I nodded, and gave him a weak smile.
Half an hour later, I was on my way back to my room. The strong arm of my guard supported me as we slowly made progress up the stairs.
“Thank you.” I breathed.
“What for?”
“You know. For what you did.” I stared at his profile.
“I have no idea.”
I shook my head and slowed down to take a short break.
“Are you feeling alright?” Kent’s eyes took me in and made me feel like he could really see me for who I was.
The feeling was rough and real, as if an invisible hand had broken through the fog and was trying to reach me on the other side of the abyss.
“Yes.”
The remainder of the way back was spent in absolute silence.
CHAPTER FIVE
TYNAN
Istayed in the poorly lit corridor until the stars appeared in the row of narrow windows of the gallery. It was close to midnight, my shift was to be relieved by another guard at any moment, but as it happened every night, I dreaded the time to come.
I tried to catch any signs of her still awake behind the door, but everything seemed quiet.
I took a seat in a plain, wooden chair, stretching my legs. My eyes returned to the standing clock; its deep brown mahogany surface was clean and its shape was carved with precision. The sharp edged hands pointed straight up and for a moment I got lost in my thoughts. The light sound of footsteps brought me back to reality.
Jenkins appeared at the other end of the hall and marched toward me with a gloomy expression on his face.
“Kent,” he muttered, looking somewhere past me.
Without saying anything to him, I got up from my chair and walked away.
“Aren’t you going to update me?” he raised his voice slightly.
“Figure it out.” I said, not stopping.
My already sour mood worsened as I descended from the grand rooms to the more modest quarters of the servants, and the guards stationed among them.
I scowled knowing that my day was by no means over, even after I finished my guarding duties. Without giving myself any more time to dwell on it, I pushed open the rickety door with partially peeling, light blue paint and walked into the guardsmen’s rooms.
There were numerous narrow beds, and multiple soldiers rested on top of them. Plenty of guards were still awake, playing cards, laughing, and drinking. I walked through them, straight to a back corner.
“Hey, Kent. How’s your heiress?” a bitter voice called out, but I ignored it.
Most of the men were from the blue clan, and thankfully, I did not know any of them. The fact that the clan was so large allowed me to be well-hidden inside the palace.
As I approached my bed, I quickly noticed that a pair of someone’s muddy boots had been placed on top of my pillow, leaving dirt smudges on the pillowcase. I looked back,but no one met my gaze. I clenched my teeth, loathing every second I had to spend with the people who were supposed to be my comrades. The cowards hated that I was assigned to guard Alina so quickly after joining, but they were too spineless to say anything to my face.
“Who did this?” I raised my voice, but only silence followed my words.
I threw the boots off my bed and turned the pillow before peeling off my flying suit and dropping on top of my covers. It was not the worst sleeping arrangement I have ever had. At least there were no crawlers I had to worry about. Before my eyes finally closed, I thought about the girl with hair the color of the brightest flames, and porcelain skin dotted with light, golden freckles on her cheeks, sleeping comfortably in her bed.
My eyes opened, and they immediately swept across the room. All the lights had finally been extinguished. The sounds of snoring and the faint rustle of bodies moving on the bunk beds around me told me it was finally safe to start my day.
