“Hang on,” Rustafet said. “It’s time to set you down.”
Kendra and Knox clung to the windowsill as the wicker house rocked and lowered, finally settling on the floor. They gathered at the door, where Tanu undid the latch and gripped the handle. He paused.
“It’s a big world out there,” Tanu said.
“And I want to see it,” Tess enthused.
Newel and Doren charged down the stairs from an upper story. “We do too!” Doren called.
Tanu opened the door and stepped out into the gigantic chamber. Kendra felt like she was exploring a room from the perspective of a mouse. The wicker house matched their scale, but nothing else in the giant room came close. Not the table in the corner with the huge guest book propped on a stand. Not the monumental suits of armor flanking the towering gilded doors on the far side of the room. And not the giant who had toted them here.
Rustafet came and stooped over them, an intimidating presence considering that Kendra would have had to jump to reach the middle of his shin. “You look drier than when you arrived,” he said.
“Still damp,” Kendra said. “Luckily, it’s a warm day.”
“Such a big man,” Tess said softly.
“Big to you,” Rustafet said. “You’re about to meet some real giants. Be polite to her majesty. Protocol is for visitors like you to bow or curtsy. Her subjects kneel. If she dislikes you, she will expel you from the sanctuary. She prefers to speak more than to listen, unless she asks a direct question. Ready?”
“Will you carry us in there?” Knox asked.
“New visitors enter the throne room at their own height, under their own power,” Rustafet said. “By decree. Follow me!”
The knocker on the doors was in the shape of a peasant lugging a heavy cauldron. Rustafet approached and used the cauldron to rap three times. The massive doors swung inward and he stepped aside, admitting Kendra and her companions into a grand hall, the dimensions vast even relative to a giant.
About thirty giants awaited in the room, wearing togas and sandals, a few leaning against pillars or roosting on stools, most standing in groups. All conversation quieted as Kendra and her friends entered, lofty eyes gazing in their direction. The shortest of these giants was a head taller than Rustafet, and some were so colossal that Rustafet’s head did not clear the middle of their chests.
At the far end of the room, the Giant Queen sat on her immense throne. Even seated, she was clearly the largest person in the room. Younger and prettier than Kendra expected, if the Giant Queen had been human, she would have been in her late thirties. The elaborate green dress she wore showed off a build like an Olympic swimmer’s, with square shoulders, a narrow waist, and athletic limbs. Her auburn hair was caught in looping braids that spilled out beneath her stately crown.
Kendra and her friends approached the Giant Queen along a red carpet roughly the size of an airport runway. As they walked, most of the other giants returned to their conversations. Kendra and her comrades strode briskly, but it took them nearly ten minutes to reach the far end of the carpet near the base of the dais.
As they arrived at the end of the carpet, a giant near the dais jabbed the butt of his halberd against the floor, the loud crack echoing across the voluminous room. Conversation died out.
“Her royal majesty, Queen Imani, recognizes the arrival of Kendra Sorenson, disgraced former caretaker of the fallen sanctuary Wyrmroost, and her assorted cohorts.”
Kendra wasn’t sure the word disgraced had been necessary. If Seth had been here, an argument would almost certainly have followed the comment. But at the moment, Kendra felt keeping the relationship functional was more important than verbally scoring points. She curtsied, as did Vanessa and Tess. The males bowed.
The queen raised a compact golden tube to one eye, using it like a spyglass. “You’re all damp,” the Giant Queen observed in rich alto tones. “You came through the Fairy Queen’s shrine?”
“Yes, your majesty,” Kendra said.
“She permitted you to traverse her realm?” the Giant Queen asked.
“She knew it was an emergency,” Kendra said.
“She is a very small queen,” the Giant Queen said.
“So is the Underking, compared to you,” Kendra said. “But they’re very powerful.”
The Giant Queen gave an indulgent laugh. “Everyone is small compared to me. I suppose you would like to see my full height? Most visitors take an interest.”
“Yes, please,” Kendra said.
The Giant Queen arose, towering almost to the ceiling. When she came down off the dais, she was at least a head taller than the loftiest giant in the room. Her scale was so overwhelming, Kendra could hardly comprehend her as a living being. And yet her proportions were those of a powerfully built human woman. Kendra doubted whether she could reach higher than the top of the queen’s ankle.
“I’ll give you a moment to absorb the experience,” the Giant Queen said from high above. “Astonishment is a forgivable reaction.” She twirled. “Too much woman for any man on this planet. Am I right?”
“Dragons must seem like little pets to you,” Tess said.
“An astute realization,” the Giant Queen said. “Who is this cherub?”
“My cousin Tess,” Kendra said.
“We brought family, did we?” the Giant Queen asked, returning to her throne. She turned and sat.
“Yes,” Kendra affirmed. “And this is my cousin Knox.”
“It’s odd to imagine one so tiny living an actual life,” the Giant Queen said. “Having a family, for example. Or hobbies. Or pets.”
“Some creatures make us look like giants,” Knox said. “Fairies, for one.”
“Fairies are invisible specks,” the Giant Queen said. “You’re not much better. It strains reason to grant significance to anything so minute.”
“We’re here because of the dragon war,” Kendra said.
“I’m well aware,” the Giant Queen said. “Celebrant took Wyrmroost from you. And I understand you seek refuge with me.”
“Yes, we all do,” Kendra said.
The Giant Queen lifted the tube to her eyes. “I see two
