Blood of the Guardian (34 page)

Alec shoved one in his mouth, whole. “Because it’s good.”

She set it on the plate. “Not good.”

Alec shoved the one she’d rejected into his mouth, along with the other one. Both girls gawked, wondering how it even fit! Megan couldn’t decide if she was impressed or revolted. He grinned, cheeks swollen with pastry like a squirrel gathering nuts for winter.

“Very classy,” a voice said.

Nolan stood in the doorway, dressed in clean breeches, a white tunic, and leather boots buttoned up his calves. His hair was brushed back, still wet from his bath. He came in, took the last pastry from the plate, and bit into it. Closing his eyes, he exhaled. “Mmm. This is good.”

“And mine,” Alec mumbled, his mouth full.

“Not anymore.”

Alec swallowed and motioned toward Nolan’s midsection. “Well … let’s see it then.”

“See what?” Nolan asked.

“You’ve seen mine; let me see yours.”

Nolan scowled, then he pulled up his tunic, revealing the mass of scar tissue over the sharp contours of his muscled stomach. Megan sucked in a breath. She’d seen it at a distance. It looked even worse close up.

Alec whistled. “How many times did they stick you?”

“Too many.” Nolan yanked his tunic down.

Rayen had said nothing since Nolan entered. She stared at him, her eyes wide in wonder.

“Rayen,” Alec said. “This is Nolan. Nolan … Rayen, the new leader of the Talasian people.”

Nolan bowed. “I’m sorry to hear about your father.”

She nodded and examined her feet. Finally, she stood. “I go now. Good to meet you, Nolan.” She leaned and placed a kiss on Alec’s cheek before striding out the door. A blush rose to Alec’s face.

Nolan’s mouth quirked. “She speaks well for a Talasian.”

“Yeah. She’s smart too. She learned our language fast.”

“It helps when she hangs around you all day,” Megan said, nudging Alec’s arm.

“Nothing’s going on,” Alec said.

“Nothing?” Megan said. That was a lie; she’d watched them interact too many times.

Alec huffed. “All right. So I like her. I’m just not ready for that kind of thing. Not so soon after Taryn.” He shoved a hand through his curly hair. “She likes me, too. She even hinted about me going back to Talasi with her.”

“Really?” Megan said.

Alec shook his head. “I’m not going. But it’s nice to know that I
can
care about someone again … someday … when I’m ready. Until then, I can maybe go visit. Might be nice to travel.” He shrugged. “We need to get through this war thing first. Hopefully, by the end of it, our countries won’t hate each other.”

Alec motioned to a chair by his bed. “You don’t have to stand there all day. Have a seat.”

At first, Megan thought Nolan would refuse. Finally, he lowered into the chair.

“So is it true?” Alec asked, obviously trying to avoid the subject of him and Rayen.

“Is what true?” Nolan asked.

“That gypsy wench. Did she really turn?”

Nolan studied his palm. “Yes. It’s true.”

“How did that happen? She’s the last one I’d expect to become a … ” He motioned toward Nolan. “To become like you.”

“Greer has some ideas how,” Nolan said slowly. “But I’m not quite ready to share.”

Alec pinched his lips, as if stopping himself from asking more. After a prolonged silence, he took a deep breath. “I can’t even imagine her with all those powers. I mean, you’re good and moral. She’s just … just … Well, she’s trouble.”

“Only yesterday,” Megan said, “she attacked the city of Neda.”

Alec snorted and grinned.

“What’s so funny about that?” Megan asked.

“Neda? They probably deserved it.”

“Alec!”

“What?” Alec asked, his hands raised. “I’ve been there twice. Once on land and once on the Talasian boat. They attacked me
both
times.”

“Still,” Megan said. “It doesn’t give Jezebelle the right to kill them.”

Alec frowned. “Yeah, okay. You’re right. But it doesn’t surprise me she went there first. They
hate
Talasians.”

Nolan had gone quiet, withdrawn, staring at the ground.

“Nolan?” Megan asked. “Are you okay?”

