“I don't understand...what's the Elemental Guard?” Veria questioned, feeling the pain start to tingle and subside.
“Well, before my grandfather outlawed hard elementals, the Elemental Guard was the King of Londess's private bodyguard unit, comprised of the most skilled Magers, trained specifically for combat.”
Veria shot up, realizing the pain was completely gone, but Browan grimaced and placed his hands on her shoulders instinctively.
“Careful,” he rasped. “You have stitches. A lot of them. No sudden movements or they might tear.”
“Combat,” Veria repeated. “Combat?”
“Yes,” he said with a nod. “Combat. Bodyguards. Basically doing the type of stuff you just did, except...”
He trailed off and shook his head.
“Except what?” she asked.
“Except I've never seen anyone do what you did. Nor have I ever heard of anyone doing it,” Browan answered, while propping her pillows up behind her. “Where—where the Fire did you learn all that?” He leaned her back against the pillows, so she was seated but relaxed.
Veria blushed and dropped her head. She was trying to figure out how to respond to his question when the door flew open. Her mother stood in the threshold, and gasped when she saw Veria in the bed.
“Mother,” Veria sighed.
Tanisca rushed to her and Browan vacated his spot at her side to let her mother occupy it.
“Thank you for calling for me, Your Majesty,” she said, giving him a polite curtsey before sitting on the bed next Veria.
“Please, do not thank me,” he said. “Thank your daughter that you still have a King at all.”
“What happened?” she asked.
“There was an attempt on my life, early this morning, and she saved me,” Browan explained. “Unfortunately took a pretty bad slice from a Wind Blade in the process.”
“Oh my!” Tanisca gasped, placing her hands over her mouth.
“The castle Water Mager, Claryain, stopped the bleeding and patched her up,” Browan explained. “She expects a full recovery, Veria just needs a lot of rest.”
Tanisca leaned in and gently hugged Veria's shoulders, kissing her on the cheek, and Veria felt a wet tear transfer from Tanisca's cheek to hers in the process.
“I am so relieved,” her mother whispered as she pulled away. She suddenly stood straight up and rounded on Browan, throwing her arms around him in a desperate hug. “Thank you for taking care of her,” she sobbed into his chest.
Browan gave Veria a questioning look over Tanisca's head and Veria shrugged, giving him a little smirk.
“You are welcome, Madame Tanisca,” he said, patting her head awkwardly. “It's the least I can do after what she has done for me,” he added, but looked at Veria with another of his intent gazes.
“Well, I am quite glad you two had each other then,” Tanisca said, pulling away and wiping her eyes and cheeks, with had smudged with kohl from her tears.
“I am, as well,” Browan said with a nod.
“I will let you rest, Via,” Tanisca said, turning back to her daughter with a round of staccato gasps and sniffles. “It's getting late. But I will visit tomorrow, if that suits Your Majesty?” she asked, turning to Browan.
“Of course, Madame,” Browan said, hi voice smooth and comforting. “Check in on her anytime you like. She could be stuck here for weeks.”
Veria sighed and flopped her head back on the pillows.
“Oh, is it that horrible to be stuck with me?” Browan asked, facetiously.
“No, it's not that, I just...don't like sitting in beds doing nothing.”
“Well, I can bring the Tactics table in here,” he offered. “Then you won't be doing nothing. Or we can discuss the investigation. Or discuss other things...”
“I guess we have a lot to discuss,” Veria muttered.
Tanisca, who had been following the exchange between the two with quick flicks of her head, cleared her throat awkwardly and curtsied when they both turned to look at her. “Thank you again, Your Majesty. I shall let you two have your discussions. But try to get some rest,” she suggested as she walked to the door. “Both of you,” she pointed at Browan before slipping out of the room and closing the door behind her.
Browan sat back down on the bed next to Veria. “You Laurelgate women are bossy about bed times,” Browan laughed.
“Bossy about a lot of things,” Veria sighed.
