Page 48 of Lies Within the Darkest Tower

Payne flashed him a wicked grin. “You can never get enough.”

“I’m going to need to spend time in the library tonight, aren’t I?” Lewin said. “Oh, the newly mated. Can’t keep their hands off of each other.”

“Don’t worry,” Kit said. “We’ll take it to the Garden, tonight.”

My pulse picked up and I fought not to stare at him. He’d brought up the Garden. Now was my chance to ask about it and maybe I’d be able to figure out why I’d manifested there last night… and how I’d manifested at all for that matter.

CHAPTER 30

Sage

“The Garden?”I asked, trying not to look too eager for his answer even though my pulse pounded so hard I was sure Lewin could hear it.

“It’s a fae thing,” Grefin said dismissively.

“It’s notjusta fae thing.” Payne shot Grefin a frustrated glare.

“It’s our everything,” Kit said. “It’s the most sacred place in our realm, the heart of our people and our goddess. We go there for our most sacred rituals, but also to find mates and to mate. Because any adult can go to the Garden physically but also spiritually, it’s also become a place to be social. We could be scattered among the two realms, but we can still close our eyes and manifest our spirits in the Garden.”

“Have you seen it?” I asked Lewin who snorted and ended up choking on his ale.

“No,” he sputtered between coughs. “Humans aren’t allowed. Even if you go to the fae realm, the Garden’s magic won’t let a human inside.”

“Ever?” Well, there went my theory that everyone in the Guard ended up in that garden because of the fae magic bindingus to the Tower. Still, there had to be a time when a human had gone there.

“Jeez, that’s what he said.” Grefin rolled his eyes at me as if I’d just confirmed to him how stupid I really was. “I hope you’re at lease half decent with a sword because teaching you is going to be tedious.”

He drained his ale in one long gulp then picked up his tray and headed to the back of the hall to get rid of his dirty dishes.

“He’ll warm up to you,” Kit said, digging in to his stew.

“Unless, of course, you really are terrible with a sword,” Payne added.

Swell. I didn’t think my swordsmanship was terrible, but I also wasn’t strong compared to everyone else here. And while I was fast, it only took one good strike from an opponent to lose a bout. That and my whole body was starting to hurt from the work I’d done that morning, so I had no doubt I wasn’t going to be able to do my best that afternoon and that was just going to prove to Grefin how hopeless I was.

“Cheer up,” Lewin said. “We don’t think you’re stupid.”

“Yeah.” Payne ripped off another chunk of bread and set it on my tray to replace the piece Lewin had stolen. “Humans can’t go to the Garden, so most humans don’t know about it. The only reason the human Guardsmen know is because half of the Guard is fae and at least half of us are hoping to be bound to a female mate.”

Except I’d been there.

It must have been a mistake. The fae magic binding me to the Tower had still been new and a little hot in my arm when I’d gone to sleep. It had to have somehow mixed with my strange ability to have premonitions and I’d ended up there last night.

But now that the burn was gone — I hadn’t even noticed it waking up in the morning — I’d be fine. When I went to bed tonight, I’d stay in my bed and I wouldn’t have to worry aboutembarrassing myself in front of that mystery man or the Lord Commander or Talon.

“Are you two hoping for a female mate?” I wasn’t sure why I asked and as soon as the words slipped out, I realized how rude the question probably was.

“No,” Payne said unoffended as he glanced at Kit, his amethyst eyes filled with a fierce love that warmed my heart while also making me a little jealous. He was truly in love with Kit. The kind of love talked about in the minstrels’ tales. The kind of love that as a noblewoman I’d never have. “Even if I had magic and was eligible, I wouldn’t.”

“I have magic, so I’d have been eligible before we took our vows,” Kit said, “but no one’s soul, woman’s or man’s, has ever called to me like Payne’s.”

“It’s all so romantically disgusting,” Lewin said, his tone playful, clearly not upset that his teammates were in a relationship. “Fae in love are the worst.”

Lewin teased Kit and Payne a bit more about being too sappy for Guardsmen then the conversation shifted to talk about the increased number of shadow monsters, especially during the daytime, and how this year was the largest number of novices the Tower had ever seen.

The bell rang five times and Kit, Payne, and Lewin grabbed their dirty trays — Payne grabbing mine as well — and they left me sitting on the bench waiting for my official assessment to begin.

The great hall cleared out and soon there were only five groups sitting at various tables and me. The group closest to me was all fae. There were nine of them, all big, all muscular, all armed, and all looked like they knew what to do with their weapons. They weren’t, however, in black, so I could only assume they were the fae novices.

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