it.”
“Yes, Commander.”
“After you bring me everyone she came in contact with, you and Aljar will leave for the Veil.”
His eyes widened. “But I am her Guardian,” he said.
“You have been released from duty.” Her soul tugged on mine; therefore, I would have nobody else guarding her. The Guardian understood he could accept the Veil duty or die. With a bow, he accepted. This was good. After he left, I headed for the healing waters.
Coincidence was a rare occurrence. The girl and I met almost immediately as I descended, and she’d witnessed the moment I’d altered the mortal realm. What were the odds the raggedy little mortal hanging by a thread from the gate would remember the Before and command my attention as she had? Slim to none.
Chapter Six
Warm, decorated in browns, beiges, and creams with splashes of bold purple, the room spoke of a luxury and privilege that no longer existed. The spacious room, opposite the city, afforded me a view of the sea and nothing else as far as my eye could see. The crisp sun shone far above the horizon, melting the frost on the window.
I traced a finger, doodled a heart, wondering how I could get away from here and find my family. His chambers comment threw me off. Surely, it was a joke, even if it sounded serious. I wouldn’t crawl to his chambers anyway.
It was easy to believe he was Michael, the angel often depicted as a warlord. There was nothing gentle about this angel. He didn’t play the flute or give nice calming advice. Instead of fingernails, he had claws, and instead of blunt teeth, his smile revealed flesh-tearing canines, and his kilt fluttered around him, even moved to choke his enemies.
A knock sounded on the door and I turned, wondering if I should pretend as if I wasn’t here. “Come in,” I said, and braced for whoever came.
A blonde girl about my age poked her head inside and smiled, then slipped into the room as if sneaking in so nobody would notice her. Immediately, I went on alert. She wore a white uniform with gold trim and carried a tray.
“Hi,” she said and raised the tray. “I’m Georgia, your personal maid. Coffee or tea?”
I had a maid? Nice. “Coffee.”
Georgia entered the living space, gazing all around the room. Sitting down on the plush chair near the window, I offered Georgia a seat and took my coffee.
She refused both the seat and coffee but didn’t leave. At the window, she doodled a heart, connecting it with mine, then turned her pretty blue eyes on me. I bit my lip, then decided I’d ask Georgia if what Michael said was true and reassure myself.
“Your name is Georgia,” I said.
“After my grandfather George.” She smiled.
“Where are you from?”
“Gyles Pare. It’s a small town in the west wing of the Court.”
“I don’t know where the west of the Court is.”
“The Annan Providence.” She eyed me as if I was the crazy one here. “Near Rabri.”
I shook my head. “Have you never heard of Georgia? The state?”
“I kind of suck at geography. Our Court is pretty much the extent of my world knowledge.”
One needed no geography class to live in the US and know there’s a state with that name. It was as if I was an alien. She had no idea. But I bet last month, she celebrated Independence Day by watching the fireworks. Or at least had a barbecue. Her kind eyes made me drop the subject, and I stood.
“The commander asked that you shower and rest and be ready for regiment placement. I’ll bring you dinner and a uniform after I know where he’ll place you.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that. If you could show me to the kitchen, I’ll find dinner.”
“Um, I think you’re on some sort of house arrest.”
Shit. “Why do you think that?”
“Because,” Georgia drawled out the word, “this floor houses the commander, his brothers, and you.”
“And that’s house arrest?”
“It’s a guarded floor.”
“I didn’t see anyone.” On my way up with the Guardians, nobody even passed by. The entire floor appeared deserted.
“That’s the point of them.”
“Point of who?”
“The light benders.”
I blinked. “What is a light bender?” Probably same as Guardian, as in a title or a thing I didn’t know.
“Are you well?” she finally asked. “You ask the weirdest things, as if you fell from another realm and landed here, and now you’re trying to find your way.”
I was an alien. “I do feel that way.”
“Maybe you’re suffering from amnesia?”
I scratched