Browan grabbed her hand and stroked it with his thumb. “You are going to miss home?” he asked, tilting his head at her.
“I don't know,” Veria answered. “Maybe.”
“You are going to miss her,” he said softly. “Your daughter?”
“How did you—”
“I know everything about the affairs of the members of my Regalship,” he said. “Well, I mean, almost everything. You have genuinely surprised me today.”
“I should have said something to you,” Veria said. “I wasn't hiding it, I just—”
“I know,” he said, squeezing her hand. “I know. We were quite caught up in, uh, getting to know each other. And it didn't come up. But if you need to go back to her, I can arrange to have you safely transported.”
“No,” Veria said quietly, almost ashamed, shaking her head. “I don't need to. She's better with my mother.”
“I doubt that very much,” Browan said. “I would wager that every one is better off with you around. Safer anyway.”
“I—I love her,” Veria said, a lump forming in her throat as she explained, “but, I'm not a mother. I didn't choose to be a mother, and I've never felt like it's my purpose. Does that make sense?”
Browan took her in for a few moments before nodding. “Yes,” he said. “It does. And I think we found your purpose today.”
“Protecting you?” Veria asked with a soft chortle.
“Protecting the Kingdom,” Browan corrected, his tone firm and serious, leaning in closer to her. His hand drifted up to her neck and caressed it gently, causing her heart to pound in her chest and her cheeks to flush. “Do you not realize how powerful you are? How incredible you are?”
She shifted her gaze between his full, firm lips and his deep, gold-flecked eyes. Her breath turned shallow with anticipation of another of his kisses. But it did not come soon enough for her liking, and she found herself reaching up for his neck and leaning toward him.
He pulled away and put a hand on her shoulder, gently pressing her back into the recumbent position against the plush stack of pillows. “Stitches.”
“Bossy,” Veria groaned.
“Well, I am the King,” he teased.
“So I really don't get to do anything until these things are out?” Veria grumbled.
“Not exactly,” he corrected. “We just have to ease you back into all the normal activities. But definitely nothing strenuous for at least a week, Claryain said. She will be by to check on you in the morning, and if you won't take it from me, then you can take it from her.”
“Fine,” Veria said.
“In the meantime, you can tell me where you learned to do what you did today.”
Veria sighed. “It's a long story.”
Browan shrugged. “I think we have time.”
“I...I blended elemental powers with a Fire Mager, who I am sure would rather remain anonymous,” Veria explained. “We had some duels. If you control Fire and Earth you can shift the stone and metal to a non-solid state and reshape it, so to speak, instead of just moving it in its original form.”
“And this...this Fire Mager? They taught you hard elementals?” he asked.
“No,” Veria said. “I taught myself.”
“You what?” he asked.
“Why is everyone so shocked by that?” Veria questioned in frustration.
“Veria, honey,” Browan laughed, “it's basically unheard of, that's why.”
“Well, I did it,” Veria said.
“I don't doubt that,” Browan said. “After what I saw today, I don't th
ink I'd doubt anything about your skills. So what do you say?”
“What do I say about what?”
“What do you say about letting the world know how powerful you are?” he asked with a smile and a squeeze of her hand.
Strelzar's words swarmed and swirled in her head: I want you to recognize how powerful you are, and then make everyone in the world recognize it, too.
She swallowed hard. “I don't know, Browan,” she said, shaking her head. “Just because I did what I did this morning doesn't mean I—I don't know anything about combat. I got lucky today.”
“No, no,” he argued, “you were quick-thinking, clever, and incredibly skilled. That's all you need. That's all I ask of you. Those are your strengths,” he urged, grabbing her by the shoulders and gently massaging them. “We can train you in anything else you want to know. And you can recruit whomever you want to join. This is a good idea, Veria. This is what the world needs right now. And you would be the Commander.”
“Me?” Veria asked in disbelief.
