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ANYA
I stoppedat the edge of the ring and turned back, planting myself where I could keep an eye over my new acquaintance. Silas, the one who had come with Priest Nabh from Divoron, and wound up as Kiango's trainee. I had heard his name whispered through the halls of Ke'Thal numerous times since his unexpected arrival. Now, I was coming to appreciate why.
The would-be Guardian gave me a disgruntled look when he realized I wasn't leaving him to his business, but I merely gestured for him to get on with it. I would have gone back to the servant's quarters, but from his arrogance, I had the distinct impression that someone ought to stay close.
Sitting on the bench beside the ring, I busied myself with watching the clouds overhead in the hopes that he would relax. Out of the corner of my eye, I tracked Silas's movements around the ring as he paced and readied himself, kicking up dust with every step. His nervous pacing would have been comical were he not muttering under his breath so insistently about know-it-all women and their unwanted opinions.
In the early days of my arrival in Ke'Thal, I had seen Kiango practice these rituals many times. He repeated the words over and over, so many times that even I could recite them in my sleep. He was always so worried about what the other Guardians thought of him. He had to prove himself. He couldn't have known that choosing me as his tribute would be his biggest mistake.
I watched with interest as my rather ungracious charge settled into position and lifted his hands. From here, I could hardly hear the words, but I knew them by heart and whispered them to myself along with him. Slowly, the shiny green of his scales emerged, sharpening his features into a truly fearsome sight, and I couldn't help but let my eyes rove over the rippling muscles that now stood out across his chest and shoulders. With his arms uplifted, every part of him was perfectly defined. He no longer looked like a young acolyte in training. He looked as dangerous as any of the Guardians, as captivating as Kiango once was to me.
Pushing the thought away, I shook my head in self-reproach. I'd been down that road once, and there was more to being a Guardian than big muscles and square jawlines. Ultimately, I was glad I didn't have to worry about anyone else's safety, or wait up through the long nights of a storm for my Guardian to return to my side. Things were better this way.
Besides, there were plenty of men in the servant's quarters, though I had dismissed them all outright.
Trying my hardest to ignore the tantalizing sight of Silas's taut body glistening in the sunlight, I turned my focus to his form and the cadence of his words, letting myself follow along. I picked up a leaf that had fallen on the bench beside me and twirled it between my fingers in rhythm to his chanting, stopping only when I heard him stumble over two words.
There was a blinding flash of light, and I heard his grunt as he hit the ground hard. With a grimace, I rose from the bench and straightened my robe.
As I approached, he did little more than growl at me from the ground. I did not offer my hand this time. I merely watched with mild curiosity as he lay there, grinding his teeth and muttering curses under his breath.
After some time, he managed to plant his hands beneath his shoulders and push himself up onto his knees, his eyes pointedly avoiding mine as he tried in vain to brush away the dust that had caked itself onto his chest, mingling with his sweat.
"Are you just going to stand there or what?" he grumbled.
I cocked my head to one side, smiling sweetly. "I have a proposition to make."
There was that eye roll again. I couldn't imagine Kiango putting up with such a thing.
"What is it that you think you have to offer me?" he asked, wiping a hand across his mouth to rid himself of the dust still clinging to his lips.
My eyes lingered there a little too long. Those lips. Perfect lips. Hungry and soft. I shook myself out of it.
"First of all, I believe I can help you fix... whatever this is..." I finished lamely, frowning as I looked him up and down.
He snorted, but didn't see fit to challenge me. "And what do you want from me?"
I shrugged. "Isn't it enough to want our Guardians to be capable of protecting my home?"
He eyed me suspiciously, but I saw the stiffness go out of his shoulders and he gave a barely perceptible nod of indifference, if not acceptance.
"Why should I listen to you? You think you can just waltz right in and teach me something Kiango hasn't?"
I stood my ground, keeping my face as placid as I could, despite the fact that I wanted to give him a taste of his own exaggerated eye roll.
"Let's just say, Kiango isn't always the best at imparting wisdom graciously. He can be a little, er, abrasive."
Our eyes met for an instant and there was recognition in his face, a flicker of understanding and a softening again of his hard exterior. And that was followed by a rush of heat that ran straight down into my belly, awakening something that had long been dormant down there. I squirmed uncomfortably, looking away as I felt the warmth rising into my cheeks under his gaze.
"Fine. I'm Silas, by the way."
"I know who you are," I said, and when he scowled, I smiled wider. "I'm Anya."
