The Guardians

Chapter 19

Lyra glanced over at Aiden, who was dead to the world. She took the bandage off her arm and healed the now cut there the rest of the way. She'd been healing it little by little to keep from drawing attention to her gifts from Aiden. At least she hoped she wasn't drawing attention to them. She couldn't understand why she wasn't willing for him to know. She'd never shied away from using her magic before, even when she was under Alora's thumb. She knew eventually he would find out and she didn't know if his views of her would change. Would he fear her? Would he be angry that she'd kept it to herself? What if he found out how powerful she was? Lyra worried that he would fear her once he found out about her binding and what she had to do to free herself from it. She was starting to see him as a friend and was beginning to trust him, but not like she had with Talish. She didn't think she'd ever trust anyone like she had Talish. The stray thought about her best friend saddened her. Would they believe the rumors that all the Guardians had fallen in battle? How would Talish take her "death"? What would Kalmin's reaction be? Would he be glad? Or ashamed? She looked back at Aiden. He was her brother now. With the fall of the others, they were all they had. He was the only source of answers about the Guardians and their ways. She couldn't go back to being a Paladin. At least, not officially. Lyra sighed and stood to let Aiden know it was his turn on the watch. She didn't want her life to be defined by her magic but she hadn't the slightest idea what to do.

Even though he knew she had herbal skill, Aiden never mentioned the wound he'd taken during the battle. A part of him didn't want her fussing over him and another part of him thought she would comment on his lack of defense. Even though she'd been wounded as well. So instead, he'd tended to the wound during his watch after she'd fallen asleep, sneaking herb leaves out of her bag and using pinches of the stolen leaf on his wound. He only took a few leaves here and there, but had ceased that the night he was almost caught in her satchel. She'd suddenly woken up in a cold sweat, no doubt from a nightmare from what she'd seen during the battle. He'd quickly put the satchel down before she realized it was in his hands. She hadn't gone back to sleep that night and he hadn't tried pilfering her herbs again. Even though the wound was far from being healed. In fact, there seemed to have been very little progress. Aiden was sure if he tried again, he would be caught and he would have to explain to Lyra that he'd been wounded and why he hadn't said anything. And he had no doubt she knew how much she carried. He'd grown far too used to the pain. For some unknown reason, he felt the need to be strong for her sake. They were the only remaining Guardians that they were aware of. According to every rumor they'd heard, the Guardians had all been killed during the battle. Aiden hoped it wasn't true. He prayed to every god that would listen that it wasn't true.

They'd been traveling east for a few days with no real plan of what they were going to do. They didn't know if any of the Guardians had survived and exactly where they would go. Finally, Aiden suggested that they try for Halmont, the Guardians of Veloce's keep and main headquarters. But they should be careful when they did reach it. Arlan may have come to the same idea. Lyra reluctantly agreed to it. She was sure that would have been the first place that Arlan or Sari would have looked, but it had been several weeks since that fateful battle. Chances were they would have already looked. So Lyra agreed to it. But Aiden had his own reasons for wanting to make for Halmont. He knew they could rest there, for one, and perhaps his wound could have a real chance to heal there once they were no longer on the move. And he wanted to find Faeren's journals. He knew where they were hidden and hoped that Arlan's men hadn't ransacked the keep or found the hidden vault. There was something in those journals that he didn't want Arlan nor Sari to lay their hands on. Or anyone else for that matter. He was sure that he was now the last that carried the secret. A secret that could either save or destroy Veloce. And sign his death warrant if the two feuding royals found out what was in those journals.