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SARIEL
“The castle and its outbuildings sit on about six acres of land, from the training grounds to the stables, garages, servants' quarters, and the castle itself.”
“And, what? Patrols are expected to cover the entirety of that? On foot?” I asked incredulously.
We were in the twenty-first century, for God’s sake. Why the hell would we need to patrol the grounds when drones existed? Had these people never heard of sensory technology? Seriously?
“Yes,” Bim said with a solemn nod. “It is an honor to walk the grounds as a Guardian. Wearing the uniform garners much respect from others. It shows that we have survived the training regimen and came out unscathed andbetterthan our brethren that did not.”
I wasn’t wearing the Guardian uniform since I wasn’t allowed to. I also hadn’t gone through the training and come out on top. Even so, the fact that I hadn’t needed to go through the training said enough.
Bim and I exchanged a challenging look.
While I was grateful that I’d been paired with a fresh-faced Guardian, straight out of training and onto patrol, I was also curious as to who had signed off on this decision.
It wasn’t that Bimwasn’ta competent Guardian—he was, after all, equipped with enough knowledge about Tarragon, Blossom, and the fae species in general that there was never a time hewasn’texplaining something to me—but his loose lips and genuine naivety was playing so beautifully into my plans, I was kind of on edge.
Still, I liked him. Sure, he talked excessively, forcing me to learn that he was a virgin within the first five minutes of meeting him. And, sure, he was easily distracted, occasionally having forced me to retrace my steps so that I could pull him away from some “fair maiden” or the occasional couple screwing out in the open. And, sureagain, there was the fact that he didn’t understand personal boundaries and couldn’t fathom why I—someone who’d just risked mine, my mate’s, and all my friends’ lives to gain sanctuary here, only to be blindsided not even twenty-four hours in—wouldn’t want to unload my life’s story on him.
But he was also loyal, and determined to make his family proud. He was the only remaining son of a widow; his father had been a Guardian before him, and so had his brothers, but they’d all died during an attack on the Queen about a century back. Now, the gauntlet had been passed on to him.
Of his remaining family, he had three little sisters, all of whom he adored and spoke fondly of. His mother’s health was beginning to fail, though, and he was nervous about it; as far as I’d deciphered, he was the only breadwinner—the “man of the house,” so to speak.
This was why it baffled me how easily he indulged information tome, a complete stranger. I couldn’t imagine watching my father and brothers die as Guardians, then wanting to become one myself. I couldn’t imagine being the sole support of my family and remaining as idealistic, young, and carefree as he appeared to be. And yet, here he was, pointing at a gorgeous purple butterfly that had settled on one of the bougainvilleas in the courtyard.
It made me suspicious.
Everythingmade me suspicious these days. Still, when Bim happily told me about the ins and outs ofgettingin and out of the grounds on foot, I could be grateful.
Our route took us past three exits, one of which was a supposed secret passage. I wasn’t sure how to access it or where it was, and neither could Bim; it wasn’t something that had been shared with him.
Even though this “secret passage” had just been speculation, I spotted a partially-hidden brick wall that sported unevenly-laid stones, looking as though they’d been rearranged often.
I cataloged them for later.
Coming to the end of my first patrol, Bim shrugged out his lean shoulders when we stopped amid the Queen’s Garden. There had to be some irony regarding the name because every flower in the garden was in bloom, unlike the Queen’s dying, bark-like body.
The flower blossoms were huge, and the kaleidoscope of scents they gave off was overwhelming. The garden itself was gorgeous and took up a good portion of the back side of the castle, with several stone pathways carved out between the neatly-organized rows of flowers and string lights hung amongst the towering trees in the four corners.
It was charming. I made a mental note to bring Aria down here at some point. If she ever got a break from her night classes, that is.
I cringed when I thought about how she’d stormed into our room last night. I’d gone through the total ringer of her emotions during her night class, too; it had taken Johnny and Marilyn waiting outside my door, knowing expressions on their faces, to stop me from finding her, soothing her, and annihilating whatever had unsettled her.
Johnny had attempted to distract me by suggesting that I find out whether the fae would donate some painting supplies. Even though the suggestion had merit, I was still apprehensive after painting Aria and me as nearly feral in my last impromptu session.
Aria had later returned to our room, and I could almostseethe steam curling from the top of her head as she showered and changed in short, jerky movements.
When she’d cuddled up next to me, her face pressing into my chest, I barely got two sentences out of her before she’d conked out.
In the back of my mind, I’d realized that we hadn’t put on a show for the Guardians outside our doors, but my mate was clearly exhausted; even her wolf had remained silent. I’d laid next to her for about an hour, rubbing soothing circles into her back, reveling in the peace and silence.
I’d fallen asleep afterwards, and by the time I awoke, she had already left for the start of training. Although I didn’t enjoy this preview of what the next few weeks were going to look like, I knew better than to complain.
Besides, there’d been a determination within her today, the kind that made my angel giddy with pride.
Bim cleared his throat when we reached the vast, circular, three-tier fountain in the garden's center. “I’ve heard some of the Guardians say this worked as an emergency exit back in the day,” he said, running the tip of his gloved finger through the clear water, sending ripples throughout the second-level basin. “Most of these things need the blood of a royal fae to activate, though.”
Bim had no way of knowing that he’d just handed me a critical piece of information. I eyed the fountain impassively, trying not to show genuine interest. “Seems pretty gaudy. Is this one of those portals? Does it just spit you out somewhere random?”
