He didn’t hesitate with the answer. “One killed my father, and others of their ilk used to spy on us for your mother when we were in captivity. Were you one of them?”
“No!” She was insulted that he’d even ask. But to be fair, it made sense that he would. She was her mother’s daughter, and she knew firsthand that her mother resorted to those tactics.
And worse. Her mother loved using such information against others, as well as allowing it to stoke her into a furious rage so that she felt justified in abusing those she targeted as enemies.
How many times had her mother used her for a scapegoat? Or beaten an innocent servant who made the mistake of being in a room when her mother received bad news.
Why?
Because her mother believed everyone was scheming against her. She couldn’t enjoy a single moment for fear of what was being plotted.
Gisela couldn’t imagine living that way. She was suspicious enough, but she didn’t believe every single person in the world was out to cause her harm.
Maybe you should have treated people better, Mum.Honestly, she believed it was the guilt of her mother’s actions that had made the queen insane. Because at the end of the day, Meara had to know that she brutalized others, which fostered the hatred she was trying to stamp out.
“I’m well aware of the fact that my mother has no soul and will do whatever she must to maintain her throne. I’m sorry for what happened to you and your friends.”
Xaydin had to stop his jaw from going slack. No one had ever apologized for what had happened to them. Not even his father. He was completely speechless. Especially given the fact that it was obvious she meant those words.
Truly meant them. He’d never expected sincerity from anyone and especially not from the daughter of a bitch-queen.
Damn.
Clearing her throat, she gave him a hard stare. “I understand, Xaydin. We can never trust each other. It’s the only way to guard against betrayal.”
Those words cut through him. Not just because they were true, but because he understood her need to protect herself. It was why he preferred solitude. Since he couldn’t reach his back to put a dagger in it, he didn’t have to watch himself all the time.
With others…
He couldn’t help his suspicious mind. He’d spent too many years bleeding internally because of troublemakers whose only pleasure came from hurting others. Or worse, those who sought scapegoats to distract them from their own dubious actions. He’d never been able to decide which group deserved an eternity in hell the most.
But as he looked at her, he wanted to believe that she wasn’t related to her mother. That maybe, just maybe there was someone who was decent.
Someone who had a soul.
His past said it wasn’t likely. Experience laughed at him for even thinking it. Yet there was some tiny little ember deep inside that sparked whenever she was near.
It made no sense. The troll in his blood scoffed at the thought of ever being with a shifter who had a human base form. They were fragile and weak. But even as that thought went through him, he knew there was nothing weak about her. She had a core of steel.
One that allowed her to stand up to him even in her weakest form. Maybe because she knew she could transform into something larger.
Yet she didn’t. Now that he thought about it, she didn’t shift like the others of her ilk. The shifters he knew thought nothing of switching forms whenever it suited them.
Gisela kept herself weak, even when she shouldn’t.
Interesting…
And it made him wonder why. Did she hate that part of herself? That would make sense.
“You don’t shift much, do you?”
Her eyes turned dark.
“Sorry if I overstepped. It was just an observation.”
She shook her head. “Maybe you did, but that wasn’t what made me flinch. I don’t shift forms much because it makes my mother furious. She’s always hated her equine body. Though she’d never say that to anyone else.”
“It’s why she hates the Licordians.”
