Page 11 of Guardian of Shadows

Elle perused the options, which were surprisingly numerous. She didn’t know what some of it was, so she opted for eggs, bacon, and pancakes. After placing their order, Tony stuck one of the key cards in his back pocket. “I’m going to get my things from the other room. I should be back before the food gets here.” He squeezed her arm on his way past her to the door.

As soon as it closed behind him, Elle went in search of the room’s safe. There was one in her closet, so she placed the seventy thousand inside and set the code. She then removed her jacket and unhooked the sheath from her arm, placing the dagger under one of the pillows. Elle unpacked her clothes so they didn’t get any more wrinkled than they already were. There was an iron on the top shelf of the closet, but after burning a hole in one of her blouses, she relied on magic instead. Elle then placed her toiletries in the attached bathroom, which was almost as large as her bedroom back home. By the time she finished, the door was opening, and Tony entered the suite with a duffel bag over his shoulder and his phone at his ear.

Tony winked at her as he continued on to the other bedroom, and Elle’s heart skipped a beat. He didn’t take the time to unpack, as he walked back into the living area and plopped down on the sofa. “Elle, can I take a picture of the sigil and send it to my cousin?”

“Sure.” She closed the distance and held out her arm.

“I’m texting it now, C. No, I won’t send you a picture of Elle. Because she—” Tony rolled his eyes, muttering something about nosy cousins. He patted the cushion next to him, and Elle hesitantly sat, leaving space between them. Just because he winked at her didn’t mean he was interested. “Okay, I’ll ask. Elle, can you change your appearance to look like anyone?”

Elle knew it was mean, but she pulled on a glamour of Anthony. He angled his head with his eyes narrowed, and Elle realized he couldn’t see the change. “Take a picture and send it to Carleigh.” Tony did as she requested, and once the photo went through, Carleigh’s yelp was audible through the tiny speaker.

“What did you do?” he asked. Elle shrugged but didn’t tell him. “No, I couldn’t see myself in the photo. I still see Elle. No, I’m not telling her that. I will not have the two of you ganging up on me. I get enough of that shit as it is. Yeah, okay. Call me back.” Anthony disconnected and tossed the phone onto the coffee table where it slid off the other side. After scrubbing his hands down his face, he rolled his head to look at her. “You are going to be trouble.”

Chapter 5

Elle was scary as fuck. Maybe that was why he was so smitten with her. That and the mate bond had kicked in. He felt it tugging tighter the longer he spent in her presence. Gods, his mate was a fae from a far-off realm, and she was stunning with her long hair and blue eyes. She wasn’t scared to wield a knife. Why did he find that hot?

Because she’s fierce like Tessa.

Someone knocked on the door, and Anthony rose from the sofa. He opened it wide enough for the server to push a cart into the suite. Elle waited until the food was on the table and Anthony had signed the receipt before joining him. He poured two cups of coffee, placing Elle’s in front of her, before dumping several packets of sugar into his. He then added milk from a miniature pitcher, stirred it with a spoon, took a sip, and smacked his lips. “Ah, that’s good.”

Elle laughed as she added a splash of milk to her own cup, then dug into her breakfast. They ate in comfortable silence. She took her time, but Anthony shoveled it in like he hadn’t eaten in days. He wasn’t starving, but he did want to finish so they could talk. When he caught her staring, he muttered, “What?” Elle shook her head, hiding her smile behind her coffee cup.

When he was finished, Anthony pushed back his plate, clasped his hands over his abs, and asked, “Will you tell me about your realm and people? How you ended up with Grevolus?”

Elle sat back with her coffee mug cradled in her hands. “Evyndral is made up of five lands. Evyndral proper is where the dragons live. Summerland, where I’m from, and Springmire are where the D?nthúlú or light fae, live. Winterhaven, where Grevolus is from, and Autumnvale are where the Und?nthú, or dark fae, live. I’m sure you’re familiar with Earthen history, so imagine a time around the 1600s, and that would be our realm. We have no electricity, no running water.

