Page 14 of Joy Guardian
As a grown man, I could now see the things I couldn’t or didn’t want to notice as a child.
Maybe Mother didn’t give me up in cold blood. Maybe sheprotected me the only way she knew how—by finding a safe place for me to live, grow, and thrive, away from the monster who tormented us both.
“He acted as if he wanted to kill me.”Ciana’s words pierced my heart like an arrow, making me stagger on my feet.
I never learnedhowmy mother died. What if after ensuring my safety, she returned to live with the man who’d eventually turned into her murderer?
A sickening feeling rose from the pit of my stomach. I leaned against a column in the underground marketplace.
“Are you alright?” a sympathetic passerby asked.
“I’m fine,” I lied, fearing I would never be fine again.
The need to feel Ciana’s arms around me again became unconquerable. Without her embrace holding all my pieces at once, I had only shreds of my composure to keep it together.
Pushing away from the support column, I headed back to the palace.
I’d promised to meet Ciana for dinner, but I couldn’t wait until morning to see her. I hoped she wouldn’t mind if I showed up early, and I didn’t care about skipping my midnight meal for that.
As I approached the palace gates, however, a guard stopped me.
“The Council needs to speak with you, Joy Guardian,” she said, gesturing for me to follow her into the queen’s palace through the main hall, then down a wide staircase to the council meeting room.
Alarm spiked in me, but I calmed it down. Running would be stupid. There were plenty of guards all around the palace to stop me. There was no need to act guilty before I was even accused of anything.
Calming my worries, I tried to think what this meeting could be about. Questioning the guard wouldn’t help me, it wasn’t like the Council would provide her with an explanation of their orders. But whatever it was, I had to be ready for the worst.
If the true purpose of my being in thesaraihad been discovered, I had a plan to execute immediately. Except that it didn’t sit well with me now. And I knew why—I couldn’t hurt Ciana.
The guard opened the door to the council meeting room for me.
“This way, Joy Guardian.” She bowed her head, letting me enter.
A thick rug covered almost the entire marble floor with plush cushions arranged in a circle in the middle. The six council members sat on the cushions by the light of the candles in pyramidal stands. The fire in two brass braziers also aided in illuminating the space.
With my arrival, the conversation in the room halted. The three men and three women councilors turned to face me.
“Greetings, Joy Guardian. Please join us.” the Head Councilor, Lady Uryami, gestured at the free cushion in their circle.
Her inviting me to sit with them like their equal was a good sign. It meant I was still a guest at the palace, not a prisoner or an accused.
With a respectful bow, I sat on the cushion, folded my legs under me, and adjusted my skirt over my knees.
“It’s an honor to be here, esteemed Royal Council,” I said, still wondering what it could be all about.
“We received a disturbing report, Joy Guardian Kurai,” the Head Councilor said with her brows pinched in a frown of concern.
“And we were wondering if you could possibly provide us with some clarification,” Councilor Terent added.
“I’m happy to assist with anything I can,” I assured them, taking in measured, even breaths to keep calm.
Lady Uryami steepled her fingers in front of her lavishly decorated chest armor. “We have been informed by a source closely connected with your temple that there may be plans to sabotage the opening of the second portal.”
Fuck.
We were so close. Less than three weeks were left before it was possible to open the second portal. But if our plans had been discovered, the Royal Council would likely make it impossible for us to break into thesaraiand abduct the humans in order to transport them back into their world.
“May I inquire who your source is?” I asked, making sure my hands remained steady on my knees.
