Page 44 of Enchanted Shadows
“That seems awfully suspicious.”
“I know. Wanna go on a field trip this afternoon?”
“Let’s do it.” It was before the time I usually woke up, and this day just kept getting more and more interesting.
I poundedon the door twice. If this man was part of the reason Zara was untrusting and scared of things, I wasn’t sure I even wanted to knock. I was becoming a tad bit protective over this group of women. Not that I was going to admit it to Jorah any time soon.
The door opened on one of the new cottages in Nerede, on a street freshly rebuilt after the fires Theon used to harm the lowestlevel in the kingdom. To teach them a lesson. A lesson which would eventually cost him his life.
A dark-haired man who looked about ten years older than I was stood with the door ajar. It was impossible he was Zara’s father, not only because they looked nothing alike, but also because he was too young. Yet this location was listed as her home address.
“Hi. Can I help you?”
I wasted no time. I sent my Enchantment out to wrap around his hands and travel upward, entrapping him. “Can you explain to me why Zara Astra put this as her home address?”
He gasped from the weight of my magic. “I’m her—” he paused to gulp down some air, “guardian. Of sorts.”
“And why is she afraid of you?”
The prick had the audacity to laugh.
I tightened my power. “I find this no laughing matter.”
“You think she is afraid ofme, General?”
So he knew who I was. Good. “I know she’s scared of someone.”
He laughed again. “It’s not me. Thoughshedoes scare the hell out ofme, if you were wondering.”
I let my magic pull back some. “What?”
“It’s her parents and brother you should be wrapping in your Enchantment, General.”
Emric laughed from next to me. “You had to lead with magic, didn’t you? You couldn’t have simply asked.”
I dropped my power and looked to him. “She trusts no one and multiple times has alluded to the fact that she was scared of something or someone. I wasn’t taking any chances.”
Amos’s lips smirked. “The fact that she has said that much to you means she’s growing to trustyou. I’m glad. Come on in.”
He led us to the small kitchen.
I followed him, feeling even more confused. “You’re glad Zara has someone to trust?”
“Yes.” He opened up his refrigerator and handed Emric and me a bottle of beer before opening his own. “It’s nice to have another person for her to be able to count on. She hasn’t had many of those.”
I didn’t bother to get cozy at the kitchen table. I was here for answers and answers only. “So it is her immediate family that she is scared of?”
“Yes. They are . . . difficult.”
Emric, ever the joker, tried to smooth things over with, “Aren’t all families?”
“Not like this,” Amos stated as he took a swig of his own beer.
“Are they loyalists?” I asked. “We’re having some tensions with the team and the loyalists to Theon Valanova. I would like to get ahead of it as much as possible.”
Amos didn’t hesitate. “No. Though I wouldn’t exactly call them fans of the new king and queen of Wylan either.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
