Not the bad.
Not the good.
And nothing ever ended well. Tears pricked at her eyes as she thought about the truth. All things came to an end.
Just how bad would their ending be?
“Am I banned from the room?”
Xaydin just stared at the fake Masakage. “For now. Yes.”
“You know I slept outside in the alley last night, right?”
Blinking slowly, Xaydin just stared at him. Masakage would never have complained about resting in an alley as he’d made his bed there on many occasions. Instead, he would have been teasing him because Kage would have known exactly what Xaydin had been doing and why he was banned from the room. “And?”
Shaking his head, the imposter crossed his arms over his chest. “There’s a royal contingent that just came in. Should we be concerned by it?”
“Not really.”
“You seem rather nonchalant for someone wanted dead by the crown.”
Masakage would know and understand. There was a difference between them wanting him dead and being dumb enough to actually try.
But Xaydin wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of an answer. Instead, he shrugged and walked past his nuisance, toward the inn so that he could get them something to eat.
As he walked down the stairs and entered the main part, a strange sensation came over him. One he knew intimately.
Ronan.
His presence washed over him with a slight jolt. Few creatures commanded the amount of power Ronan did. When they’d been captives in Meara’s court, the two of them had been inseparable. Of course, that was back before Xaydin learned to hate shape shifters.
’Course, Ronan had been infuriated as Meara had used an enchanted cuff to keep him from being able to change forms. It’d been its own kind of torture for Ronan who’d been forced to live as a human.
There were no words for having powers bound against someone’s will. It was like having a vice placed on your lungs. Or like losing a limb. Nothing hurt more than having abilities taken away for no good reason.
Some could cope. Most became bitter and angry, especially the longer they were withheld. Not that he blamed them. He couldn’t stand being bound in any manner or not having authority over his own life. It was why he’d never want to be king.
That kind of power came with restrictions he’d rather die than suffer. Nothing was worse than losing autonomy.
And as he scanned the mostly empty room, he caught sight of the beast he sought.
Sort of.
Ronan wasn’t Ronan. Rather he was disguised as a troll. Light green skin and flaming red hair. But the eyes were the same.
Stormy, dark gray.
Jerking his chin, he acknowledged Ronan’s presence.
Ronan cut a glance sideways.
Xaydin looked over to see the contingent of guards the imposter had mentioned.
“Are you fucking kidding me,” he uttered under his breath. Further proof that wasn’t Masakage. Not that he needed it confirmed.
And before he could move, the captain of the group headed straight for him.
Xaydin placed his hand over the hilt of his sword, tempted to unsheathe it and relieve the world of this particular breed of pestilence.