“You would be the most powerful woman in the Kingdom. Even more powerful than the Queen, if there were one,” Browan continued, his voice urgent and excited. “Veria, this is what you were meant for, don't you see? You just happened to decide to teach yourself hard elementals. You just happened to find this Fire Mager who trained you in this new skill. I just happened to find your bracelet at the Guyler ball? You just happened to be here with me when assassins made an attempt on my life?”
Veria's head spun with all the thoughts to process. He was right—it did seem like a weird fate they had been working up to...she felt dizzy, and then she felt a slight twinge in her side, and her hand went to it instinctively.
“The pain elixir,” Browan jumped up and rushed back to the desk. “It must be wearing off. You won't be able to sleep if you're in pain.” He produced another vial and brought it back to her, and this one she drank on her own. He sat back down and looked down toward the ground. “There will be a problem of how to explain it, if...”
“If what?” Veria asked.
“If we don't say you were acting as my bodyguard and that I have removed the ban on hard elementals,” Browan explained, “then many will be calling for you to be Red-Listed. Maybe imprisoned.”
Veria swallowed nervously and felt her stomach churn. “But, I wasn't acting in that capacity this morning.”
“But if we announce it the right way, make you a hero—which you are!— then no one will care,” Browan said. “Oh, maybe a few New Age Purist Magers will be, but it will be because they are jealous. And scared. And it certainly won't matter against the public opinion.”
Veria thought of Andon's disgust at her hard elemental usage back when he had come to help her deal with her attack on Lord Rames. He would certainly be among the Magers who disapproved of the reinstatement, she figured. But she didn't care. She remembered how she had first told Daloes, in her first session with him, that she wanted to be a part of something bigger than her. Something meaningful. She couldn't shake the feeling that Browan was right. This was it, and her decisions had been leading to it.
At times like this she always wondered, did Daloes see this future? Did Willis? But again, she did not care. It was irrelevant. She had come to these decisions, she had found this path, on her own.
She nodded. “Alright,” she said with a grin. “Yes. I'll do it. Let's do it.”
“Yes?” Browan asked excitedly.
“Yes,” she repeated, her grin turning to a smile.
“Oh, Veria! You won't regret it,” he said. “And think of all the time we will be spending together!” he added.
“Is that what this is about?” Veria asked coquettishly, placing a hand on his leg.
“I would be lying if I didn't say that was part of it,” Browan said, sliding a hand up to her face. Veria's chest fluttered at his touch, but she didn't get her hopes up, knowing he would just tell her they couldn't do anything because of her stitches.
But she was mistaken, and caught off guard when he descended on her lips, taking them with his forcefully and passionately. Instinctively, she reached up and grabbed his hair, pulling him into the kiss further.
“Stitches,” he mumbled, their lips pressed together.
“Quiet,” she muttered against his mouth.
“Yes, Commander,” he teased, then took her deeper into the kiss, tasting her mouth like she were the sweetest wine.
She whimpered with desire, and he growled in frustration and abruptly pulled away, standing up and backing away several steps.
“That's as far as we can go,” he declared, catching his breath.
“Stitches?” Veria asked, curling her lip in disdain and rolling her eyes.
“Yes,” he answered. “And rest.”
“Bossy,” she repeated her jape.
“Well, you do technically work for me now,” he pointed out.
“Alright,” Veria sighed. “I will get some sleep. But you have to, also. Commander's orders.”
She carefully wiggled down to lay flat, and he rushed to help her, adjusting her pillows and supporting her back until she was laying comfortably. Then he walked to the other side of the bed and stripped down to his undergarments.
“What are you doing?” Veria asked.
“I am getting some sleep,” he said with a smirk as he joined her under the covers.
“You think this is going to work?” Veria asked as he laid his head on the pillow next to her.
“Commander Laurelgate, worry not,” he grinned. “I am a pillar of self-control.”
“Oh, really?” she teased.
“Oh, yes,” he assured. “When your stitches are healed, you will realize exactly how much I was holding back...”
