Page 5

With one exception.

None could match her beauty. My guide’s hair, a shade between brown and blonde, was tied back loosely with strands escaping everywhere. With full lips and sun-kissed cheeks, her pale-green eyes shone with curiosity as she reached me.

If I hadn’t met the queen before, I would have assumed this woman was the queen, except for the obvious fact that the queen would not be unescorted. But otherwise… her bearing, the way she assessed me? Clearly, she was of noble birth.

Stopping first to speak with one of the guards, the woman clearly knew my identity yet seemed to lack disdain toward me. I would know for certain in a moment if that observation held true.

As all humans in Elydor, I possessed some measure of intuitive abilities which, in me, manifested as an ability to sense emotion. Unlike Mev, however, I could not determine intention or use my ability unless the person was close to me.

“Sir Rowan?” she asked, dismounting.

As the guards watched, she approached. With every step, any doubt I had about her capabilities were eradicated. Though she’d said only two words to me, those were enough. It was not the first time I’d been in the presence of royalty, or of those close to it in some way, to know she fit that particular mold. Yet hers was not of the haughty or entitled variety, but one of quiet confidence.

“Aye,” I said, bowing to her. It was the Thalassari greeting appropriate for her station. If we were familiar, I would have embraced her. If she were a human, I’d have shaken her hand.

“I am pleased to make your acquaintance,” she said.

“And I yours.”

She took that final step toward me that I needed to read her. Whether I willed it or not, a certainty filled every pore of my body. As it had been since I’d learned to control it, the sense of calm was accompanied by another feeling, this one as unpredictable as the person standing before me.

Sincerity.

If we were not being watched so closely by the guards—both those who had made themselves known, and those behind us who had not—I might have been able to sense secondary emotions as well. But when my attention was divided, as it was now, I could sense just one emotion at a time.

Shockingly, she was being sincere. A Thalassari genuinely pleased to meet me. A human.

Interesting.

“My name is Nerys,” she said, her voice lilting and melodic. If sirens like the ones in my human tales existed, she would be one of them. Not because she wished to do me ill, but because I’d just lost all sense of my training, of the detachment necessary to make good judgments. I stared at her the same way I had the day my father had said, “Sit down, son. You have come of age, and we must discuss our family origins.”

Nerys.

Her name suited her. Her clothing suited her. Her voice and assurance all suited her.

“Have you been to the palace before?”

“I have not,” I said. “Though I’m aware of its procedures.”

Most would not have noticed the slight widening of her eyes or twitch of her mouth that accompanied it, giving away her surprise. I not only noticed but felt the shift that confirmed my suspicions. It was a mistake my grandfather would have chastised me for. One the Keepers did not make.

If you speak a word, consider carefully whether or not it might reveal more than you intended. We’ve not kept a centuries-old secret by being careless.

It was the reason Keepers befriended few, married other humans and kept to themselves. At least, most operated in such a way. My desire for connections outside of other Keepers was a weakness, no doubt.

“So you are aware,” she continued, thankfully not commenting on my retort, “that you will be provided an escort from this moment until the one you leave palace grounds?”

“I am.”

“And that once inside, you will remain by my side, or within your chambers, at all times?”

I could not resist a smile. “You are my escort, then?”

Nerys’s lack of reaction made me wonder at her own training. One did not become a Thalassarian guard without a great measure of skill.

What was this woman’s story?

“I am,” she said. “As such, I am required to ask of your purpose here before we continue.”