“I grew up in a wonderful family with parents who loved me and my siblings. Yari and Thran are quite a bit older, and they’re twins. I never thought I was anyone other than the daughter of Ballymar and Lorhana of Summerland, until one day I was practicing with my bow while the twins were sparring with swords, and my father came looking for me. By that time my mother had been killed. Grevolus demanded that I was his child, and I was taken to the elders where my blood was tested against both Grevolus’s and Ballymar’s. That proved he was my sire. He took me that day to Winterhaven where I no longer felt loved. He, his mate, Asherah, and their son, Tovin, treated me like a slave. The dark queen wasn’t as good to her people as the light queen, so we didn’t have much. I had lived with them for ten years when I was dragged into a battle between the dark and the dragons.

“For many years, or what we call sun cycles, the fae and dragons lived in peace. The goddess D?nthú had two daughters, Zarina and Melisandra, with the fae god Xeníus. Years later, D?nthú fell in love with the dragon king Mórdrake. Xeníus became jealous, and he conspired with Melisandra against the dragon king. Melisandra turned against her mother and sister, and in doing so, the two factions of fae – light and dark – were born. D?nthú joined forces with her lover, and together, they defeated Xeníus. Before he was defeated, Xeníus gave Melisandra weapons that could destroy the dragons. When the fae were divided, Zarina was given rule over the light court and Melisandra the dark, but only after she agreed to a treaty of peace against the dragons.

“That held for three hundred years until the dark attacked the dragons. Melisandra wasn’t punished because she proved to the goddess she wasn’t in Evyndral when it happened. A lot of lives were lost on both sides, and as recompense, the goddess offered the light fae as guardians to the dragons. There are trials held, and only the strongest and bravest of light fae are chosen to be on the royal dragon guard. My siblings trained for the dragon guard trials daily, and they taught me as well with swords, knives, and a bow. I dreamed of one day fighting alongside them even though I was only twenty-five. You have to be an adult to be considered for the guard, you see.”

“But you were twenty-five.”

Elle smiled. “I was but a child. Fae aren’t considered adults until they reach one hundred sun cycles.”

Anthony dropped his hands and sat forward. “You’re a child?”

Elle laughed, but he didn’t find it funny. “Maybe that’s the wrong way to word it? Fae age differently than other beings. Yes, I was young, but I wasn’t a child like you consider one on Earth. One hundred is the age of maturity, and any time before that, you are still under your parents’ care unless you find your mate.”

“Oh, thank the gods. Please continue.” Anthony sat back in his chair.

Elle refilled her coffee and began where she left off. “Another three hundred years passed, but this time, Melisandra called on the dark to attack the dragons again. Grevolus was among the dark who fought against the dragons, and he insisted I fight with them. Long story short, the dark fae were losing the battle, and Grevolus insisted I hide him and my half-brother, Tovin, in the shadows so we could escape. Then the portal opened, and he dragged me through. Tovin wasn’t quick enough, and the portal closed, trapping his head on one side, and his body on the other.”

“Where did you end up?”

“On a beach in South Carolina. Imagine traveling through time from the 1600s to today, where you encounter a foreign land with cars and tall buildings and electric lights everywhere without speaking the language. I had no idea what sand was, and I had never seen a body of water as large as the ocean.”

“Where was your stepmother in all this?”

Elle’s face darkened. “During the battle, she was tasked with watching me. Grevolus instructed her to stand with me so I couldn’t run off. She noticed I was aiming my arrows at the dark fae instead of the light or dragons, and we got into an argument. She threatened to kill me the way she had my mother, so I got the dagger she was holding away from her and plunged it into her chest.”

“Does Grevolus know that?”

“He does, but he’s evil and cares more about himself than anyone else, his mate included.”

“How did you survive? How long have you been here?”

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