Page 100 of Joy Guardian
“Please, Prince Rha…um, I’m sorry,Your Highness.He doesn’t deserve to be in jail. His life is in danger there?—”
“If it is, he brought it upon himself. I have not executed a single Watcher yet. They murder their own.”
“I can’t let it happen to him. Please release him.”
“The Watchers give a vow of an undying commitment to a cause that means harm to you and everyone like you, including the woman I love more than life.” With an arm around Dawn’s waist, he drew her closer into his side.
I blew out a breath in frustration. It was hard to argue with someone who was so obviously devoted to my cousin. I wanted Dawn to be safe and happy too. But I had to get it in her otherworldly boyfriend’s head that Kurai was not a threat to her or anyhuman. I believed with all my heart that he was not. But belief alone was not enough. I had to prove it.
“If Kurai had any sinister motive toward humans, why would he bring us to Teneris? We came here, hoping it was a safe place for all of us. And you threw him in jail. For what? For rescuing us?”
“The accusations against the Watchers are extremely serious.”
“But these accusations aren’t true. At least not in Kurai’s case,” I argued.
“We cannot be sure about that, not without a thorough investigation.”
“Alright. Let’s go then.” I spun on my heel to face the gates.
“Go where?” The prince gaped at me.
Dawn grabbed my hand. “Where are you going, Ciana?”
“To the dungeon. The prince said he wants to investigate. Let’s start by talking to Kurai. Please, give him a chance to explain.”
“Right now?” the prince asked.
“The sooner the better, since the chance of being murdered in your royal dungeon is quite high, I heard.”
“What a stubborn woman,” he muttered under his breath.
“I would be stubborn, too, if it was aboutyourlife and freedom,” Dawn said.
The prince moved his attention from me to her, then turned back to me again.
“I can certainly tell you two are related,” he concluded. “The brazen rebellion against royal power must be your family trait.”
Unsure whether that meant good or bad for Kurai, I exchanged a questioning glance with Dawn. Thankfully, she didn’t look concerned. Her attitude around the prince remained comfortably confident and not at all intimidated by his “royal power.”
“Well, what are you going to do,Your Highness?” She clapped her hands and stared at the prince expectantly.
I got a feeling Dawn didn’t want to publicly make thedecision for the prince and possibly undermine his authority in front of the Keepers and the guards—who kept a respectful distance from us but likely overheard our conversation—but it was clear to me what decision she had made.
Prince Rha, the smart man that he was, understood it too. He headed to the gate.
“I will question the prisoner now,” he announced to the guards on his way out from thesarai.
Two of them ran off, probably to bring the news of the royal visit to the guards in the dungeon.
“I’m coming too,” I hurried alongside the prince.
“I gathered that much,” he muttered.
“Me too.” Dawn caught up with us.
The prince sighed but made no attempt to fight her on that.
“Triple our escort,” he ordered the leader of the guards by the gate. “We’re all going to the dungeon.”
