Page 78 of A Monarch's Fall

“We are perfectly safe. It’s simply precautionary,” she reassured me, but it seemed like she wanted to say more and stopped herself.

“Then why the guards, with guns like that?” I asked, adding a little anxiety to my question.

Lady Flores placed her hand against my back and tapped my upper arm before leaning in to speak to me quietly.

“I promise there is nothing to fear here. We’ve recently noticed some Borealis scouts with House Halvorsen. The base is completely safe, our location is still unknown, we’re simply being overly cautious,” she told me.

I nodded, “Okay, I trust you,” I answered. The lie made my mouth feel dry. But inside, I was excited. Borealis scouts in Halvorsen. Was it Selene searching for me?

“I’m very pleased to hear that,” Lady Flores said, and looped her arm with mine.

If someone did know better, we would look like any grandparent and grandchild walking together, talking quietly. The realisation made me momentarily sad because it wasn’t true. I was playing a part, and Lady Flores was playing a part too.We both wanted something from the other, only I hoped Lady Flores wasn’t as aware of my roleplaying as I was hers. I didn’t have any family relationships outside of my father, Rosemary, and someday I hoped my brother, but those relationships were already strained by distance, by the fact I was Selene’s, and even though I didn’t speak about it, I worried that one day I would become a stranger to my father and Rosemary, and that I’d never have a real sibling bond with my brother. The make-believe role I was playing now would never be real, and it saddened me.

“How have you found the last few days? What do you think of your squad?” Lady Flores asked as we descended the stairs.

“I’ve been surprised at how nice everyone is. I kind of thought I would be an outsider,” I said truthfully. Kat, Rea, Talia, and Melina welcomed me as part of the team easily, never questioning my stance as part of Flores. It was unexpected. Ever since leaving my village, I had been aware of how little I fit in, how different I was from those around me. Everyone needed an explanation of who I was and what Houses, clans, and covens made me. But here, none of that mattered.

“No child of Flores could ever be an outsider here. It doesn’t matter where any of us came from; it doesn’t matter who we were before; if Flores' magic runs through your blood, you have a home with us,” she said, and even though that home was a literal army, there was something soothing, something wholesome about being able to belong somewhere.

It was an ethos that the whole of The New Foundation shared. If you wanted freedom from Houses and heritage, if you wanted to be judged on who you were individually, then, rather ironically, you were welcome to join The New Foundation, where all your individuality would be replaced with a uniform and strict schedule. But belonging somewhere was powerful, especially when all you had ever known was discrimination and limitations within your House. I understood it. I understoodenough to know that, had I been born within the Houses, maybe even if I had simply never known Selene, I could have seen a different path for my life, one that would have led me right where I was.

“I know. I’m beginning to understand that,” I said.

She squeezed my arm the way I imagined a grandmother would, affectionately.

I smiled at her.

“I have requested that we have breakfast in my private dining room this morning,” Lady Flores explained as we reached a set of doors where two more soldiers stood guard.

We entered an apartment directly into the living room.

“This is my home. It’s not much space, but it’s functional. Shoes off,” she said as she released my arm and bent down to remove her own shoes. I followed, untying my boots and placing them on the shoe rack at the door.

Plush carpet lined the floor, and the living room was sleek with modern furniture. A lot more luxurious than the spare room I lived in or the beaten-up couch and scuffed coffee table of the squad's social room. Lady Flores’ home was of the nobles’ standards I had come to expect.

It was strange, from the way that the girls spoke about Lady Flores, I didn’t associate her with nobility, but looking around the space she lived in, I was reminded that she was technically the head of the coven and House.

I followed her through the living room to an adjoining dining room. It was small, with a table that could seat only six, but I didn’t fail to notice the chandelier lighting the room, or the quality of the workmanship on the intricately carved chair designs with plush cushioning.

The table already held a variety of fresh fruit juices in clear glass jugs, a teapot and coffee press, and a glass, a cup, anda saucer at two seat places. There were also two plates, each covered by a cloche.

“Please take a seat,” Lady Flores said as she took a seat herself.

I sat down, noticing that we were completely alone; the soldiers did not follow us into the apartment.

“Why did you ask to have breakfast with me?” I asked as Lady Flores poured me a cup of coffee.

“I hear that you like coffee in the morning,” she said with a smile.

“You’ve been hearing a lot about me,” I said, remembering how she said she had heard I was settling in well.

“Sergeant Kathrine makes a daily report on your progress,” Lady Flores admitted, “I’m sorry if you were unaware. I was not attempting to spy on you, my dear. I simply want to ensure that you are safe and well.”

I nodded my head. She was, of course, spying on me. I didn’t doubt it, but she wanted me to think she simply cared, and I’d let her think that I believed her. Kat’s nonstop exercising really was good for clearing my head. I could not have been so calm and focused on my goal just a few days ago.

“I’ve been enjoying my time with the squad, even if I do hate running,” I said.

“I’m so happy to hear that. I was worried after our first meeting, I thought I had made a horrible first impression, and Jack,” she sighed exasperatedly, “he really can be such a fool. I hate saying so about my own grandson, but his treatment of you was entirely unacceptable, and I can’t apologise enough.”