-V -
Veria spent the next two weeks resting, for the most part, although a few times a day, Browan would walk her slowly around the castle. He insisted that she shouldn't have the elixir when they did so though, as it made many people dizzy when they tried to walk. She worked through the pain, clutching into his arms and back and groaning and whimpering the first few days. But after less than a week, it was barely noticeable and she was walking normally.
They played Tactics over lunch most days, and he stayed by her side as much as possible, shifting as many of his responsibilities to the hours when she slept at night and early morning as he could, and catching up on sleep next to her while she sat in bed and read.
The day after the attempted assassination, Browan had asked Veria to write a list of Magers she wanted to recruit to the Elemental Guard. She had realized she didn't know many—her mother, the Villicreys, Daloes, Strelzar, Turqa, and a brief meeting with Virro Ladny. Her Red-Listed grandfather, Sarco Pyer, was probably not on the table for recruit, she figured. She had heard of a few others, just in lessons, and from others...Ellory Mielyr and Aslay Livida.
Not telling him how or if she knew any of them, she'd had Browan send invitations to everyone except the Villicreys, out of fear of judgment from Andon, mostly, and Sarco, knowing that, more than likely, none of them would accept. He had said that they could go out and do physical recruitment after she was healed in some of the major cities and popular Mager Fairs, to see if anyone looked promising and trainable.
Thankfully, Claryain was supposed to remove her stitches today. She dressed carefully in a coral and cream-colored dress the king had custom ordered for her, with buttons down the front, as it had pulled at her stitches to pull dresses over her head or fuss with buttons or ties on the sides or back. He had gone down to the Regal Chamber to hold court that morning, which he disdained, and complained about, as he had said he wanted to be with her when she got her stitches removed. But, she didn't feel it necessary, and she just wanted to be done with them, so she made her way to the infirmary on her own.
As soon as she exited her room, the guard at her door turned and addressed her with a short bow. “Lady Veria, your presence is requested in the Regal Chamber,” he said.
Veria sig
hed. “Now?” she groaned. “I was going to see Claryain today.”
“The King commands it, and I am merely a messenger.”
Veria sighed again. Was he going to make her wait until he could be there? she wondered. He infuriated her sometimes. But, then again, he had become basically her entire world over the past two weeks, and she was sure nobody besides her parents had ever cared so deeply for her before him. They had been practically inseparable since the attack, and she did have to admit, it felt strange when he wasn't around. For that reason, she supposed she didn't mind making a detour to see him in the throne room first.
She practically skipped through the halls and down the stairs, feeling fully healed today, until she reached the Regal Chamber, where a guard asked her to wait until he could announce her. He stepped into the chamber, and called her by a title no one in the castle had yet addressed her by, other than Browan: “Commander Veria Laurelgate, Your Majesty.”
She stepped into the chamber and saw two men standing near the throne with their backs to her.
Recruits? she wondered. His...? or had somebody responded...? She picked up her pace, shuffling down the red carpet toward them anxiously.
“Ah, Commander Laurelgate! I am beyond pleased to see you,” Browan exclaimed, standing from his throne and rushing to meet her. “These,” he gestured to the men as he passed them, “are your first two members of the Elemental Guard.”
They turned as the King passed between them and Veria's stomach flipped when she saw the first face.
Strelzar Plazic.
“Birdie,” he purred, walking to her and taking a hand to kiss with his perfect, stony lips. “I have missed you.”
Browan cocked his head at them. “You two are close?” he asked.
“Oh, yes,” Strelzar answered, raising his eyebrows at her. “Connected forever.”
Veria giggled nervously and pulled her hand out of his. “He is crazy,” she covered.
He lifted his arm and let the sleeve of his black shirt fall down his arm to reveal his bronze cuff talisman.
Browan's eyes went wide with recognition. “I see,” he said. “Of course, this mysterious Fire Mager you mentioned would be the single greatest Fire Master to ever live.”
The Twin Dragons: Book III in the Elementals Series Page 4
