Chapter Four
The Commander’s office is on the second floor of the castle. The Commander, however, is not inside it.
One of the Guardians points to an empty chair in front of a massive fireplace on the far wall.
I look to the fireplace and then back at the Guardians escorting me, because it seems odd to wait in the Commander’s office when he’s not there, but they gesture again and wait by the door as I walk across the large room.
My boots echo against the stone floor as I move.
The room has two large windows to my left, and the interior wall on the right is lined with mahogany shelves laden with books and maps and vintage weapons.
Despite the pounding of my heart, when I reach the fire, my muscles relax ever so slightly.
Heat, warm and familiar, flushes over my skin.
The ever-present pain in my joints lessens in the light of the flames.
I hesitate a moment before sitting down, holding my hands out over the flames, too close probably.
But fire is my friend. Years of working as a blacksmith taught me not to fear it.
Just as I sit down in one of the leather-backed chairs, I hear footsteps in the hallway outside.
A man strides in past the guards, who open and close their mouths as if they’re about to say something.
“Sir—” one calls after him, but he beelines for me, ignoring them completely.
He is tall and thin, with graying chestnut hair, thick and lustrous.
He wears an emerald-green cloak and a pair of gold spectacles.
He doesn’t look anything like what I expected.
“Oh, dear,” he says, stopping in front of me as I rise from my chair again. “This really is incredibly odd. I came as soon as I heard we had a visitor. What’s your name, child?”
“Embyr,” I say, trying to cover my surprise.
“And you have no memory of how you got here?”
“No, I—”
My words are cut short as another man enters the room.
This man is another half foot taller even than the first, broad-shouldered, a massive oak tree of a man.
His hair is dark, as is his beard and his expression.
Everything about him reminds me of a fast-moving storm.
Even his cloak is black, like the other Guardians.
“Professor Julian, what are you doing here?” he barks, his words the boom of thunder.
“Well, I heard what happened, so naturally I came as soon as I could,” says the first man, sounding somewhat flustered.
“I don’t believe I invited you to my office.”
They stop in front of me and my heart pounds anew as they square off, staring each other in the eyes with the intensity of two dragons. The thin man, despite looking frail in comparison to the second man, who is clearly the Commander, holds his ground with surprising grit.
“And I don’t believe I require an invitation to weigh in on vital happenings within these walls, Commander Thornne.”
They stare at each other in heated silence for several more moments, a seeming battle of wills, and then Commander Thornne turns, catching me in his coppery gaze.
“How did you get here, girl? And don’t tell me you don’t remember, because I’m not buying that. People do not just find their way to this castle. We have protections in place.”
The way he says it, I wonder with a shiver what they have in the desolate lands outside the walls. More beasts, like the nightmare at the gate? Or some sort of dark magic?
I suck in a deep breath. “I don’t know what to tell you, because I don’t remember, and I’m telling the truth.”
He takes a step closer to me, and the smell of sweat and leather invades my senses. “You mean you don’t remember a single thing before arriving at our gates? Nothing in your life prior to that moment?”
I shake my head. “No, I remember my life, but not how I got here.”
“Go on, my dear,” the Professor says with an encouraging smile.
“Last night, I was in Kyrn, on the coast of Tervanne,” I begin.
The scowl on the Commander’s face deepens even further. “That’s impossible.”
“Let her speak,” Professor Julian hisses.
“I was in Kyrn, and I realized I was being followed by several men. I fled the city, and I thought I lost them, but then they found me a few miles away in the marshes. And then I—” For no reason I can fathom, I don’t want to mention the jade-eyed man.
So, I lie. Or rather, I leave out that one detail.
“And I fell trying to escape, and then I woke up here.”
“You’re lying,” the Commander growls.
“Why were the men chasing you?” the Professor asks.
“I—I don’t know.” My throat is tight, my face red from the pressure. “They’ve been after me for years. I don’t know why.”
Both men look surprised, though the Commander reins in his emotion much more quickly. “How could they chase you all these years, and you haven’t a single clue why?”
“Well…” I trail off. Do I really want to tell these strangers my secret? Do I have a choice? They already don’t believe me.
