Page 6 of Gua rdian of Blood and Shadow

She had warm, brown skin that appeared paper thin, amber eyes, and I had no doubt her gray-streaked dark amber curls would be stunning once she recovered from the prolonged malnourishment and regained her queenly vigor. Despite her petite size, her presence was enormous, her self-assurance indomitable.

Based on Javier’s descriptions of the rescued queens, this had to be Isador, the eldest of the bunch. She appeared to be in her nineties, though Javier claimed she was far older. Her lifespan had apparently been lengthened by her bonds to her immortal consorts, at least one of whom had to still be living for her to be alive after everything she had been through.

I glanced at Javier, who had turned away from the window at Isador’s arrival, his expression unreadable. He had predicted she would volunteer to come and speak with me first, and he had been right.

I cleared my throat and stepped forward, forcing my hands apart. “Thank you, Ash.” I nodded to my hulking consort, then turned my attention to the woman who appeared dwarfed beside him. “Welcome, Isador,” I said and gestured to the pair of settees arranged around a sturdy oak coffee table in the middle of the room. “Please, sit.”

I approached the nearest settee and lowered myself to the cushioned seat. The formality felt stiff and robotic, but I wasn’t sure how else to be. I’d never expected to be High Queen—that role had been intended for my sister, whatever Javier said—and I had only period dramas of European royals on which to model my behavior.

Tea things were arranged on a tray in the center of the table, along with a plate of scones and a three-tiered tower of sweet and savory small bites. As Isador approached, I perched on the edge of my seat and busied myself with pouring a cup of tea for each of us and adding sugar to mine to avoid her weighty stare.

Again, this was something that seemed appropriate based on all the movies I had seen. I didn’t actually want the tea. In fact, with how jittery my nerves made me feel, I doubted I would be able to lift the cup to my lips without spilling hot tea all over myself. It was a miracle I could pour any into the cups at all.

Ash remained steadfast at Isador’s side as she crossed the room, only releasing her elbow when she eased down onto the opposite settee. I pressed my lips together to avoid frowning, and I set the teapot back down on the tray, nudging her cup closer to her side of the table. I had wanted to visit the recovering queens in their rooms, but Javier had been adamant about having them come to me here. Something about propriety and respect, but forcing Isador to come to me when she could barely stand on her own seemed wrong.

I suddenly felt like an idiot for requesting these interviews now. She would see through me. They all would. I was a librarian, not the ruler of an immortal race.

I abandoned my teacup on the table and wiped my sweating palms against my jeans. I glanced at Javier as he approached, coming to stand behind my settee, like he sensed that I was floundering and needed his help. It amazed me that he had been in far worse shape than Isador only a day earlier, but now appeared in the prime of health. The perks of immortality and an endless supply of mortal blood, I supposed.

“You look well, Isador,” Javier said.

The queen barked a laugh. “I look ancient,” she said, her amber eyes glittering as she peered up at him. Despite her appearance, there was nothing frail about her gravelly, resonant voice. “You, on the other hand…” Her lips twisted into a secretive smirk, and her focus dropped to me. “And you must be Luna—I mean, Sophie,” she said, bowing her head. “Thank you for rescuing me.” She twisted partway on her seat to look at Bastian, who was leaning one shoulder against the bookshelves behind her. “And thank you for choosing to unlock my cell first.”

Bastian’s lips curved into a tight-lipped smile, and he dipped his chin.

Isador returned her attention to me. “I’ve heard much about you, my lady.” She glanced up at Javier, then settled back on me. “But I’m most impressed that you were able to survive without your Prime Consort for so long while so young.” She tilted her head to the side, her eyes narrowing. “Did you find another immortal to sustain you after he was captured?” She snuck another glance over her shoulder at Bastian, suggesting she believed that had been his role.

“No,” I said, then cleared my throat when the word came out weaker than I had intended. “It was just me.” And Javier’s blood tincture, but I wasn’t about to go into all that right now. “I’ve been living as a human for nearly twenty years,” I told her. “I thought all of our people were dead.” I shrugged. “I didn’t know how to be what I am, so I became something else.”

Isador studied me with those hawkish amber eyes. “You were a prisoner in your own right.”

Gripping my knees, I shook my head, unwilling to compare my experience with hers. What she had been through was unimaginable. “I made a life for myself,” I said. “In the human world.”

Her lips curved minutely, and there was pity in her eyes. “But you are not a human, child.”

“I don’t know how to be anything else,” I confessed, my gaze averting to my hands, my fingertips digging into my knees.

Javier’s steady hand settled on my shoulder, his grip reassuring. “Which is why you’re here,” he said. “Sophie’s ignorance is my fault. I taught her how to identify an immortal and defend herself against them, but I neglected every other part of a queen’s training in favor of an education in the ways of the human world.” His grip on my shoulder tightened momentarily, like a silent apology, and I covered his hand with my own. “I thought we would have time for all that later,” he added. “When she came into her power.”

I craned my neck to peer up at him and flashed him a small smile. “It all worked out in the end,” I said, the words souring on my tongue as I thought of Gavin locked up in the shifter prison. I swallowed the guilt and sorrow and faced Isador once more.

“I need a teacher,” I told the other queen, returning my attention to her. “Javier taught me what I needed to know to survive in the human world, but I’m clueless about almost everything relating toourworld.” I took a steadying breath. “I asked you to come here today because I wish to speak with each of you to see if you would be interested in the role.”

Isador studied me, long and hard. “I thought as much,” she finally said, scooting forward and reaching for her cup of tea. “I will teach you what you need to know.” Her gaze flicked up to Javier as she sipped. “It’s better this way, with you knowing next to nothing.” She set down the cup and looked at me. “Rather than being riddled with bad habits, you are a blank slate. You will learn the proper way of doing things slow and steady, with a solid foundation of knowledge first.”

I licked my lips and picked at my thumbnail. “I actually need more of a crash course on how to use my powers,” I said, wincing when Isador’s lips pursed with disapproval. “We have to go back to the Sun Keep. We have to rescue the rest of the queens and the guardian who remained behind.”

Keen understanding gleamed in Isador’s amber eyes. “He is one of yours,” she said, not a question.

I nodded. “Gavin was to be my Prime Consort…before.”

Isador’s eyes widened, her brows rising. “Gavin? Alma’s boy?” she asked Javier, and I wondered if Alma was Gavin’s mother, the queen he had referenced only in passing. “I didn’t recognize him, but then, it was very dark, and I haven’t seen him since he was quite young.” Her stare grew distant. “I should have known. I haven’t felt power like that from an undead since…” Again, she focused on Javier. “Well, since they broughtyoudown to us.”

I turned my head, eyeing Javier curiously. Had his mother been a queen as well?

Javier sliced his chin to the right, negating my silent question. He couldn’t hear my thoughts exactly, but our bond allowed him to sense the general direction of my mind, just as I could sense his. At the moment, he wanted me to accept Isador’s offer to teach me.

My brow furrowed. We hadn’t yet met with the others. Perhaps one of them would be more open to fast-tracking my training. Once we had rescued Gavin and the other queens, then we could come back to Isador.

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