Curse of the Troll, Emma Hamm [books to read to increase intelligence TXT] 📗

These creatures were more than just disgusting. They were grotesque.

Elva reached into the pack Angus had given her and dragged out a cloak. It would cover her form enough for her to see what was going on. All the trolls were lined up like they were waiting for something, and she needed to know what that was.

Throwing the fabric over her shoulders, she slid down the hill and into the crowds of trolls.

No one looked at her. In fact, they weren’t even looking at each other. They were staring at a procession coming down the hill.

Trolls? She hadn’t thought they would have a procession like that. They weren’t exactly known to like each other, and having an entire kingdom watching them would only invite battles no one wanted to deal with. So what in the world were they doing?

The guards at the front certainly looked worried. Their eyes scanned the crowds for any movement that would threaten their royals. And that was definitely the Troll Queen who strode at the head of the procession with an arrogant grin on her face and without a care in the world.

The buggane had said to look for the troll princess. Who would be the princess? She looked for someone that appeared similar to the queen, but no one was as skeletal as that creature.

“Donnacha,” she whispered as she saw the horse.

He sat on the creature, who clearly wanted to bolt at his earliest chance. The troll next to him was little more than a boulder with hair, but Elva was certain that was the princess. She was too confident in her movements to be anyone else.

Donnacha looked worse for the wear. His hair was matted on his head, and the miserable look on his face was clearly exhaustion and something else. Something she didn’t want to put a name to because it looked very much like he’d given up.

She squeezed between two very large trolls and nudged the hood of her cloak back just enough to flash her hair. No one else could see her, but she had to let him know she was here. The light returned to his eyes. He twisted in the saddle, searching for her with hope back in his gaze..

That wouldn’t do. Not yet. Elva had to figure out her plan, and that started with the troll princess. She faded back into the crowd and slowly followed the procession until it turned back around and returned to the towering castle made of stone.

She could start here. Elva had learned how to be patient. Thankfully, her mentor had instilled that in her. She waited for her moment, following the trolls silently as a wraith. She peered through windows, stepping lightly around the castle to assess every angle of her first attack.

The trolls went back into the castle. They shoved Donnacha down some stairs that must have led to the dungeon, and then they all went to feast.

She couldn’t go into the feast herself. They’d find her, and then everything would be over before it started. So Elva set herself at a window and pulled out an apple from her pack. It felt heavier than before, but she wasn’t in any position to go through what Angus had sent.

Then, her opportunity arose. The troll princess stood from the drunken revelries and weaved her way through the crowd and out through a back door.

Elva held the apple in her mouth, put the pack back on, and threw the cloak over her shoulders. Rushing around the castle, she stuck to the shadows until she found the troll princess using the bushes as a bathroom.

Rolling her eyes, she leaned against the wall of the castle and made sure the hood covered her face. When the princess finished, Elva took a large, loud bite out of the apple.

The troll princess froze, but didn’t drop into a protective stance as many other trolls would have done. Interesting. Did the creature not know how to fight?

“Who goes there?” the princess asked, her voice wavering in fear.

“No one.”

The princess stamped her foot on the ground. “You aren’t no one! I can hear you.”

Elva watched the confusion on the princess’s face and realized two things. First, this creature had little to no intelligence in her head. That was good. It meant she was easily manipulated. And second, the troll princess was little more than a spoiled child who grew angry when someone made her feel foolish.

Elva took a step out of the shadows and took another bite of her apple. “Strange, cause I just said I’m no one.”

“W—what do you want?”

“I want to know about the dwarf you have captured. Where is he?”

The troll princess crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m not talking about my toy. You want it for yourself? Go find yourself another one.”

A toy? What had Donnacha gotten himself into?

Elva shrugged. “Suit yourself then. I’ll find out from someone else who wants a gift from me.”

“A gift?” The troll princess stepped forward. “I like gifts.”

“So do I. But my gift is only for the person who tells me why that dwarf is here.”

“What’s it to you?”

Elva shrugged again, biting into the apple a little more aggressively than before. “I’m curious, that’s all.”

“What’s the gift then?”

Really, she only had another apple to give the troll princess. The creature might be a little more intelligent than she gave her credit for if she was asking to know what the gift was. Elva stretched her arm back and reached underneath the cloak for the apple. She’d have to make up a story about how it was a magical apple or something…

Wait a minute. Her fingers grazed an apple, but it was too smooth and cold. She palmed it, realizing the apple was heavier than the other as well. She furrowed her brows, grateful the troll princess couldn’t see her expressions, and pulled out the strange object.

A golden apple, so pure and smooth it looked as though it had been plucked from the branches of a magical tree.

It