The Guardians

Chapter 45

 The small rendezvous camp was silent. Aiden didn't understand why Lyra hadn't mentioned that she was a Paladin. Did she think they would treat her differently? He noticed that she was very secretive about her past and truly didn't know why. He shouldn't have been upset with her. He hadn't exactly been truthful about his own past. He was a bastard, yes, but he did know who his father was. And he wasn't exactly an orphan. Truth was, Faeren himself had raised him after his mother's, a fellow Guardian, death. He'd spent his entire life in Halmont and had even believed for the longest that Faeren was indeed his father. But he'd discovered his father's identity quite by accident. Faeren confessed and confirmed the information but said it had been kept from him to protect him at Elise's request. The story he'd told Lyra had been one he told himself so many times that he almost believed it himself. He knew he should tell Lyra the truth, but he just wasn't ready to be viewed and treated differently. They both had their reasons for their secrets. Aiden reached into his pack and pulled out Faeren's journal. He'd retrieved it during their stay in Halmont. It was how he'd discovered his father's identity. Discovered why Elise had asked Faeren to keep Aiden's true father a secret. He needed to keep it from Arlan's hands and knew that it perhaps would have been safest in the secret safe but he didn't know exactly who knew about it. He ran his hand across the simple leather binding. No matter who his father really was, Aiden would always view Faeren as his father. Perhaps Elise had wanted that. He placed the journal back into his pack. He looked over at Lyra. She looked lonely all of a sudden. Saren was on the watch. Will was making a new batch of his potent healing salve and teaching Lex how to make it. He was sure Neve was lurking in the shadows somewhere. Lyra was staring into the fire. She absently touched the base of her neck, a gesture he'd seen her do several times before. He didn't think that she even realized she was doing it. He wondered if it had something to do with the spell she'd mentioned. He stood and crossed over to her. She looked up at him as he sat next to her.

"You were looking a little lonely."

She gave him a half smile. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you to begin with."

"You had your reasons, Lyra. I understand that."

She gave him a grateful look before gazing back into the fire. "I was running from her," she said suddenly. Will and Lex looked up. "She had ordered me to go assassinate the royal family. I had already done terrible things at her command but I did not want innocent blood on my hands. I ran into a patrol of Paladins and asked for refuge. Naturally, they didn't trust me. I was a spellcaster after all."

"How could they tell?"

"I had a staff, genius."

Will chuckled and Lex tried to hide a smile.

"I wasn't always an arcane warrior," Lyra continued. "I had always thought that the only way to use my magic was with a long stick."

This time it was Aiden who chuckled.

"I was convinced I was powerless. The man who eventually became my best friend, Talish Gemini, convinced Mathros to teach me how to use magic without the use of a staff or scepter. I found I was powerful enough to break the spell. I nearly killed myself in the process. That spell wasn't exactly designed for someone other than the caster to remove. I didn't have anywhere else to go, so Mathros offered to allow me to join."

"That's odd that they would allow a spellcaster into their ranks," Lex said, then paused. "Wait, the First Knight was a spellcaster?"

Lyra didn't answer.

"So were you really recruited after a tongue lashing?" Aiden asked to veer the conversation away from spellcaster Paladins.

"That part was true. First Knight Kalmin Orana and I never saw eye to eye. He thought I was too powerful to be allowed to walk freely but he couldn't just throw me into a cell. Too many Paladins respected me. I didn't achieve Captain by being pretty."