live. Understand?"
She nodded. Tears streaming down her cheeks.
Ian looked over at Sera. She was already moving toward him, keeping low. Grip followed, still holding the sword.
"Gnasher," Ian called. "Come."
The Biter Titan looked up from the guard. Chittered. Pointed at the man's boot like can I eat this?
"No. Come."
Gnasher whined but obeyed. He shuffled over, hunched and twitchy.
The guards were scrambling. The one who'd been thrown was groaning on the ground. The others had backed their horses into the trees and were shouting at each other. No one was chasing.
Good.
Ian pulled Lira into the forest. Sera fell in beside him. Grip and Gnasher followed, massive footsteps shaking the frozen ground.
Behind them, someone finally blew a horn. A warning call. Too late.
---
They walked for an hour.
Lira stumbled twice. The second time she fell and Ian had to carry her. She was shaking. Silent crying. The kind where your body just gives up on making noise.
Sera walked ahead with Grip. The Titan had given her the sword. She held it awkwardly, like she wasn't sure what to do with it.
"He gave you a gift," Ian said.
"He took it from a guard and handed it to me. I don't think that counts as a gift."
"He likes you."
Sera glanced back at Grip. The Titan was touching tree trunks as he walked. One after another. Feeling the bark.
"Lucky me."
Lira made a small sound. Ian looked down at her. She was staring up at him. Face pale. Lips trembling.
"Are you going to kill me?" Her voice was tiny.
"No."
"Ransom?"
"Yes."
"How much?"
"Everything your uncle stole from my family and more."
Lira blinked. "Your family?"
"Ian Voss. The Western Reaches. Your uncle took my land. My inheritance. Everything but the house."
Lira was quiet. Then she said, "I didn't know."
"Most people don't. Doesn't matter."
"It matters to me."
Ian looked at her. She wasn't lying. She was young and scared and sheltered. But she wasn't stupid.
"We'll talk more at the manor. For now, be quiet and don't run. The big ones are fast."
Lira looked at Gnasher. The Titan noticed her staring and tilted his head. His tongue lolled out.
"He looks hungry," she whispered.
"He's always hungry. But he listens."
"To you?"
"To me."
Something shifted in Lira's expression. Not trust. But calculation. She was a noble. She'd been raised to read people. To find leverage.
Ian recognized the look. He'd worn it himself.
"Don't," he said.
"Don't what?"
"Try to turn them against me. They won't. They're mine."
Lira's jaw tightened. "Everything's yours. The monsters. The women. The plan. Is there anything you don't own?"
Ian thought about it.
"Not yet," he said. "But I'm working on it."
---
Marta was waiting at the manor door.
She saw them coming through the trees. Four figures. Two massive ones in the back. Ian carrying a girl in a green dress. Sera beside him with a stolen sword.
She opened the door without a word.
Ian set Lira down in the foyer. The girl wobbled but stayed standing. She looked around at the bare walls. The dust. The emptiness.
"This is your house?" she asked.
"This is my house."
"It's..."
"Say it."
"Sad. It's sad."
Ian didn't argue. He turned to Marta. "She needs food. Water. A place to sleep that isn't the basement."
Marta nodded. Looked at Lira. The girl looked back. Two women from different worlds standing in a broke lord's foyer.
"Come with me," Marta said softly. "I'll make tea."
Lira hesitated. Then followed her toward the kitchen.
Sera watched them go. "She's handling it well."
"She's a noble. They're trained to handle things."
"She's also eighteen and just got kidnapped by monsters. Give her credit."
Ian rubbed his face. The adrenaline was fading. Tiredness settling in.
"We need to send the message. Tonight. The Duke needs to know we have her before his soldiers start burning villages looking."
Sera nodded. "I'll write it. Cold. Professional. No threats, just facts. He pays, she lives. He doesn't, she dies. Simple."
"Simple."
She touched his arm. Brief. Warm. "You did well. The Titans listened. You didn't kill anyone. Clean job."
"Grip took a man's sword."
"Grip borrowed a man's sword. There's a difference."
Ian almost smiled. "Go write the letter."
She left.
He stood alone in the foyer. The front door was still open. Cold air spilled in. Outside, Gnasher and Grip were settling into the stable. He could hear Grip's soft humming. Gnasher's anxious chittering.
He closed the door.
---
Marta found him in the study an hour later. He was staring at the wall. Not thinking. Just empty.
She set a cup of tea in front of him. Sat in the chair across the desk.
"The girl is sleeping. In the room next to mine. I gave her one of my dresses. Her green one was ruined."
"Good."
"She asked about you. Who you are. Why you're doing this."
"What did you tell her?"
Marta looked at her hands. "I told her you're a man who lost everything and decided to take it back. That you're cold but not cruel. That you keep your word."
"Is that what you think?"
"That's what I know."
Ian reached across the desk. Took her hand. Her fingers were warm from the tea. Rough from work.
"I don't deserve you," he said.
"You keep saying that."
"Because it's true."
Marta squeezed his hand. "Maybe. But I'm here anyway. So stop saying it and start showing it."
"How?"
She stood. Walked around the desk. Sat on his lap. Not seductive. Just comfortable. Like she belonged there.
"Hold me," she said. "Just for a minute. No plans. No schemes. Just this."
Ian wrapped his arms around her. She was soft and warm and smelled like bread and woodsmoke. He buried his face in her hair and breathed.
The world outside was cold and full of enemies. But here, in this moment, it was just them.
"Thank you," he said quietly.
"For what?"
"For staying."
Marta didn't answer. Just held him tighter.
---
Later, Ian checked on the Titans.
Gnasher was asleep. Curled up in his corner like a dog. His vertical mouth was slightly open. A thin line of drool dripped onto the straw.
Grip was awake. Sitting against the wall. Touching a piece of wood he'd found somewhere. Over and over. Feeling the grain.
Ian sat beside him.
"You did good today. No one got hurt who didn't deserve it."
Grip hummed. Turned his smooth face toward Ian.
"I know you don't understand everything. But you understand enough. You're smart. Both of you."
Grip reached out. Touched Ian's head. Gentle. One massive finger running down his hair.
Ian let him.
When he went back inside, Sera was waiting in the hallway. The letter was in her hand. Sealed with wax.
"It's done. I'll send it with a rider at dawn."
"Good."
She didn't leave. Just stood there. Looking at him.
"What?" he asked.
"I watched you today. With the girl. You were rough but you didn't hurt her. You carried her when she fell. You didn't have to do that."
"She's leverage. Broken leverage is worthless."
"That's the cold answer. What's the real one?"
Ian leaned against the wall. "I don't know. She looked scared. I remember being scared. No one carried me."
Sera stepped closer. "You're not as empty as you pretend."
"Don't tell anyone."
She kissed him. Soft. Quick. Then pulled back.
"Your secret's safe."
She walked to her room. The door clicked shut.
Ian stood in the dark hallway. The manor was quiet. Marta asleep upstairs. Sera behind her door. Lira in the guest room. Two Titans in the stable.
A week ago he had nothing.
Now he had something.
It wasn't an empire yet. But it was a start.