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 feedonyou…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?
Hewas the one after heraþaswere?
“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 allaþaswere…
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 itwashim? That meant he was on his way to kill the sameaþaswereshe 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.
