Page 70 of X'nath

I took a small step back and made sure to switch my tongue to as much orcish as I could. "X’nath," I spat, my voice low but sharp. "He was at the docks of my homeland. He was there when they sold me and chained me to the ship."

The man’s eyes widened a fraction, catching on to his position shifting. “Impressive, your orcish?—”

X’nath, noticing the unease in me—though it was more anger than fear—moved quickly to stand in front of me, his posture stiff with tension. His expression darkened, his eyes narrowinginto dangerous slits. The air around him seemed to grow heavier, charged with the same malice that was radiating from him.

“Now,” the traveler said quietly, warning in his voice, “Stay calm. I’m only here for trade.”

“And what exactly are you trading, human?” X’nath asked, his grin widening into something downright feral.

With one glance between us, the man shot out his arm to try and grab me, only to have X’nath swiftly swing out his axe beyond natural speed, slicing his arm clean through. The detached limb fell unceremoniously onto the leaves beneath us as his blood sprayed all over X’nath’s chest and part of my face.

The man’s scream pierced the stillness of the forest, sending a shockwave through the trees as birds erupted from their perches, scattering them into the sky.

X’nath twisted the axe with his wrist as if it weighed nothing, circling his prey as the human tried to regain his senses after losing an arm.

“You savage!” he growled, pulling out a blade.

Positioning the spear head in front of me, I tried to anticipate his next move. If he dared to put a scratch on my mate, I would end him myself. I whispered a prayer to the heavens, asking my parents to forgive the woman I had become. They had never intended to raise a killer, but life had shaped me into something they never could have foreseen.

The man lunged at X’nath who easily dodged and slammed the hilt of his axe into the man’s back, knocking him face first into the ground.

I stepped back when I realized X’nath was toying with him. Was it wrong of me to feel a surge of pride, of growing attraction to his morbid lunacy? I had seen X’nath battle monsters, the way he took them down with powerful blows. But this? This was something else.

X’nath’s voice dropped to a low growl, his voice taking on a chilling cadence. “You’re far from home, slaver. Have you lost your ship?”

The man scrambled to his feet, blood still dripping from his wound. From this angle, I could see his bone protruding from his muscles every time he flexed his shoulder.

His eyes darted to the trees behind him, as if weighing his options. It was clear now that he was in over his head, whatever trap he thought he was going to lay wasn’t going according to plan. I kept my eyes vigilant around us, in case there was movement beyond the trees.

I stepped closer to him, shoving my spear into his back, forcing him to take another step toward X’nath who grinned wickedly in his face.

The man opened his mouth, but the words never came. Instead, he took a step back. But X’nath was faster, swinging his axe low, taking off one of the man’s ankles, knocking him to the ground with a loud thud.

I watched as X’nath placed a boot over the man’s leg wound and crouched down, bearing his weight on it. The man cried like the women he chained to his ship, and a dark part of me relished in his punishment for his transgressions.

I set the spear on the ground, my eyes fixed on my mate as he delivered his own brand of retribution.

“You reek of the sea and decay. Did you truly think I would take you anywhere when your blood now attracts all the monsters within a couple of miles,human?”

“Wh-What do you want from me? I didn’t do anything wrong. I don’t even know?—”

X’nath swung his blade and cut off his other arm as the man’s high pitched scream echoed around us.

42

The End of Dreams

GRACIE

Adeep crimson pool formed beneath him, the squelch of X’nath’s boot reminding me of our first time meeting, of our first time fighting side by side in the swamp.

He was breathtakingly beautiful in his full warrior glory. Had I truly believed X’nath was just a cocky, reckless young warrior, chasing whatever he desired? Had the battles we fought not shown me the depth of his strength—what he was truly capable of? This new life, where death lingered around every corner, had changed everything, and I had only begun to grasp the weight of it all.

"My mate," he taunted with a casual grin, running the tip of a smaller blade along the flesh of his neck, "doesn’t like you very much. And what my mate wants, she gets.”

My breath caught, not only from his words but from the perfect cadence in which he spoke my language, so fluid and effortless. I realized then how much we had both changed—how much we had learned and grown together, symbiotically, until we were almost one. Our fated union now felt undeniable under the light of the moon.

“I don’t know the whore! Whatever she told you was a lie!”

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