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held on, refusing to be unarmed. His other hand dropped his sword and gripped her neck. He dragged her to him.
    And that's when she smelled him. Beneath the scent of the stolen tunic he wore, his stench rolled over her, filling her nostrils and revealing who he truly was.
    Not a barbarian after all.
    But a goliath.

 
     

    Ivy brought up her knee swiftly, connecting with his firm stomach. His hold on her relaxed, and she shoved him out of the forest and into the sunlight, breathing hard from her effort. A goliath. And she had thought the possibility that he could have been a match for her. True, his fighting skills were nearly unparalleled, but she hated herself for having thought such a thing, especially considering she had known nothing about him. How foolish and weak-minded I was. Never again.
    He did not stagger back from her blow, which annoyed her. Rather he stepped back of his own volition. "I could have killed you five times already," he said in a slow drawl, grinning viciously.
    Ivy stiffened at his insult before relaxing into a turn, slicing with her blade. The goliath's large steps granted him a reprieve, and he merely watched the blade slash the air in front of him. A bored expression on his face — how it unnerved her.
    "With what weapon?" she asked coolly as she kicked his dropped sword into the pond.
    In seconds, he produced a dazzling array of weapons, armed to the teeth. A morning star, a double axe, a flail, and another sword. Somehow he held them all, and every one pointed at her. His blades reflected his skin coloring, both shades on the lighter side of green, the far light more prominent. The slightly darker appeared like tattoos. No war paint distorted his coloring. Remnants of clay to hide his greenness had melted away from the sweat of their battle. He looked more human than most goliaths, although far more muscular than pathetic humans could ever be.
    She raised her blade so it touched her nose, signaling she was ready to commence battle yet again.
    The goliath dropped the axe and the flail and swung the morning star. Round and round it swiveled until he released it. The weapon soared through the air.
    Not having enough time to remove her shield from her back, Ivy whipped around. The morning star connecting with the shield jarred her spine. Refusing to show a trace of weakness, Ivy whirled around, claimed the morning star as her own, and with a barbaric war cry, charged the goliath.
    His green eyes did not blink as he brought up his sword to hold back hers. His might was stronger, but her will outpowered him. Despite his claim, they remained evenly matched, countering and parrying, a sick twisted dance that would result in one's death.
    Ivy kicked his chest and slashed downward with her blade, but he circled to her right, one arm extended toward her shield, still on her back. She half-turned to swat him with the morning star, but he yanked on the shield's spike, the harsh movement jerking her arms back. Anger stirred deep within her, boiling over, clouding her vision but strengthening her muscles. Ivy swung the sword with all her might.
    The goliath had moved, however, and her sword cut through the bark of a tall oakpine. The tree crashed to the ground, the vibration through the earth causing Ivy to fall. Jumping to her feet, she retrieved her weapons and reached for the shield, but the goliath had already snatched it.
    Ivy dropped the sword and morning star and grabbed a silver arrow from her side. With her silverbow, she lined up a shot.
    Wearing a green grin, the goliath taunted her by waving his prize, conveniently — for him — shielding his body from her arrow.
    So she grabbed and tossed the morning star an inch from his feet. "Give it back."
    "I rather think I like it." That said, he placed it on his arm.
    Never had Ivy been more jealous of trolls and their ability to enhance their weapons so no other race could touch it.
    One step forward, she bent down to retrieve the morning star, or so