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Azrael and three Imperial Guards followed me out the front doors and into the frigid night air.

"Here," Azrael said, shrugging out of his oversized black canvas jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders. "Permission to speak freely?" he formally requested.

Why would he ask me that?

"As you have with my father, you have with me, Uncle," I reminded him.

"Child, you need to cut him some slack."

"Who?"

"Prince de Babineaux," Azrael said. "The Prince is a good person with pure intentions and one of the most dedicated and decent people I have ever met. Not everything is as it appears, you have to understand that."

Majandra said the same thing.

"And sometimes, luck is our only adversary, but fighting those helping you with the battle is counterproductive," he continued. "You of all people should know that. You are tired and you want to go home, we all understand that and we will get you there, but you also need to relax. It does not matter where you are, clarity will evade those that cannot simply breathe."

Truer words have never been spoken.

"It is hard to calm down and relax when everyone around me, even you, is keeping things from me," I said. "I don't like being lied to, and I don't like people keeping stuff from me. I won't lie, but is it too much to ask the same of those around me?"

Azrael motioned for the Imperial Guards to stay then he escorted me down the driveway away from the manor. "Child, you are correct, but orders are orders, and you know that better than most," he reminded me.

"It feels like I don't know anything anymore," I admitted.

Azrael chuckled. "Your modesty is just like your father's."

"Better than Mother's lack of modesty," I reminded him.

He nodded his agreement. "I remember when I was in school. I was always in the library studying the royal families and lineage of each. I knew that I was going to be a Sentinel. My goal was to be Commander of the Imperial Guard, which I achieved by the age of thirty, but if it wouldn't have been for what I learned from my time in the library, I would not have achieved the feat as quickly as I did."

That isn't what I thought he was going to say.

I looked at him. "What do you mean?" I asked.

"You would be surprised at what is hidden in plain sight, and it will help give perspective when a young Sentinel once had none," he offered with a smile. "The written word is absolutely amazing in my opinion," he continued. "Did you know that the Babylonians tried to outlaw writing because they were afraid of what would be taught from their recorded accounts? Needless to say, it did not work because you can find many references in the library from Babylonian times.

"The secrets that they tried to erase were hiding in pages and covered in countless words that you have to see around and beneath. You just have to look for them if you know where to start. Headmaster Bakshi is an invaluable asset and would immensely enjoy spending time with you researching such things if you require assistance."

Is the Commander of the Imperial Guard telling me what I think he's telling me?

That the answers to my questions will be written somewhere, possibly in the ancestry of the Royal families?

Not that I knew what the lineage of the First Five Houses had to do with any of my current problems and attempts on my life, but Uncle Azrael had never lied to me before so it was a place to start.

"Thank you for the information and suggestion, Uncle," I humbly said.

We walked in silence around the manor's garden, but it was darker than I would have liked since Majandra didn't believe in decorative yard lighting.

"It's dark," I mumbled.

"It is late," Azrael agreed then pulled a lighter from his pocket and struck it against the leg of his pants and a flame flared to life.

It didn't illuminate much, but when Azrael flicked the small flame with his index finger, it lengthened into a nearly meter-long flame that illuminated the darkness around us with warm light.

I smiled, watching him. "What kind lighter is that and where do I get one?" I asked.

"It is just a regular Zippo that my darling son got me for my birthday a few years ago to replace the one he lost," Azrael said.

"You're not an Elemental," I said.

He shook his head. "No, I cannot create, only manipulate what is already there. I'm a Mancer, an anomaly."

That I did not know, and it was interesting, and not something I had noticed or knew was even possible.

"That's why Uncle calls you a Swiss Army knife?" I asked, just now getting the single-sided joke.

Azrael sheepishly nodded.

"Uncle is an unprecedented ass," I reminded him.

"He can be at times, but he means well," Azrael assured me.

"How long are you going to be around? I mean, around me and Zannie?" I asked. "Not that I'm complaining, but I know this isn't really what you want to be doing at the pinnacle of your career."

Azrael smiled. "You are my permanent Charge now."

I looked at him with wide eyes. "What?"

"Young Master Li has been temporarily assigned to Riven; those two will be like mixing oil and water and will be just as volatile as gasoline and an open flame, but Riven was the only slightly capable, and able to pass off undetected at the Academy, available Guardian in our ranks at the moment that I trusted to assign to your troublesome brother."

I didn't know what that meant other than it wasn't possible to mix the two, and I wasn't sure which one was Riven.

"Pass off undetected?" I asked.

"Riven will be pretending to be enrolled at the Academy, mirroring your brother's schedule so he can protect him in a non-descript way," he explained.

That makes sense in a way.

"Do not worry, Child, you will be safe and you will not even notice me," he promised.

"Uh-huh," I said, skeptical. "Why would the Commander of the Imperial Guard be assigned to an anti-establishment, rebellious, mouthy teenager that is a real pain in the ass? You've seen me grow up, you know how I am. It isn't like I am a Royal or someone of importance, I'm a Mundane that gives a whole new meaning to the word unlucky. Unless my parents have some serious dirt on the King and Queen and are leveraging it, I don't get it. Or did you piss off the King or Queen and this is your punishment? Because of that I can see me being a punishment."

That made him laugh. "Prince de Babineaux requested it, and permission was granted." He looked at me and smirked. "You are going to be an interesting Charge. I know you have heard the song Children are our Future. And I'm a firm believer in that."

"I'm seventeen. Nirvana is considered classic rock to my generation, Uncle."

"You are aging me here, Child," he scolded. "Let us get back so we can reach out to your parents. They are anxiously waiting to hear from you, for you to assure them that you are well."

"Another teleportation spell?" I whined; I was getting tired of them and the disorientation that always followed wizardry forms of transportation.

"Sadly yes, but you will be fine. There are enough Wizards of heightened thaumaturgy with us that the trip will be quick and without complication," he assured me. "Before we set out, scrying with your parents is in order though. They might find it odd that you are without pants, but I am most certain you can explain that better than anyone."

I nodded my agreement; I don't think anything I do surprises my parents anymore.

Walking back to the house felt like a walk of shame.

I shouldn't have been rude to Majandra, but most importantly, I shouldn't have said those things to Viggo.

In his own strange, closed-off, confrontational way he's been nothing but supportive and my savior whether I wanted him to be or not.

Nervous, I fiddled with the pendant around my neck while I scrambled to find a way to apologize.

Back at the manor, commotion filled the night air with screaming and yelling.

"What is going on?" I asked, quickening my pace.

"Treason," Azrael explained.

"Huh?" I asked.

"Treason and that is all you need to know. Once the punishment is carried out, we will take our leave."

"Punishment?" I asked, pulling him to a stop. "What are you talking about?" I demanded. "Punishment for what? They helped me!" I reminded him.

Azrael didn't say anything, instead, he waited for it to register.

"Oh no!" I gasped, then started for the manor.

Azrael grabbed my arm and pulled me to a stop.

"Let go of me, now," I ordered.

To my surprise, Azrael did as I asked.

"As you wish," he said with a nod of submission.