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With a nod from Trevor the Captain waved his men forward. They all dropped to one knee and bowed their heads, with the exception of a few in the back who I gathered were probably the elves.
"Hail and well met, men. I put myself and my companions in your care to return us to Caslean." Trevor bowed back, though not as deeply and he and Bertrand stepped off to the side.
The rest of the soldiers stayed where they were.
"Thorn," I hissed. "What in the name of the goddess is going on?"
One of the soldiers in the middle lifted his head and said, "My lady, welcome to the fae lands. You are honored among us. I am Dhelion Lamruil Reyroris, and I have been assigned to be your primary guard."
I wasn't sure what I had expected when we met up with the soldiers, but it wasn't for them to all drop to one knee in front of me. Well, most of them anyway. It wasn't to find out that Trevorwas a prince either, let alone that I would have a special guard assigned to me. What did that even mean?
Where I came from I definitely was not honored, in fact, I would say cursed would be more appropriate. I wasn't going to spit in the face of hospitality though so I replied, "Thank you. That's very kind of you."
"You can all stand," Thorn said from off to the side.
Dhelion cut a look across to Thorn before fixing his eyes on me once more.
"Tell him to stand," Thorn said, sounding exasperated.
I glanced between the two men unsure as to what was going on. "You can stand," I said, though the lilt to my voice made it sound more like a question than an order.
Thorn huffed. "They wouldn't listen to me because I'm sun kissed, not moon marked," he said by way of an explanation.
Dehlion scowled slightly. "We're from different courts. It would be inappropriate for me to take orders from you." Still after my words he had pushed to his feet and the other soldiers had followed suit when they all placed a fist over their heart in some kind of salute.
"So are you all moon marked too?" I asked.
Dehlion smiled widely. "I am fortunate enough to be marked by the moon. However, most of the other men were not chosen by the goddess so you will have to forgive them for lacking any qualities you desire."
No one had ever talked to me like that before. It made me flustered so I said the first thing that came to mind, "I thought all fae were marked somehow."
"That hasn't been true for many years, my lady," Dehlion said. His words made me feel like a noble or elite high ranking citizen of some kind. I wanted to tell him that I was an orphan who grew up on the streets with nothing, and that he didn't have to talk to me that way, but I also didn't know how to explainthat without making it sound like a sob story or risking offending him.
I finally looked at him in earnest. The silvery hair that fell from his head was long and tied back in a braid, one that I had no doubt hung quite a length down his back. Rings adorned the pointed ears that stuck out from the side of his head, so many that I felt sure if he shook his head they would jingle and jangle as they hit one another.
It was the piercing gray eyes that held me in place as he took me in as well. I felt his gaze lingering on the mark that covered my cheek and neck. The more he saw, the more his eyes widened with surprise.
"Was there any trouble on the road?" Trevor quietly asked Bertrand. My ears pricked with curiosity.
"A small scuffle with some ferals, nothing we couldn't handle," Bertrand replied in a low voice. I wanted to know more but that would mean ignoring the man in front of me, which I couldn't do just yet.
I smiled at Dehlion, trying to repay the kindness that he was showing me with the way he was treating me and let him know that I understood my mark made him curious. "I'm Senara, and this is Wyn, she's my companion." I didn't want anyone ignoring my friend or treating her as less than because she was human.
For the first time Dehlion's eyes deviated from me and landed on Wyn. She gave an awkward little wave and grinned. "I see you are blessed with strong friendships," Dehlion said.
I wasn't quite sure what he meant by that, whether he was referring to Wyn's magic or the fact that she was here with me.
As though sensing my question he explained, "It is unusual for a human to survive in full form through the veil."
I wanted to ask what he meant by "in full form," but Thorn interjected, "We should get on the road."
"Agreed," Bertrand said as he walked back over to the main group of guards with his helmet tucked under one arm. "However, as fair warning, we will not reach the capital by nightfall. I felt Wyn stiffen next to me.
"We won't?" I asked.
"No. There are...certain elements that are making the roads more dangerous to travel and forcing us to take longer, especially when we need to ensure somebody like yourself and the prince's safety."
"I assure you I am capable of handling my own safety," I said. I knew what I'd encountered with the ghoul had scared me, but I hated when people thought I couldn't handle myself. "I was a soldier in the human lands. A talented one at that."
