Page 24 of The Alpha's Fallen Spell
“Hard to do when our commander keeps staring at the library windows instead of watching his flank,” Elina replies, using my momentary confusion to slip past my guard and tap her blade against my side. “Dead.”
I lower my weapon, irritation flaring. “Enough for today.”
Elina sheathes her practice sword, her expression shifting to something I can’t quite read. “That girl in the library…Do we know anything about her background? Where she came from before you found her?”
Something in her tone puts me on edge. “Why do you ask?”
She shrugs, brushing a strand of dark hair from her face—so much like her brother’s, a painful reminder of the comrade I couldn’t save. “Just concerned. She spends all that time alone, reading. Doesn’t talk to anyone except the queen.” Her voice drops. “Don’t you find that strange?”
“She’s adjusting,” I say more sharply than planned. “She’s been through a lot.”
“Of course,” Elina replies quickly. “I just worry. About security. About you.”
The protective note in her voice softens my irritation. Ever since Markus fell in battle three years ago, I’ve looked after his sister as best I could. Brought her into the guard, trained her personally. She has become one of our finest fighters, and I’d trust her with my life on the battlefield.
“I appreciate your concern,” I tell her, “but Fiona isn’t a threat.”
“If you say so.” Elina hesitates, then adds, “I noticed she seemed lonely. I suggested to Karis that he might show her the gardens. She should get to know more people in the palace, don’t you think?”
The thought of Karis—or any of my men—getting close to Fiona sends an unexpected surge of possessiveness through me. But Elina’s suggestion is reasonable. Kind, even. How can I object when I’m the one who’s been keeping my distance?
“That’s...thoughtful of you,” I manage.
Elina’s eyes brighten at my approval. “I just want to help,” she says, with a sincerity that makes me feel guilty for my instinctive displeasure. “Everyone deserves to feel welcome here.”
She touches my arm briefly—a gesture of reassurance she has made a hundred times before—and walks away to rejoin the other fighters, leaving me with an uncomfortable knot of jealousy that I have no right to feel.
I watch her go, grateful as always for her loyal support. Markus would be proud of the woman she has become. Sometimes I see flashes of him in her dedication, her fierceness. It makes the loss easier to bear, knowing a piece of him lives on in her.
Later this afternoon, as I’m reviewing patrol schedules in my office, a movement in the courtyard below catches my eye. Karis stands at the library entrance, leaning casually against the stone archway. He’s speaking to someone just inside the doorway—someone I can’t see, but whose identity I know with bone-deep certainty.
I watch, tension building in my shoulders, as Fiona emerges from the library. She’s wearing one of the dresses Maya gave her, with pale blue fabric that makes her look even more delicatethan usual. Karis says something that makes her smile. It’s a small, hesitant thing, but a smile nonetheless.
Something dangerous unfurls in my chest.
When Karis gestures toward the gardens and Fiona nods, following him down the winding path that leads to the more secluded areas of the palace grounds, I nearly snap the quill in my hand in two.
Before I can think better of it, I’m on my feet and moving.
I find them near the reflection pool, seated on a stone bench beneath a flowering tree. Karis is pointing to various plants, explaining something that has Fiona leaning forward with interest. Neither of them notices my approach until I’m nearly upon them.
“Commander Wild!” Karis jumps to his feet, surprise and a hint of guilt crossing his features. “I didn’t expect—”
“You’re needed at the armory,” I cut him off, my voice too cold. “Lieutenant Elina is conducting inventory checks. She requested your assistance specifically.”
It’s a lie, and from the confusion in Karis’s eyes, he knows it. But he’s also a soldier under my command, trained to obey without question.
“Yes, sir,” he says, turning to Fiona with an apologetic smile. “Perhaps we can continue another time?”
“I would like that,” she replies softly, and the simple sincerity in her voice scrapes the rawness inside me.
As Karis passes me, he hesitates. “Sir,” he says quietly, “I want you to know it was Lieutenant Elina who suggested I show Fiona the gardens. She thought it might help her feel more welcome here. She said Fiona seemed lonely, and that you’d been too busy with army matters to show her around yourself.” He glances back at Fiona, then adds with awkward sincerity, “She’s nice. Quiet, but nice.”
I nod stiffly, unsure how to respond. “Thank you, Karis. That will be all.”
He bows slightly before departing, leaving me alone with the woman I’ve been systematically avoiding for weeks.
Silence stretches between us, awkward and heavy.
