Page 18 of Rising Out of the Darkness
His eyebrows furrowed as he looked upon me with fierce chestnut eyes. Pausing in the middle of the room, he glared down at me as if assessing me the same way I did him.
“Does everyone who walks through this door receive the same appraising gaze, or should I feel special?” His deep voice shook me from my gawking, and I replaced it with a searing glare. He chuckled, before opening his mouth once more.
“Lady Elena Morrigan, by order of King Alaric Stallard, I am here to escort you to the capital of the kingdom of Ehora. We head to Vrine, the City of Shadows.”
“Why are you addressing me as a ‘Lady?’”
“Because the King has given you the title, and it’s my duty to address you as such, whether I believe it or not.” He shrugged.
His head tilted towards the door. The Royal Guard did not move an inch to let me by, forcing me to squeeze around his brute of a body just to get through the door. The man even had the audacity to smirk as I slid by. I shoved my way out of the door and my face slammed straight into the armored chest of the other guard standing outside.
“Well, that’s going to hurt in a couple of hours.” The second guard towered over me as I rubbed my sore cheek and nose.
I was by far the tallest Elysian female in my town, but he was still an inch or two over my head. Elysian men seemed to grow like weeds and were always enormous. These two men were easily over six feet.
His shoulders were not as wide as the others, but you could still tell he was toned from the way the armor bulged over his arms. Messy golden locks tossed about his head as he leanedover and whispered, “Next time, maybe watch where you’re going. You wouldn’t want to ruin that pretty face of yours,” he chuckled.
A scowl grew on my face as I rolled my eyes beneath my lashes. My face was burning hot with anger, which I was sure they assumed was from blushing, as they smirked at each other over my head.
The second guard cleared his throat. “My lady, I am Killian Ashford, second captain of the Royal Guard, and that brute behind you is Liam Hart, first captain. We will be your personal guards as we make our journey.” He bowed mockingly with his arm extended showing me the way forward. I stormed by him stomping on his foot as I went.
“Ouch, woman!”
Turning to face him, I caught his glare and tossed him back a smirk of my own. Liam tried his best to cover a smile with his fist, but failed miserably. A flustered Killian grabbed me by the arm forcing me forward towards the main hall of the temple.
I whispered to the captain, making sure it was loud enough for Liam to hear behind us, “Perhaps next time, you should be more careful where you’re standing. You wouldn’t want me to ruin those pretty feet of yours.”
Killian’s eyebrows shot straight up. Even his mouth hung open. More stifled chuckles rose from the first captain behind me. Even in all my fury, I couldn’t help but laugh as well. Releasing a grunt, Killian tugged me a little tighter as we finally made our way into the hall.
Declan
After I set the boy Will on top of a horse with the group of my father’s guards, my gaze caught on Warren pacing back and forth in front of the temple. With a heavy sigh, I made my way over to him.
“Warren,” I said, extending my hand out for a handshake.
He grabbed my hand firmly and pulled me into a quick embrace. When he released me, I scanned the area around us to make sure no one had seen our interaction. Thankfully, only a handful of the members of the town were out and the other guards were still preparing their horses for the journey. All of them seemed distracted.
A deep chuckle rumbled beside me. “Don’t worry Declan, a hug won’t shatter our secret. You know, it wouldn’t hurt your façade to actually smile every once in a while.”
“Who said it was a façade?” A smirk spread across my lips as Warren’s grin spread, but then quickly fell. He turned to face me, worry lines now evident across his forehead.
“How did the raid go last night?”
My head fell as I shook it.
“Damn,” he cursed as he ran his palm through his hair. “I’ll keep searching. We’ll make this our top priority. We’re so close now Dec. It will help distract me while she’s?—”
The stoic man in front of me began to chip, his voice cracking, heavy with burden over what we were about to do with his daughter. I placed my hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze of reassurance. “We’ll take care of her?—”
“Elena,” he interrupted.
“We’ll take care of Elena. You have my promise, Warren.”
“Good, because if anything happens to her, I’ll kill you myself.” His fierce gaze locked on mine and I knew that was a promise he would indeed keep. Clearing his throat, he dropped his gaze to the dirt below us. “I haven’t told her. She doesn’t know about anything.”
My brows rose at his admission. “Warren?—”
“Don’t even start.” He pointed his index finger into my chest. “She ismydaughter, and I have my own reasons why I haven’t disclosed things to her yet. I plan to keep it that way. Only I will be the one to tell her, so keep your mouth shut.”
