The next day, a Guardian came to the door. I rested my hand on my sword sheath. I never knew who I could trust these days.
"Easy, Guardian Eveline."
Luckily, Sebastian and Sasha were gone. I heard Alistor stand.
"Blake," Alistor greeted him.
They had been friends. Blake nodded in greeting, but he had yet to smile. That wasn't like him.
"The king has offered pardon and requests your presence in court right away."
My breath caught. We hadn't finished our assignment. Why was he calling us back to court?
Alistor was at my side. "Right now?"
"Aye," he said. "I thought you two would be happier at this news."
"We … we are. I'm just surprised."
Blake smiled slightly. "Oh, I'm not surprised, Guardian Eveline. Now pack up. We leave within the hour."
Did he know our secret or was he not surprised due to my blood? The king wouldn't want to lose such a valuable guardian.
****
I left Sasha a note before we left and followed Blake to the Lower City gates. As they slid open and I saw the Upper city- it awed me. I had forgotten the simple beauty. It wasn't as rugged as the Lower City. I gave the Lower city one last glance as the doors slammed hard behind us and the gears locked it into place.
We were soon in the Inner city- designed for the Guardian class and for the nobles. How I had missed this! A stable boy took our horses and Riana was there to help us take our things. We had been given an hour to bathe and dress before having dinner with the king. As Riana helped me wash my hair, I began to get worried. Had the king seen our mission as a failure?
"You're tense," she said.
"Aye," I whispered. "I've got a lot on my mind."
She rinsed out my hair. "The king has summoned you back because with the stunt the Keltcher did last night, he knows who at court are a part of it. He is passing out sentences today."
I gulped. "Are we in trouble?"
Rianna was very good at finding out the secret dealings at court. "Nay. He just wants to know he is summoning the right people."
I let out a sigh of relief.
Soon I was washed and dressed and met Alistor outside my door where we walked together to the king's chambers on the third floor. His guards announced us and allowed us entry. He was waiting at the table in his private library.
"Guardian Eveline and Guardian Alistor. It is a pleasure to have you back," he said with a slight smile.
We bowed with our hands over our heart.
"Please, come sit. We have a lot to discuss. Dinner will be here shortly."