Unlike her, Xaydin had never been an unfeeling weapon.
I don’t deserve happiness. She was the same kind of beast Garyn was. Selfish and mindless.
Well, maybe not quite. Maybe that was a little harsh. She had never pretended to be someone’s loved one. Never lived among the families of her targets. That was a terrifying level of callousness. To strike while knowing how it would impact those who loved her target.
Could she have done her job then?
No. She wasn’t that unfeeling. Not yet at least.
“How many people do you think Garyn has killed?” she asked.
Her question surprised the men who turned to look at her.
“Does it matter?” Ronan asked.
Not really. “I was curious. Did he say how long he’d been serving my mother?”
“No. But to be fair, I didn’t ask.”
Xaydin poured himself more drink. “What are you thinking, love?”
“Trying to understand my mother. Something I’ve spent far too many hours attempting in my life.”
Ronan sighed. “She’s selfish. That breed doesn’t think like the rest of us.”
That was certainly true. A part of her felt sorry for the fact that her mother couldn’t appreciate those around her. Gisela would have loved her mother as a faithful daughter had she ever been allowed to.
It physically hurt her that she’d never been given that chance.
All because her mother was incapable of loving anyone. Of reaching out and caring.
How sad.
Looking at Xaydin, she was grateful that if she’d learned nothing else by being with him, it was that she was capable of caring for someone else. Capable of loving them.
He reached across and lightly squeezed her hand as if he knew her train of thought.
You’re not your mother and you never will be.His voice in her head startled her.
He had known her thoughts. Had they been written in her expression or was he that intuitive?
Suddenly, they heard a commotion outside.
With a stern frown, Xaydin slid back and rose before heading out to see what it was. She and Ronan followed hard on his heels.
Once they were outside the inn, she saw Rob’s guards rushing about.
“What happened?” Xaydin demanded.
“Prisoner’s escaped!”
Rage descended over her as she heard those words. Garyn was gone? “How?”
No one responded. Probably because it was a stupid question that didn’t matter. All that was important was the fact that he was gone.
“I should have killed him while I had the chance,” she growled out between her clenched teeth. How could she have been so stupid as to take mercy on him?
I should have cut his tongue out!
