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The next morning cametoo quickly and with an unexpected visitor. Kalen knocked on my chamber door just as Rebekah began to ready me for the day.
“I thought I’d escort Gwynore to her lesson today,” he said slowly, watching me with a curious look. It took me a moment to realize I was still intensely pressing a pair of cold spoons into my face. Rebekah had given them to me upon seeing the purple puffs beneath my eyes, saying, “Cold reduces swelling.”
Mortified, I smacked them hard against the wood of my dresser.
“We have a meeting with a man known as the Preceptor.” He cleared his throat as I quirked a brow. A meeting? “If you dress quickly, I will wait just outside.”
I nodded and Rebekah closed my chamber door. She pulled a sweater and trousers from the bureau and slipped me a pair of new sandals that lay flat on the ground. I guess my late-night tryst had damaged our trust as well.
I found Kalen in the hall waiting, impatiently. He gave me a slight, unappreciative nod before he started up the stairwell. I chased after him, practically sprinting as he took the steps two at a time, completely unaware of how far I was already behind.
“Could you slow down a little,” I called out to the back of his head. “Please,” I added, hoping he would appreciate my manners.
When we made it to the landing, Kalen looked over his shoulder. “Losing count?” he mocked.
“Well, actually, yes, but—”
“I really can’t humor any of your otherworldly quirks, today,Gwyn. We are quite busy if you didn’t notice.”
I had noticed, so I didn’t take the time to be offended by the return of his usual attitude.
“I have questions,” I explained.
Kalen glanced at me pointedly. “You always have questions.”
“Well, that’s because I don’t know anything.” It was true and very inconvenient as of late.
“Believe me, I’m painfully aware.”
We turned a sharp corner into a section of the hall that narrowed substantially, and Kalen slowed down. Soon, my face was practically pressed against his shoulder blade.
“Okay, so clear a few up for me then,” I said into the dip of his neck. Kalen shivered. Embarrassed, I apologized quietly and gave him a little more room.
“You promised,” I prodded him as we turned another corner, but he pretended not to hear me, leading me to...well, where was it we were going?Bouncing on the tips of my toes, I tried to get a clear view of where the hall was headed. My chin bobbed over the broach of Kalen’s vest, and I glimpsed two older-looking Guardians stalking towards us from the opposite direction.
I began to panic. As our parties approached each other, it was obvious that for the men to continue, we would have to sidestep one another. Except they wouldn’t know to walk around me. Feeling stronger today, Kalen had cloaked me in Light, but the magic wouldn’t do much against the inevitable collision that lay ahead. Before I could think of a solution, Kalen swiped my wrist with minimal commotion and swung me between himself and the wall, pressing into my hips, concealing the effort as a polite gesture to the senior Guardians. They nodded in appreciation as they passed us, rounded the corner, and were gone.
Kalen’s chest rose, swallowing the air around us. His armor brushed the soft knit of my sweater and fell back gently with a sigh. I could smell the sweet mint that still hung on his breathfrom his morning tea. He looked around quickly to be sure we were alone and once confident, leaned in towards me. One strong leg pressed in between mine, the thin fabric of my pants inched up against his thigh.
“Just a few,” he conceded with a hot breath against my neck. I leaned in toward him without thinking and he startled, tearing himself from the space we shared.
I blinked fast, completely flustered. It took me too long to realize what he was saying. That he’d answer just a few of my questions. My questions? Right. Kalen was slow to notice I hadn’t moved from my place on the wall, and threw his head back in derision, impatiently motioning me to his side.
Right.
“You’re not the same as the others who live here.” Minutes ago that statement would have come out confidently. Now, my voice was tight and shrill. I’d finally done it. Singled him out among the other men here. Out of curiosity and mistrust, I told myself, but the skin between my hips where Kalen’s had pinned me burned.
“Is that a question?” He picked up his pace again, shoulders hunching slightly.
“N-No,” I stuttered. “I mean, it’s obvious that you are different. The others in the Well look to you, for guidance. Jason was brought to you to save.” Kalen’s shoulder stiffened at the name of the fallen Guardian. “And then there is the obvious.”
That caught his attention, and he slowed his pace until we were shoulder to shoulder.
“Your armor,” I explained, trying not to be so smug. “Every Guardian in Leoth is dressed in brown leathers, and you strictly wear a color like midnight.”
“That is what you waste your time wondering about? My wardrobe?” The way Kalen laughed made me regret bringing it up at all. “Shouldn’t you have bigger things to stress over? Oh, Idon’t know, say, where the other two parts of your soul are?”
“It’s just strange,” I reasoned. Actually, I was trying my hardest not to think about the pieces of me floating around in the universe, unclaimed. So intead of focusing on that, I found patterns within my new world, and Kalen didn’t fit in any of them here.
