Gisela came awake slowly to a delicious smell. For one heartbeat, she thought she was at her imaginary childhood home, and warmth flooded her.
Until she remembered the truth.
What she was and where she’d been sent.
Then, her thoughts went to the men.
Shit!
Sitting up, she started to panic until she saw that she was still fully dressed.
More than that, she was alone in the room. What had happened to X and Masakage? She looked to their corner and saw that all their items had been picked up. There wasn’t a single trace of them.
Not even a stray thread.
She should be elated to find herself alone. Instead, she was oddly disappointed.
Which made no sense. She should be grateful that they’d kept their side of the bargain. They’d allowed her to sleep in peace and without being molested.
Men of their words…
She wouldn’t have believed it possible. Yet here she was. Safe.
Unmolested.
And what a sad indictment of her life that “safe” made her uncomfortable. She was so used to living on high alert, ready to be attacked, that she couldn’t relax enough to enjoy a moment of tranquility.
I’m so broken.
And she had a task to see to. Gathering her things, she made ready to leave.
Just as she reached the door, it opened.
Gisela stepped back, preparing herself to fight.
Until she saw X who paused as he met her gaze. “Relax, my lady. I come in peace.”
It was only then that she realized she’d drawn her sword. “Sorry.” She quickly sheathed it. “Old habits.”
“Understood.” He held the platter in his hands out toward her. “I brought you something to eat.”
“Oh. I thought the two of you had left already.”
“We were about to, but I wanted to make sure you had something to tide you over as those below won’t feed you.” He made an uncomfortable face. “Might feed on you…but they won’t allow you to break your fast.”
How kind of him to care. “Thank you.” She really meant that, too. It wasn’t the automatic response that people gave out of habit.
Inclining his head, he carried the platter to a small table beside the bed and set it down.
Without another word, he headed toward the hallway.
“X?”
He paused in the doorway to look back at her. “Yes?”
“What does X really stand for?”
He hesitated. At first, she didn’t think he’d respond, but after a hefty pause he gave her a wry grin. “Xaydin.”
Then, he closed the door.
That name hit her like a fist.
Xaydin? Had she heard that correctly?
He was the one after her aþaswere?
“Oh my God…” She couldn’t breathe as everything played through her head.
Her X was the troll prince who’d sworn himself to killing all aþaswere…
Xaydin Kazakh the Oathbreaker.
How in the name of everything holy could that be the man of legend? Then again, it made sense why everyone was so afraid of a human.
Only he wasn’t supposed to be human.
“You don’t look like a troll.” At all. Nothing other than his huge, muscled body and even that looked more human than troll.
Or at least what she knew of them.
But what if it was him? That meant he was on his way to kill the same aþaswere she was supposed to protect.
And he knew what her mission was! How could she have been so stupid as to even mention it? She should have stopped talking. Or never talked at all.
I’m an absolute idiot!
No, she’d been alone on the road for too long and had welcomed the company, even though she knew better.
Furious at herself and them, she left the room immediately to chase after one of the most lethal creatures in the Thirteen Kingdoms.
Maybe the most lethal of all.
Which explained why her knees were weak. Something that infuriated her even more because she hated fear. Most of all, she hated this feeling of vulnerability. I’m better than this.
She was a trained assassin who’d been set to task for dozens of men.
But they weren’t one who was renowned for brutality. One who hunted other warriors who had thousands of years of experience. That took an unbelievable skill.
An unparalleled degree of stupidity.
Don’t let your fear lead you…
It reminded her of the first time she’d been sent by the queen to kill someone. Her hands had trembled and her entire body had ached. Her heart had throbbed in her ears. Every part of her being had been out of sorts to the point that she felt like she was in an unknown vessel.
And as she looked down on herself taking that life, it’d felt as if she were someplace else. As if she saw a stranger who was taking actions she had no control over.
I’m not that child anymore.
True.
She’d come a long way since then. Been through so much more.
This shouldn’t be a problem, and her stomach shouldn’t be tied into a tangle of nerves.
Yet here she was.
She went down the stairs and into the inn that was now crowded with trolls, ogres and giants, eating their morning meals. Others who glanced at her with open disdain and hatred.
They weren’t the ones who mattered. She was after the half-troll, wearing black armor and his wizard companion…
