Chapter 40: Chapter 40 - Shadow Killer
I didn’t expect the sheer amount of panic and guilt I saw all over Daniel’s face the moment his strike had hit me.
He had looked at me with eyes as wide as saucers, a face as pale as a sheet of paper.
And immediately asked if I was okay, not even giving me time to respond before apologizing.
He had retreated away from me as if he had suddenly become extremely afraid of me, not even able to meet my eyes.
The way he had almost fled from me, actually frightened me a bit.
For a moment I had thought that he was terrified of me.
It had only been when he had told me about how it was the duty of a man to protect a woman, and to never lay his hands on her, that everything snapped into place.
He wasn’t afraid of me doing something to him.
He had been afraid of me hating him.
Afraid that I would leave him.
I could sense that the moment he had embraced me like I was his lifeline.
Like he was afraid I would vanish.
That was also when I could finally link this with all of his previous actions.
How he had threatened Darvel because he had insulted me.
How he had stepped in front of me every time danger approached us.
The respect he would constantly show not only me, but every woman and child he ever encountered.
I finally realized that protecting those he, or society, deemed weaker than himself had been so deeply ingrained into him, that any action that would contradict it would cause him to panic beyond measure.
I had just wanted to tell him that in this world that code might just get him killed.
If he couldn’t fight and possibly even take the lives of women, he might lose his own life.
But I was interrupted by the leader of the deserters.
"I see that I made the right decision to follow you."
At that moment I almost wanted to rip the man’s head off, he had interrupted a very important moment in Daniel’s life in this world.
"But you should forget about the idea of protecting everyone that seems weaker than you. That code will only cost you your life." The man said, as he stepped closer to us.
These words of the man earned my forgiveness immediately.
"Cost me my life?" Daniel asked, still not releasing me from his embrace.
"Some of the most dangerous people in this world are women." The man nodded.
"And if you can’t bring yourself to fight them, or even take their lives, they will most certainly take yours." He finished.
I might even have started to like this man a bit, he seemed wise, and he wasn’t a bad fighter at all.
"And if I’m right, the woman you are holding right now, is on top of that list of dangerous women in this world."
Once again I wanted to kill him.
It felt like every second thing he did made me want to kill him, and the others made me want to forgive him.
Keep in mind that at that time I hadn’t told Daniel about my past yet.
I was afraid that he would never look at me the same if he knew the amount of lives I had claimed in my past.
The differences I had deduced there were between our worlds meant that my previous profession would be one he would not be able to forgive.
"Isn’t that right, Shadow Killer?" The man asked, as he came to a stop right next to us.
If I hadn’t been so comfortable in Daniel’s arms at that moment I might really have killed him with my bare hands.
"Shadow Killer?" Daniel asked as he leaned back to look me in the eyes.
I looked up for only a moment before I couldn’t bring myself to look him in the eyes anymore.
Which meant that the full fury of my gaze was turned to the man standing next to us.
The moment my gaze fell on him he paled a bit.
"He didn’t know?" He asked with a slightly higher tone than usual.
I didn’t answer him, I was afraid of the threats I would dole out if I did.
I felt a hand under my chin, gently tilting my head back up to meet Daniel’s eyes.
"And who exactly is this ’Shadow Killer’, dear wife?" Daniel asked, a gentle smile on his face.
At least he was still smiling at me.
"That’s the name I was known as when I was still an assassin." I whispered.
"An assassin you say." Daniel said.
I could give him a slight nod.
In my entire life I had never felt as small, and vulnerable, as I did at that moment.
"I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about it." I whispered.
The smile on Daniel’s lips only spread wider every moment he was looking down at me.
"So my little wife is actually a pretty vicious killer?" Daniel asked.
I felt myself go slightly numb when he said those words.
"I wouldn’t say vicious." I answered him again. "But I am pretty well known."
Daniel finally broke eye contact with me to look over to the other man again, but he never let go of my chin, so I could only keep looking up at him.
I didn’t have the power to struggle away from that grip at that moment.
"She’s the most feared and well known assassin in the human territories." The man said.
The smile on Daniel’s face grew even wider.
I could feel myself start to tremble slightly, even though Daniel was smiling, I couldn’t bring myself to think that he was actually amused.
When he met my eyes again, I could swear I saw... pride?
Why would he be proud?
My mind was racing like a galloping horse.
Thoughts were jumbling around like a disorganized battalion.
I had been completely frozen.
"So my little wife is even more amazing than I thought." Daniel finally said.
"Huh?"
