I brought you here. I thought you’d be happy to see this place.”
“I am,” I whispered. “I-I was just remembering to forget.”
“Don’t forget, Ana,” Kellin replied softly. “It’s important that you always remember, even the most painful stuff. It’s what drives you. It’s what makes you who you are. Let the pain in. Feel it. Just don’t become it. You have to acknowledge it, Ana. If you don’t, you’ll never heal.”
“I’m afraid,” I answered, another tear falling from my eye. “Zaros is still out there, hurting people, killing. And here I am, staring at a field of flowers, afraid of my destiny. Afraid of everything.”
“I know,” he answered painfully. “I know. I’m here, Ana. I’ll always be here.”
“Do you promise?” I asked, squeezing my eyes closed, pushing thoughts of Calix and Tarek out of my mind for that moment, even if it was brief.
I felt Kellin move, and when I opened my eyes, he was staring down at me, his brilliant blue eyes filled with so much warmth my heart did a somersault in my chest.
“Yes,” he breathed out, his hands moving up to cradle my face. He thumbed away my tears, his eyes never leaving mine. “Always.”
“Kellin?”
He wiped at another of my tears and waited for me to continue speaking. “Is-is there anything you want to tell me? Anything you haven’t told me that maybe you should?”
“Of course not,” he answered, his smile shaky. “Why would you ask me that?”
“I was just wondering. We know so little about one another, or at least I know so little about you—the real you.”
“Are you saying you’d like to get to know me?” He smirked down at me, his eyes filled with hope.
“Yes,” I breathed out, nodding. “I want to get to know you, Kellin. Prince Niall.”
“Ana.” His eyes wavered as he peered down at me. “Come. I’ll tell you anything you want to know.” He pulled me down to lie beside him in the flowers, a moment all too reminiscent of an encounter we’d had long ago. This time, I knew it wouldn’t end the same.
“What’s your favorite color?” I asked, starting out easy.
“Green. The color of your eyes,” he replied immediately.
I looked at him and rolled my eyes.
“You laugh, Ana, but it’s absolutely the truth.”
“Fine, Romeo.” I chuckled, loosening up more. “Do you have any siblings?”
“Yes,” Kellin answered, surprising me.
I’d assumed he was an only child.
“I have a younger brother and sister. My brother is eighty years young, and my sister is a mere twenty-five. That’s Winterset years.”
“Really?” I asked, intrigued.
“Yes.” Kellin smiled at me. “My brother is named Casimir, and my sister is Zaria. Both reside in Bornia with my parents at the palace. Casimir is a general in our army, and Zaria is, well, she’s a princess and a bit extravagant. Both are wonderful. I think you’ll really like them once you get to meet them.”
“What about the Silent Sentries? You’re one, right?”
“I am.” Kellin nodded. “We’re simply members of a specific court who do the bidding of kings. For instance, I do the bidding of my father and yours.”
“And you never knew any of the other sentries?”
“No, I never knew Calix,” Kellin replied, giving me a kind smile before turning his head back to stare up at the passing clouds. “I know that’s what you’re asking, Ana. Sentries typically didn’t know one another. We’re like secret agents in a way. We exist. We do things for our rulers, and then we back up into anonymity, making sure to remain unseen and unknown always. Calix could very well have been part of Zaros’s sentries. In fact, I’d be surprised if he wasn’t, considering how powerful he was. My brother is also a sentry for our father. He stands guard over the palace and carries out tasks as my father sees fit. There isn’t much to say about it. We just do what we’re asked.”
“No matter what it is?” I pressed.
“No matter what it is,” he agreed tightly. He didn’t seem to want to talk about it anymore, and I wondered what he’d done.
I wasn’t going to press it. We were quiet for a moment as the clouds passed overhead.
Finally, Kellin spoke again. “I was sent with you to Earth Realm as one of my tasks. I left you with your parents there. Throughout the years, I checked in on you. When you started high school, I stayed.”
“I thought Soran asked you to do it,” I replied, frowning. I had no idea he’d been assigned to it. That he