Chapter 10 #2
Gabriel strode past the line of men, glaring at them as they looked in his direction.
None of them gave me a second look. The cheering continued as I sat awkwardly out of place, my lavish gown at odds with the sweat and blood in front of me.
I could make out movement in the arena between the bodies of the seraphs directly in front of me.
In the center, three pairs of legs moved, shuffled, retreated, and advanced.
If I didn’t know that they were training with weapons and fists, it would almost look like a dance.
One of the seraphs in front of me moved to the side enough that I was able to take in the entire area for the first time.
Two seraphs were locked in a sword battle with a shirtless man, and he was beating the shit out of them.
All I could make out from a distance was that the winning seraph was larger than the rest of the men in the entire building, but he moved with a lightness that was unexpected for someone so muscular.
Tattoos marked his golden skin. He was built for strength and combat.
One of the smaller seraphs charged at him, sword raised, and the shirtless seraph knocked the sword out of his hand, throwing the smaller man over his shoulder with ease.
I shouldn’t have been so impressed watching brutality like this, but I found it fascinating.
Another set of legs appeared, strolling in toward the fighting, and the cheering died down, leaving only the sound of swords clanging together and grunts from the fighters.
Gabriel strode into view, barely missing stepping on the man who was now winded on the ground, and walked up to the two remaining fighters, both pausing mid-swing when they noticed his approach.
I couldn’t hear what Gabriel said, but the smaller of the two walked away with a nod of his head, leaving Gabriel with the shirtless seraph.
Darragh. Captain of the Guard. My new chaperone.
Gabriel animatedly spoke, tense and pointing a finger into Darragh’s chest. They both turned and stalked out of the arena, disappearing from my view.
Two more guards replaced them and resumed training.
The crowd dispersed with the excitement of the match dwindling.
Seraphs walked by me with brief but curious looks.
I wouldn’t meet their gaze, but I knew eyes were on me.
Women have an innate ability to feel the heaviness of unwanted stares.
My knees bounced up and down underneath the crinkling chiffon. I stood up to keep anyone from noticing. Anxiety could be seen as fear. Fear was weakness.
Gabriel appeared through the throngs of men and strode toward me. His eyes were dark, and his mouth was downturned. As he met my eyes, his face softened. “Everything alright?” he asked.
I squeezed my fingers but painted on a soft smile. “Yes. Completely fine.”
“We are going to meet the captain outside near the stables.”
Gabriel held out his hand to me, and I took it with delicate fingers.
His other hand found my lower back, and he led me out of the building among the sweaty seraphs.
I was being paraded around like a novelty, a prized pony.
I came to the castle hoping to lie low until we could figure out how to get home. That was wishful thinking on my part.
Gabriel led me to the stables, and the crowd of seraphs thinned.
I was thankful to be out of that humid and smelly building.
Wisps of my hair had started to frizz and stick to my face from the sheen of sweat.
The innermost layer of my dress clung to my legs.
The cooler autumn air was a welcome respite, and I closed my eyes at the wind moving over me.
I could not wait to get this stupid dress off.
“Commander. You wanted to see me about a mission?” Darragh’s eyes briefly flicked toward me upon approach before turning his full attention to Gabriel.
The captain’s black tunic overstretched the vast size of his form.
He stood a few inches taller than Gabriel, and his inky black hair was tied half up with a leather strap.
A pronounced jaw line boasted a dark, stubbled beard, and his chestnut eyes seemed to glow when the sun hit them.
He had a ruggedly attractive quality about him that was in antithesis to Gabriel’s conventional beauty.
“In a manner of speaking. You are to chaperone our human guests while I am away. I’ll be in the West Valley, hunting militia and bringing them to justice. Danger and peril at every turn. Sorry, you will have to miss it.” Gabriel’s tone was taunting, but Darragh kept an indifferent expression.
Though I was wary of the captain, I didn’t like the way Gabriel spoke to him.
“Hello,” I quickly interposed. “I am Aurora. You must be Darragh.”
Both men paused at the sudden intrusion on their conversation. Darragh’s chestnut eyes met mine. They pierced me with a sort of curious assessment, like he could see into the depths of who I was. I had to look away for fear he would be able to see more than I wanted to expose of myself.
Ignoring my introduction, his eyes dashed back to Gabriel, and he growled in displeasure, “You’re pulling me from my duties with the guard to babysit?”
My fingers twisted as my eyes ricocheted between the two of them.
“You are to protect two guests of the crown! They are important, and His Majesty specifically asked for you to be assigned to this task. I promise you, it was not my decision. If I had it my way, you would be put to work mucking out these stalls and nothing more.” Gabriel threw his arms out wildly to the stable around us.
I flinched in response. An automatic movement.
A relic of my past that I would rather forget.
Gabriel continued to berate Darragh, who intently stared at me. His brow furrowed for a split second, searching my face. I cast my eyes back down to the ground so he couldn’t look inside me and scrutinize my past. His eyes slowly glided back to Gabriel. “Understood.”
“I leave tonight with my group of soldiers. You will accompany Lady Aurora and Lady Cora tomorrow morning. Aurora will be heading to the royal library to meet with our scholars on how we can assist with getting them back to Edenalee. After that, she may be free to do as she pleases. Accompany her everywhere. Do not let her out of your sight, especially if she is outside the palace walls.”
Darragh inclined his head. “Yes, Commander.”
“Dismissed,” Gabriel said with a wave of his hand.
Darragh turned on his heels and made quick work of putting distance between Gabriel and him. His black hair shone an iridescent blue when he walked into the sunlight, much like the wings of a raven.
“May I escort you for a walk around the gardens?” Gabriel spoke softly and placed his hand on my back.
My attention was pulled back to him. “Hmm? Oh, yes. Maybe we can keep it short. I do want to check on Cora if it is not too much trouble.”
“I will take you to her after I show you the rose gardens. Is everything alright?” He looked toward where Darragh had left and back to me.
“Yes. Completely.” I took the arm he offered me.
“I hope he did not frighten you. He will behave; I swear it. We have ways to ensure he stays in line.”
I nodded. “I trust you.” Kind of.
Gabriel laid his other hand on top of the one I rested on his arm. “I like hearing that. Now let me show you some flowers that are almost as beautiful as you are.”
I gave him a soft smile to appease his unimpressive flattery.
Normally, I would pay close attention to the botanicals all around me and make a mental inventory of anything I could use in my craft, but my mind wandered off.
There was too much uncertainty for me to focus on anything other than the coming days we would have to spend in this place.
It was laughable now that I even considered we would only be here for a day or two.
I couldn’t afford to allow myself the delusion that this path Clotha placed me on would be anything but challenging.
Gabriel droned on and on about the various flowers found around the garden, oblivious to my deviating thoughts.
Tomorrow, I wouldn’t be under his watch, and that meant I had to remain vigilant.
The ease with which I had been able to slip back into the role I spent a lifetime running from was disconcerting.
It still felt wrong, even if it was familiar.
If I were forced to keep this mask on, I would use it to learn all that I could about this side of the barrier—especially its weaknesses.