NISSA
As I exit the residence, I find a group of Guardians have joined the two that followed me here. I sigh at their presence, noting that they had comehereto move my things to the Castle. As I guide them back to my flat a sense of dread fills my stomach.I have missed my chance to run.
My lack of sleep makes me a complete delight to deal with as the Guardians haul my meager luggage to the castle. It’s a quick transition since most of my belongings are still at the Homestead.
Isolde and a Guardian are waiting to greet me when I enter the castle. Each Guardian receives a small inception tattoo along their collarbone upon completing their training. As they move up in the ranks the iridescent mark of the Royal Guardians is extended up their necks.
The Wind Fae in front of me, that I’ve seen with Cillian during past visits, has a tattoo that reaches all the way to the tip of his ear. It marks him as one of the highest-ranking Guardians I’ve ever seen. He has an air of importance—or maybe arrogance is a better description—since he refuses to meet my eyes.
I follow the queen when she silently motions me forward down a hallway. The Guardian stays a step behind us as sheleads me down a long corridor of doors that open to sitting areas with desks and other casual meeting spaces. Peeking inside, each is decorated specifically to match an element of the different types of Fae.
Isolde leads me into her personal study—a dimly lit cave of a room with a fae fire in the hearth and a burning centerpiece surrounded by dark sofas. The Guardian pulls the door closed behind us. A desk sits off to the side with images and symbols of fire burned into the wood. The burgundy walls and black curtains give the room a dark ambiance, especially with the flickering light reflecting off the metal shelving.
The Guardian takes a stance next to the door and places his hands behind his back, facing straight ahead, looking at nothing in particular.
Isolde, who is watching me with pressed lips, gestures for me to take a seat on one of the black, carved basalt chairs, and she takes up the one opposite me. She studies me silently for a moment, taking me in. Her back is straight as a board as she sits at the edge of the uncomfortable chair, hands folded in her lap. The stark difference in our postures has me fidgeting before I chastise myself for letting her belittle me without saying a word.
If she’s going to drag me here before I can even get to my room,afteruprooting my whole life, she can be the one who talks first.
After completing whatever judgement is going through her mind, she finally clears her throat. “Princess, I want to introduce you to Niko.” Her eyes slowly slide to the male at my back.
He walks over to us to stand next to the queen. The mark of the Royal Guardians on his neck shimmers in the flames from the fae fire. His sun-kissed hair has a windswept look that frames his face with natural waves, and his eyes are a unique pale blue.
“Niko is the Lord Commander of the Guardians. He is here to go over standard protection protocol and brief you on the incident with the former princess.”
Incident.I know better now. I do my best to not show my disgust at her lack of emotion. Niko’s eyes remain on the wall behind me.
“Niko,” she snipes.
“Princess Nissa.” He dips his head. When he raises it again, he finally meets my eyes. What I took as arrogance and indifference is something else. His eyes are tired, and his throat bobs as his gaze snaps away from mine.
“Moving forward you will have security with you at all times,” he informs me. “You are not to leave the property without multiple escorts. Communication with anyone outside of the castle walls will need to be approved.”
My jaw drops. “You have to be kidding. You’re going to monitor who I speak to?” I sit up straighter. Any sympathy I had for this exhausted-looking male evaporates in the flames of this room as the last bud of freedom I may have had slips through my fingers.
“The…” He hesitates and gives a quick glance at me then Isolde before he again fixes his gaze on the very interesting—and plain—wall behind me. “The incident with your sister is forcing us to take additional precautions to keep you safe.”
“And what exactlydidhappen to Nova?” I snap back.
He tilts his head side to side, stretching his neck before saying, “Princess Nova Navarro exited the property with two Guardians to return to her mother’s home at approximately?—”
I cut him off. “If I wanted to read some official report, I would request it.”Can I request it?I’m standing now. I know what Cillian told me outside of the portal, but I want to hear their version. “What happened? Who killed her?”
Weary eyes slowly lower to meet mine. For one slow blink, Niko’s eyes close. Guilt?
When he reopens them, he is less formal, compassionate even- “Princess Nova left your mother’s house soon after she arrived. She exited through the windows in her room at the back of the home.”
I almost snort. Nothing about that place was a home. Not since our father left.
“So someone could have taken her?” I challenge.
“There was no sign of forced entry or a struggle.” He hesitates, then adds, “We later tracked her to the portal to the human world, where she was attacked and killed.”
“By humans?” I can’t hide my derision at the story.
“That is what we believe.” He nods.
“Believe?” I bite out the word. “Because you weren’t there. No Guardians were there to protect her.”