He pulled his eyes from the floor and met her face. “No. Not really.”

Guilt stabbed Megan’s heart. He wasn’t still upset about her marriage, was he?

“No, Meg. It’s not your marriage.” Nolan clenched his fist. “Jezebelle took the stones.”

Alec’s eyes widened. “How long do you have?”

“One week. Maybe two, if I’m careful. But I might have other options,” Nolan said. “At the gypsy camp, a Guardian shared his power with me. If Greer and the others can do the same, I might prolong it for a while.”

“Wait,” Alec said. “A Guardian? In the gypsy camp?”

“His name is Rikar.”

“That’s terrific!” Alec said. “Where is he?”

“He disappeared once the Rol’dan showed up. Greer is searching for him now.”

Nolan started talking about the Guardian, giving details of his story Megan hadn’t heard before. She wanted to listen, but questions filled her head. Why did the missing stones worry them so much? And what did Nolan mean when he said he only had a week or two? One week for what? Where had this new Guardian come from? And how had he shared his power with Nolan?
Wait! Nolan just said something about light and blood and … a finger?
Certainly, that can’t be right.
Megan’s head hurt, she was so confused.

Nolan turned to her, laying a hand on her arm. “Meg … I’ll die without the stones.”

“Die?”

“I need the stones to refill. If I run out of power, it will kill me.”

A lump stuck in her throat. “W-well, we need to find them.”

“That’s right,” Alec said. “If I have to kill the wench myself, I’ll get them.”

“Oh, Alec,” Nolan said with a sad smile. “First, you’ll have to be strong enough to get out of bed.”

Alec frowned and tried to sit straighter. After his pathetic effort, he slumped back, his face set in a defeated scowl.

“Thank you, friends,” Nolan said. “It means a lot to me. It really does. However, if she’s as strong as people are saying, I might be the only one able to defeat her. And if I have to conserve my powers, that might be difficult.”

“The Guardians can help, can’t they?” Megan asked.

“Maybe,” Nolan said. “But since she is still human to them, they won’t be able to hurt her, only detain her. It might be enough to help, though.”

“You don’t have to defeat her to get the stones,” Megan said. “If we can find out where she is, we can sneak in and grab them.”

The hopelessness lifted from Nolan’s face. “It’s not a bad idea.”

“And she isn’t trying to hide,” Alec snorted. “If we wait a day or two, she’ll probably fly a huge flag, telling us where she is.”

Megan stood. “I’ll talk to Emery. Surely we can come up with a plan.”

Chapter Thirty-Three

MEGAN CHECKED THEIR BEDROOM FIRST, but Emery wasn’t there. She wanted to speak to him privately, without a parade of nosy Rol’dan listening. Most of them, if not all, didn’t know of Nolan’s weakness, and it would be best to keep it that way.

Finally, she went to the throne room, wondering if Emery was in a meeting with General Trividar, or if someone else had brought him news. The doors to the throne room were open, and Rol’dan trickled out, casting nervous glances over their shoulders. Megan crept inside but relaxed when she saw the glow of Guardian light. The Rol’dan always acted funny around Guardians. Her brows furrowed when instead of three Guardians, there were four. An air of tension filled the room enough to make her feel nervous.

The new Guardian wore only a loincloth, much like Nolan had. Her mouth dropped open. Crows, he was magnificent. She’d never seen a Guardian without his armor before. Smooth, iridescent skin. Perfect muscles that made Nolan’s seem small in comparison. He had straight black hair to his shoulders, which shimmered with light. The Guardian turned to her, and his face was even more beautiful, with a godlike chin and jaw.

An Empathy Shay touched her mind. She pried her eyes from the new Guardian and found Emery watching her, an amused expression touching his mouth. Megan’s cheeks warmed.

Emery held out his hand for Megan. She took it, but could hardly look at him.
How embarrassing.

“This is my wife, Megan.” He motioned to the Guardian. “Megan, this is Rikar.”

Recognition clicked in her mind. “Oh! Nolan told me about you.”

