“Yet, six of you arehere. Oh Gods.” I sat down on the nearest bench, right beside a small maple tree. “Is that why you were so on edge last night? Because you’d learned that thosethingswere trying to breach the palace’s wards?”
“Yes. I received word of the first one just after nightfall, while you were using the restroom during our walk through the palace. And I was informed this morning that all seven were found and killed before midnight.”
I brought a hand to my forehead. “That’s why the wards were stronger around my wing when we returned.”
“You sensed that?” He cocked his head.
I nodded. “Thank the stars and galaxy that nobody was harmed.”
“Exactly. We have it under control.”
I licked my lips and faced him more. “Do you know who they were, the seventhingsthat were killed? I mean, the fae they were before they were turned?”
“We’re still determining that.”
“But they were all here forme, weren’t they? They’re still hunting me and trying to get to me, even if it means they die trying.”
His jaw ticked, and he leveled me with a weighted stare. “Yes, we believe so.”
I wrapped my arms around myself. Memories surfaced of Inisville, of my one and only encounter in which I’d seen one of those creatures in the flesh. A whole-body shudder racked me.
Kole’s eyes softened. “You don’t need to be afraid. We’re strong. We’ll keep you safe.I’llkeep you safe.” He growled the last part, and his chiseled face turned so hard, so menacing, that I knew I got a glimpse of what his foes faced on the battlefield.
But I wrapped my arms even tighter around my middle and tapped my foot. “I could keep myself safe if I knew they were near.”
“I have no doubt.”
“Yet, you haven’t told me when they’re nearby.”
“That’s because they’ve never been able to breach the wards. If they had been, trust me, you would know.”
I wondered what he meant by that and figured I would have been whisked into a stronger warded chambers lined with warriors on all sides. It was enough of a reminder that my parents and the Council took my safety extremely seriously.They were doing everything in their power to allow me a normal life and not lock me away in a permanently warded room while also trying to keep me protected.
“I’m surprised you allowed me to see my aunt and uncle last night if seven were prowling around Whiteolf.”
His lips thinned slightly. “Believe me, I had my reservations, but I also knew that wards just as strong as those encircling your chambers had been placed around Gwenery and Timith’s residence. So as long as we stayed inside, those wards offered similar protections.”
I nibbled on my lip, and a wave of relief hit me that my aunt and uncle were also being protected.
But despite all of my parents’ precautions, even I knew the Council couldn’t guard me or them forever. There were only so many Imperial Warriors. Everyone knew they were a small, secretive bunch. Their rigorous admittance requirements kept many envious males out, but the Council’s rigorous standards were also rumored to be why the warriors were so effective. Only the elite were admitted into their ranks.
Still, they were small, and my parents had to share the warriors with the other kingdoms. Other royals on the continent would eventually need the warriors to fulfill their wishes. The king and queen of Mistvale Kingdom could only demand so much. They couldn’t keep the warriors here indefinitely.
I peered up at Kole. “You only seemed nervous last night once the sun had set, but not during the day. Do the creatures only come out at night?” Because while Kole was always alert on some level, today he was nothing like the wound-up spring he’d been last evening.
He cocked his head. “I seemed nervous?”
“Yes, you did. You seemed on edge.”
He grunted.
“Well, am I right? Do they only come out at night?”
“You’re not wrong.”
I raised my eyebrows. “So Iamright? They only come out at night?”
“I believe I just said that.”
