Chapter 44: Jayde’s Truth
Lucien’s headless body, still with the expression of astonishment and rage frozen on his face, fell mere inches from Jayde’s knees, splattering blood and cerebrospinal fluid. She watched it, her supposed fiancé’s body now a shattered, lifeless mannequin.
I expected screams from Jayde – maybe joy, anger, even regret, perhaps a sudden fury directed at me. I wanted any reaction, any feeling. Instead, her eyes went wide, and she froze like a silent statue, not moving a muscle. Her body began to tremble uncontrollably, not from fear of me, but from an emotion I couldn’t immediately decipher. And then, to my surprise, she collapsed to her knees, as if all strength had left her, like a rag doll.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
She stammered, tears gushing as she bowed, her forehead touching the dusty ground.
"You saved me! I’m finally free of that beast! Thank you, my lord!"
Her gratitude was unreal, pure. Something in her words, in the desperation and relief in her voice, intrigued me. I knelt to her level, my voice soft but firm.
"Jayde, what happened? Tell me everything. From the beginning. I want you to unburden yourself so you can bury your past with his corpse. I’ll help you get through this."
Despite my negative feelings towards beastkins, she had something that kept me from hating her. Maybe it was her golden eyes, her silver ears, or her delicious body... I mean, her beautiful feelings. But I have to admit, I’m weak for beauties. Is that a sin, damn it?
Jayde lifted her head, her eyes flooded with tears but with a new spark of determination.
"Yes, my lord. I will tell you my story, the truth of how my clan... my own life, vanished into darkness."
She began her account, her voice barely a whisper at first, gaining strength with each word, as if speaking it aloud lifted a weight from her.
"It all began with a mission. We were ordered to steal a treasure from the Dogkin clan. But it was a trap, a cruel trap. Dogkin have an impressive sense of smell; they’re impossible to fool in their own territory. But even so, my grandfather, the best assassin of the Catkin, had to try. My uncle had been falsely accused of raping the daughter of the chief of the Catkin Clan Alliance. Although we are the same race, each clan is independent and competes fiercely. My grandfather tried to infiltrate to clear my uncle’s name, but he was discovered and brutally murdered by the Dogkin.