“Yes, girl?” the Commander presses. “Spit it out.”
“I don’t know why they’re chasing me, because I don’t remember anything in my life prior to eight years ago.”
The words rush out of me, and somehow, even though these are far from ideal circumstances, it feels good to tell someone, anyone, the strange secret I’ve kept all this time.
I am met with silence for a long moment.
“How… fascinating…” Professor Julian says, staring at me as if I am some rare specimen. “I’ve never met someone who suffered from amnesia.”
“You can’t possibly believe this absurd story,” the Commander rumbles.
“She can’t remember anything from her early life, and she also can’t remember how she arrived outside of Shadow’s Keep, the home of the Guardians.
That’s quite convenient.” He whips his gaze from the Professor to me.
“Who sent you? Who are you working for?”
“W-working for?” I stammer.
“Can’t you see you’re distressing her?” Julian says, pressing his palms together in front of his heart in an imploring gesture.
“Of course she acts innocent. All spies are excellent actors…”
This is getting out of hand quickly. “I’m not a spy!”
“A spy would obviously say that.” The Commander’s glare is soul-penetrating.
“Can I speak to you privately, Commander Thornne?” Julian says in an exasperated tone.
The Commander answers by pivoting on the heels of his boots and storming out of the room.
The Guardians in the doorway stare straight ahead, stoic as statues.
Professor Julian traipses after him, and as soon as they are out of sight in the hallway, I hear them break out into an argument once again.
I catch only snippets of what’s being said.
“If she is a spy, then…”
“You will be responsible!”
“I’m warning you, Julian—”
After nearly ten minutes of heated debate, they come back into the room. They’re both walking quickly, as if racing each other to get to me. I take two steps back, almost falling into the fire as the Commander approaches, his eyes burning with anger.
“When I find out who you’re working for, girl—and I will find out—you’re going to regret ever coming here.
You are surrounded by the most skilled warriors in all of Aureon.
We know a thousand ways to kill a fae, and being as how you’re merely human, that number doubles.
” He points a finger at my face. “I will be keeping a very close eye on you.”
I’m not sure how to respond to that at all, but Professor Julian saves me. “Come along with me, Embyr.”
“You’re dismissed from my office,” Commander Thornne says with an angry wave of his hand.
“We were already leaving,” Professor Julian snaps.
I have no idea what’s happening, but I do know I want to be as far away from the Commander as possible, so I hastily follow Professor Julian out of the room.
When we reach the door, we turn left and begin to travel down a corridor that seems to stretch endlessly into the distance. This place is enormous.
“Well,” says Professor Julian once we’re a good ways down the hall, “I’m sorry you had to witness such unpleasantness.”
“I can’t say that I understand what’s happening,” I confess. “The Commander made it sound like I’m staying here. But I can leave. I really don’t need to impose…”
“If you leave, he’ll be further convinced you’re a spy for our enemies.” Professor Julian shoots me a sidelong glance. “Plus, if you’ve been on the run for so many years, don’t you want to figure out why?”
I shake my head in confusion. “But… how am I going to do that?”
“I’m going to help you, naturally.” The Professor shrugs, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.
“Why, though?” I’m genuinely taken aback.
He lets out a short laugh. “Well, I tend to want to help people in need. I am a Guardian after all. It’s what we do.”
I try to hide my surprise at this statement. The Professor hardly looks the type to wield a sword. “But the Commander is a Guardian, too, and he definitely doesn’t want to help me.”
“Commander Thornne is a very honorable man. He’s just not generally trusting of others… he has lived a long and complicated life. Seen things that most people have not.”
“So, if he’s the Commander of the Guardians, then what’s your role… or title or whatever?”
“Commander Thornne heads up physical training for the Guardians, and leads our army in times of war,” Professor Julian explains. “But I head up the academic and magical training for the Guardians. We run Viravalle together.”
“Viravalle?”
“Shadow’s Keep. Viravalle is its true name, in the old fae language.”
I nod. “So, you’re going to help me figure out why those men are after me.”
“And get your memories back,” he says with a shrug, as if it’s a simple undertaking.