Rikar’s dark brow rose. “Is Master Nolan well?”

“He is,” Megan said. “Thanks to you.”

“It was my honor to help him.”

Angry scowls painted the other Guardians’ faces as they glared at the new addition.

“Nolan spoke highly of you, Master Emery,” Rikar said.

“Did he? I’m glad to hear it.”

Greer stepped away from the others. “We must get Rikar settled in and changed.” His voice held an edge Megan had never heard before. He strode across the room with purpose and grabbed Rikar’s arm, pulling him out the door.

As soon as he left, Malik turned toward Emery. “Your Majesty. There is much you do not know pertaining to Rikar.”

“He saved Nolan. For that, I’m grateful.”

“But, Your Majesty—”

“No,” Emery said, voice firm. “I don’t want to hear of it. Whatever grievances you have against him will have to be set aside.”

Malik scowled. “As you wish, Master Emery.”

Sanawen and Malik left, still whispering to one another.

Megan leaned in. “What are they feeling?”

“Violence,” Emery said, “and disgust. I haven’t felt this from the Guardians since … Well, the only time is when anyone mentions Alcandor.”

Megan shuddered. “You don’t think Rikar is like him, do you?”

“No,” Emery said. “His emotions seem genuine, and he helped Nolan. As of right now, he’s more pleasant than the other Guardians.” He grinned. “
You
seemed to like him quite well.”

Megan’s eyes widened in horror, but it only made Emery’s smile widen. Her skin warmed so much she couldn’t even look at him. She slapped her hands over her face. “Oh, Emery, I’m so sorry.”

Emery laughed. “If it makes you feel any better, Sanawen is attractive too.”

She peeked through her fingers. “It helps … a little, maybe.”

He pulled her hands from her face and held them. Her heart fluttered, then raced. His grin faded, and he dropped his grip.

“So you spoke to Nolan?” he asked.

She blinked, still trying to recover from his touch. “Um, yes. In Alec’s room. He’s worried about the stones.”

Emery frowned. “As he should be. But there is also something else troubling him, though I haven’t figured it out yet. I’ll speak to him later this evening.”

“You have a lot of people to talk to,” she said, a reminder to add her to this list.

“I haven’t forgotten,” he said with a pained smile.

Megan sighed, not sure if she believed him. If he wasn’t able to be intimate with his feelings, he’d never be able to physically open up to her. He couldn’t even hold her hands without withdrawing.

He grabbed her shoulders, squeezing gently. Suddenly, he pulled her to him, and their lips met, soft and warm. And just as quickly, he yanked away.

“We
will
talk. Okay, Megan?”

She nodded, breathless. If one tiny kiss from him could affect her like this, what could he do if he
really
kissed her? What would happen if he touched her … if he … Her heart thundered. She pulled back on her thoughts, not wanting to indulge such ideas, especially if they never came to fruition. For now, she’d have to settle for this kiss.

“Master Emery,” a rumbling voice said.

Greer and Rikar stood at the entrance to the throne room. Rikar had changed from the loincloth—thank Brim—to a suit of shiny golden armor.

“We are ready to speak with you now,” Greer said. “Rikar has helpful information regarding the gypsies.”

Emery released Megan’s shoulders and took a step back. He motioned toward the conference room, once again confident. Once again a king. “Yes, of course. We can talk privately in here.”

Emery entered, followed by Greer. Rikar stopped and studied Megan, his white eyes intense, before he nodded and continued behind them.

***

Megan went back to her room to wait for Emery. After a while, a servant brought her a meal. She ate in solitude, thinking about the kiss and their potential conversation. She hoped he would follow through on his promise.

As she waited, anxiousness set in. To pass some time, she’d watch the Rol’dan train from her window. Kael was quite a taskmaster.

As the day ticked on, boredom led to weariness. She lay on the bed and closed her eyes. But even sleep did nothing to help her unease as her dreams took over. The bedroom. Alcandor. Even Maska appeared this time, with his eyes glowing red. She jerked awake, her body covered in sweat as she inhaled, calming her thundering heart.