They were already mounted and waiting.
Xaydin frowned as his gaze went to the box, but true to his brother’s form, he didn’t ask about it.
Neither did Gisela.
As quickly as he could, Masakage mounted and tucked the wand away. “Lead on, my brother.”
Xaydin scowled at him. “That’s a rather chipper tone for you, isn’t it?”
“Not always a moody bastard. I mostly leave that for you.”
Snorting, Xaydin turned them away from Candara’s cottage. “Should have drowned you when we were kids.”
“Pretty sure you tried.”
Gisela pressed her lips together to keep from laughing. She loved hearing them banter and had the feeling that Xaydin would never tolerate such cheek from anyone other than his siblings.
And she really hated to admit that she enjoyed traveling with them. Weird, considering the fact that she normally didn’t like to even be around others.
Weirder still was the fact that she hadn’t even known them a full day and yet she felt a peculiar sense of being part of their group.
I’ve lost my mind.
They were enemies. Would always be such.
Yet she was more comfortable with them than she’d ever been with her own mother. How sad was that?
Not wanting to think about it, she allowed the sun to warm her skin as they rode deep into the surrounding woods. From the maps she’d seen, they weren’t far from the sea that divided the troll lands from Oath Island—land of bureaucracy. A word Meara had never heard of. They didn’t do contracts in Thassalia.
Disputes were settled in the arena…while Meara watched for entertainment.
Which begged the question as to how Meara had been forced to sign a contract with the unicorns? She must have fought that with everything she had.
But then King Cratus who had ruled before King Dash was reported to have been equally as savage. Not savage enough tosurvive a fight with his own son, yet he’d quelled the centaur queen.
Which made her wonder about Dash. She only knew the unicorn king by reputation.
Feral and brutal. Like Xaydin. Another product of Meara’s tender loving care.
To this day, Gisela wasn’t sure how Meara had been chosen as the host for the hostages.
After the truce of the Thirteen Kingdoms had been signed, Cratus had sent the children of each royal house to Meara to be held as a guarantee that their parents wouldn’t attack him or each other.
It’d been a peculiar deal by everyone’s estimation, and yet they’d all submitted to the High King’s dictate.
And screwed over an entire generation of royal children because the rulers were too afraid of Cratus to overthrow him. While Meara might hate the Outlaws who’d banded together to survive her brutal dictates, Gisela understood why they’d done so. She only wished she’d been blessed to be part of their company.
Instead, Meara had kept her imprisoned alone. Away from everyone except Gisela’s trainers.
You will be my sword.
And so she was the very weapon she’d been forged into. Vicious. Cold. Always on her own. Always alone.
Until now.
What she really hated was how much she enjoyed traveling with companions. Even though they weren’t currently speaking, there was something soothing about it. If she were attacked, she’d have help. If she were hurt…
Don’t be stupid.There was no guarantee they’d help her. Why would they?
