“I swear, I’m going to kill her. How could she be so vicious?”
Gisela wished she had an answer. Rather, she knew her mother as a rabid beast with no decency in her.
Xaydin gently tended her wound until he could stem the bleeding. The tenderness of his touch soothed her in ways unimaginable.
“I love you, Xaydin.” The words were out before she could stop them.
He froze for a few seconds before he met her gaze. “What?”
She reached up to finger the stubble on his cheek. “I love you. I thought I was going to die, and I realized that I’d never said it to you. If I don’t survive this, I wanted you to know how I feel.”
Xaydin was humbled by her words and the earnestness in her tone. She meant what she said.
Cupping her cheek, he leaned closer to her. “I love you, too.” Then he kissed her.
She growled against his lips as she balled her fists in his hair.
Right then, Xaydin wanted to be inside her again. But he wasn’t that selfish. Pulling back, he smiled at her. “You need to rest.”
She whimpered. “Now I know how you felt when I teased you!”
“Exactly… Except I weigh a lot more than you do, and you’re too injured.” He gently brushed the hair back from her forehead and kissed it. “I have the room warded. Sleep in peace. We are just downstairs and within earshot.” With those words spoken, he left her alone with her thoughts.
Thoughts that drifted heavily as she thought about everything that had happened. It was a lot to come to terms with, especially since she could never go home.
Even though it hadn’t been much of a home, it was where she’d grown up.
Everything familiar was there. Everyone she’d ever known.
Now…
She felt empty and vacuous. Lost.
Where do I go from here?
She thought about Xaydin and her mood lifted. He loved her. She could build a better home with real friends who cared about her and each other.
Suddenly, the world wasn’t quite as scary. Daunting, but not as terrifying as it used to be.
But the one thing she knew about Meara, the queen never gave up. Right now, she wanted them dead. That was a threat that would never go away.
“Well, that was fun.”Ronan signaled their server that they needed five tankards. “What’s next? Pulling my entrails out through my nose? The old flaming poker up my ass? Or should we just stick to the good old iron maiden?”
“Given that it’s Meara, I’d say all that plus a good gelding or two.” Xaydin sighed. “I really want that bitch’s throat.”
“Your mother-in-law, you mean? Shouldn’t you be a bit kinder?”
He glared at Candara. “Don’t even.”
Ronan cleared his throat. “Aren’t we all ignoring the obvious?”
“That is?” Masakage asked.
“That Gisela’s the daughter of Cratus… Hello? Shouldn’t we let Dash know he has a sister?”
Xaydin really wanted to ignore Ronan’s question, but he couldn’t. None of them could.
Masakage took his tankard from their server. “Knowing Dash, he’ll be thrilled to welcome her in. Especially after Renata’s death.”
