Page 6 of Xantera
The people around me stir. Everyone seems to inhale as the beacon of light flows closer, and then I see one of them—him.
The Third Guardian.
I’d recognize him anywhere because his picture is everywhere. Hung up on every wall, threaded into every flag, carved into every statue alongside his eleven brothers and sisters. Wrapped in a rich, velvet cloak, he has wavy, golden hair, skin the color of bone, and eyes that flash the color of the moon above us.
And as he moves like silk closer and closer to me, I see them when his lips pinch up.
His fangs.
My breath burns in my chest, aching for me to release it, but I can’t. The Third Guardian is moving so close that I can see his nostrils flaring as he smells each citizen that he passes, eyeing the badges pinned to their cloaks. Silver, red, green, purple, gold. His gleaming fangs seem to reflect each of the colors, but it’s only when he approaches me that I hear the small, purring sound he makes as he passes each potential sacrifice.
“Hmmmm.”
The voice shocks me straight to my core.
Two crimson eyes flick to my badge, and I swear my heart sinks straight to my toes. I can almostseethe future five seconds from now. His gaze will slide up to my face. He’ll tilt his head ever so slightly, golden locks falling to the side, and I’ll never move again, neverbreatheagain as he’ll pin me to the spot with that singleglance and realize I’m exactly who he’s looking for. Even now I’m entranced. Enthralled.Elevated.
But the Third Guardian doesn’t lift his eyes to my face.
He simply shifts his gaze from my badge to the person behind me and moves on.
My breath whooshes out of me as if the moon pummeled me in the stomach.
What happened? Was I not good enough? Not worthy enough? Why didn’t he pick me?
Heat rushes back up my legs, urging me to turn around and track his progress. I don’t, of course, but I can hear him do that purring “hmmm” again from behind me, and my ears don’t even process the howling rage of the Monster in the distance as I hear another woman gasp.
“Yes, I think you’ll do nicely.”
The Third Guardian’s voice spins through the crowd, and then there’s a shift of movement as everyone stands aside. My head whips around to see him place a hand on the small of another woman’s back. Lifting her chin, she lets him lead her through the parting crowd, toward the front doors of the Blood Moon Palace.
I don’t see another Guardian all through the rest of the Choosing, but I can sense the stirring of the crowd as eleven other citizens are picked and led into the palace—and all my hope fleeing with them.
The Monster howls on.
“Diggory’s gone” is the first thing I hear from Gaia when I walk into the Healing Center locker room the next morning.
“What?”
The bags I can feel under my eyes are still weighing me down, but every healthy, able-bodied citizen over the age of eighteenis probably feeling the effects of the Choosing right about now. The twenty-four-hour period afterward always feels off-kilter, as if someone cut into our routines and scooped out a hearty chunk of it. I’m used to this feeling.
So why am I blinking so long and hard at Gaia, unable to comprehend what she just said?
“What do you mean Diggory’sgone?” I ask finally. “He… those injuries shouldn’t have… he was fine!” I’m reeling, staggering toward the bench and slumping into a position where my hands can cradle my face. No one dies on my watch.
But some die when I’m not on shift. I just didn’t think the gold-badged gentleman with the perfect vitals would be one of them.
Gaia surprises me by scooting herself closer to me, passing a quick look at all the other healers either getting dressed or undressed on the other side of the room. We’re not supposed to gossip, but I don’t stop her when she whispers out of the corner of her mouth, “He’s not dead. He disappeared during the Choosing—just up and snuck away when everyone else was looking the other way.”
“What?”
Again, that question falls out of my mouth. Again, I’m blinking rapidly at Gaia.
The only citizens exempt from the Choosing are sentries, children, and the sick or injured in the Healing Center… plus a very few select caregivers and healers who stay with those left behind. If there was ever a time to run off, it would be during that singular hour when most of Xantera is standing in formation before the Blood Moon Palace.
But I’ve never,everheard of anyone doing such a thing. It’s ludicrous. Horrifying. Unspeakable.
Yet I find myself speaking anyway.
