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“Are you well?” he asked, taking a seat at the dining table and looking mightily uncomfortable all the while. This was probably why Selene usually handled disciplinary issues.
“Um, yes. Thank you. Shall I make tea or—”
“No, that’s not necessary. Sit, this won’t take long.”
By the night, he was going to dismiss me from service and then I’d beforcedto go home but with the added disadvantage of deep, deep shame.
Captain Soren was frowning, though he frowned a lot so that didn’t give me much insight. “A new role has come up. Having discussed it with Selene, we thought you might be best suited for it.”
Oh.Oh. He wasn’t dismissing me.
“Me?” I asked, curious about what possible role the Captain of the Guard could have been considering formespecifically. I took my job seriously, but I certainly wasn’t the most talented fighter or the most powerful among the Guard.
Captain Soren hesitated. “This isn’t yet common knowledge, but the king is to marry. The announcement will be made at tonight’s feast.”
“Oh, I see.” Though I didn’t, not really. Why did the captain look so worried about that? There had been mutterings throughout the kingdom for years that it was high time King Allerick got serious about producing an heir.
Unlike his father, this king hadn’t left a trail of offspring across the land.
“His bride is a Hunter.”
“… I’m sorry, could you repeat that?” I asked after a long pause, sure I’d misheard.
The captain grimaced. “She’s a Hunter. It’s a condition of the treaty the two councils are putting together.”
Who could have possibly thoughtthatwas a good idea? I doubted it was the king. Though I supposed it gave us a Hunter hostage. There could be advantages to that.
“Your role would be threefold; keeping this newqueensafe from any Shades who take it upon themselves to rid the realm of a Hunter—that’s not their call to make—as well as monitoring her behavior for any signs of trouble. Most importantly, the king’s safety is paramount. The role would include ensuring his protection.”
“Undoubtedly,” I agreed, attempting to process all of these new developments. Quite apart from the absurdity of having a Hunter as ourmonarch, I couldn’t understand why the captain wantedmein the role of her personal guard. Even if it was because they felt it would be more suitable to have a female in the role, Selene was the Lieutenant and far more qualified than I was.
“You’re wondering why I thought you would be most suitable for this position,” the captain stated, reading the confusion on my face. “You are more than competent to protect her from Shades and protect the Shades from her, but so are many other members of the Guard. Why I thought you would suit the role is that you have a…compassionto you that I believe would endear you to her.”
“Oh.” Compassion? “No one has ever described me that way before,” I added with a slightly nervous laugh.
“Not all of us thrive in social situations,” Captain Soren muttered. “Which can lead to misconceptions, if those around us aren’t looking closely.”
I couldn’t tell which of us was more uncomfortable.
“I couldn’t agree more. And I’m very honored that you’d consider me for the role, but I’m afraid that I’ll likely be leaving the Guard soon,” I admitted quietly. “My family may need me home in Erith.”
The captain’s frown deepened. “Is there anything I can say to change your mind? There’s really no one else who compared when we were considering you for the role.”
That was very flattering, though I didn’t think that had been his intention. Flattery wasn’t the captain’s style.
“It’s not my mind that needs changing,” I replied tentatively, feeling immensely disloyal to my family as I did. At the same time, Captain Soren had given me a home here among the Guard and taught me everything I knew about combat. I felt a sense of loyalty to him too.
“I see.” Captain Soren sat back in his seat looking thoughtful. “It would be a very prestigious position, being the primary personal guard to the queen—even if she is a Hunter. A tremendous win for your family. Such an announcement could be… disseminated to Erith.”
Could that work? “It would need to reach Nyfain, my father’s butler. That’s the only way of ensuring it would reach… where it needs to reach. And I’m still not sure how long I’d be able to stay for.”
Fatherwouldrecall me eventually, and I’d never leave Erith again unless I needed to feed. That was my future. It was already planned out.
And it’s what I wanted. Didn’t I? Of course it was. Anything else would be incredibly disloyal of me after everything my father had done for me.
This would justdelaymy return a little longer, and that was okay, wasn’t it? That wasn’t disloyal of me. It would be an additional benefit to my training which would serve me well when I returned home to my family.
Captain Soren nodded curtly. “To be entirely honest with you, I can’t see this arrangement lasting more than a few months at most. In all likelihood, the bride is an assassin sent to attempt to kill Allerick. Once she has been dispatched, the role will be obsolete. There will always be a place for you in the Guard, of course.”
