Page 5 of The Knight
“You are too close. I told you to keep your distance. Were you not trained in such things?”
“Of course, but I love them.” It wasn't against the guardian knight code or oaths to fall in love with our royals, but it was always supposed to be a brotherly or sisterly love, never romantic. Romantic love would usually get in the way of duty.
“You loveher. This isn’t how it is supposed to be. I will come by tomorrow, and we will speak then.” He turned and left, seemingly fed up with my company, and I couldn’t blame him. Anyone nearby right then would not have liked being around me. To be fair, I didn't want to be aroundhimeither, but that was typical for me.
I watched him walk away, dreading moving Emma from the front seat. I carried her right to her room and tucked her into bed. I wanted to destroy the person who had hurt her, whowas responsible for killing her parents and almost killing her. I slumped over the edge of the bed and held back a sob. The previous few nights when I had held her as she laid in her hospital bed, she often woke up screaming—as if someone were torturing her. I couldn't reach her when she was like that, when she couldn't hear me. One of the nurses explained to me that having night terrors was common after such serious trauma, and the best thing I could do for her was to simply be near her and to let her sleep, so I had never left her side. How could I have? I felt the tears fall from my face then as I reflected on the days that had passed, and it stung as if acid were trailing down my flesh, rotting me from the outside in. I knew that she needed me. I knew it because I washerguardian knight, and I would always know what she needed most. She needed me, but more than that, I knew she needed safety. I was sure that whoever had caused the crash had done it on purpose. Who knew when that evil Terranwould be back? I had no doubt that Prince Tarick would always attempt to kill off Lamont’s line. I growled and tried to stop the sobs from coming out stronger. I didn't want to wake her.
"Ryker?" Mary's voice whispered through Emma's cracked door, and I saw her bloodshot eyes. How long had I been there? I had not even heard Mary come home. I stood and closed Emma's door, following Mary to the living room.
"Do you know who it was?" she asked as she sat on the couch. We hadn’t talked about it yet, but I had known that the conversation would come.
"No, but my best guess is that it was one of Tarick's men. I wouldn't put it past him to be hell-bent on destroying Lamont's line, even after he has found freedom and peace."
"I can't believe—how could they discover that Lamont escaped the Dungeons of the Mist?" She cut herself off as she let out a sob.
"I’ll figure out who did this, Mary. I swear it." She nodded and continued to cry. I reached for her, her head tucked under my chin. She cried, and I let a few tears fall, too.
"I am so worried about her. Now that she has her melody back, she will be feeling so many different feelings, feelings that she has never felt before."
"Right now, all she feels is horror and pain," I said.
"I know, and her nightmares—How will we all ever heal from this?" Mary looked up at me then; her blue eyes were so full of pain. The blue was almost a shade that could not be found on Earth. If I looked at them long enough, I could imagine that they were the crystal sea off the coast of Torren. But right then, in her eyes, the sea was raging, and waves spilled over their boundaries and dripped down her cheeks. I wanted to gather all of them up and return them to her sea, where they belonged. Mary and I had developed a strong friendship over the years. I cared for her and for her happiness.
"We will, Mary. Emma needs us now more than ever. If Tarick has discovered where we are, he'll stop at nothing to destroy her. We must fight." I held her shoulders as she pulled away, not irritated withmebut with the situation. She wiped at the tears staining her cheeks. I moved away from her and walked to the fireplace. I watched for a time as the clock's hands moved. I counted each second that passed, each moment of time, of life moving forward.
"You’re going to leave, aren't you?" Mary looked up at me as I paced in front of the fireplace.
"I can't just sit here and let them find her. I have received some intel that reported having heard talk of her."
"She needs you, now more than ever." Mary sank into the chair closest to the fireplace. She pulled her knees under her chin. She always did that when she was sad or afraid. It was as if not taking up as much space made it easier for her to handle her pain.
"She has you; I'm no use here. I already screwed up enough." The regret, I knew, was thick in my voice. And, I knew—I knew that it was well-founded.
"This wasn't your fault, Rykerian." I knew she would say that. She was always too good, too kind, just like Ara and Lamont.
"Lamont asked me to go with them that night," I said, combing a hand through my hair.
"I know. I told him you had the game. He knew it was important to you, so don't blame yourself."
"You did that? Mary, why did you? If I was there, I could have saved them."
"No, Ryker.Youcould have prevented the car accident?" I could feel it in her melody—she knew it was an actual possibility. If needed, a guardian knight could do anything, nothing was impossible if the Ancients blessed it. So, I ignored the question.
"I’ll leave after school ends. I'll tell Emma that I am going on a family vacation."
"If you think that she is in danger—"
"I do, and because we can’t shield her soul as completely as Lamont could, we have to keep everyone who could harm her far away from her. Also, I want to find a seeker’s crystal."
Mary nodded. I could see in her eyes that she was beginning to understand.
"I will talk to Prince Glasson tomorrow. He can keep an eye on her while I am gone."
"Prince Glasson?" Mary's eyes grew wide.
"He owes me a favor," I shrugged.
"Okay." It was silent for a few moments, and I tried to steady my breathing as I heard Emma moan from her room.
