Page 40 of The Last Guardian

I met his stare with a defiant chin.

“If I answer you,” he whispered, “I will have to keep you here, Princess. That’s not what you want, is it? You want to be alone.”

“Fuck you,” I spat.

A deep, malicious chuckle escaped his chest as he moved closer. “I’ll willingly take you at your word… if you keep offering,” Zaidkiel murmured, arching an eyebrow.

My breath caught, rage and confusion mixing in my throat. My hand landed hard on his chest; I tried to push him away, but he was too strong for me, and yet, somehow, he withdrew anyway.

“I have an offer for you,” he declared. “I may have a way to help you regain your memories, and in exchange, I will need your help.”

My heart was racing as I fixed my gaze on him. “Why would you need me to help you?”

The commander smiled. “We’re hunting for something the Great Council is desperate for. I’ll tell you more details if you help. Can’t risk my mission by revealing too much. That would be foolish, don’t you think?”

True…

Something stirred inside my heart.

What he offered, for my memories. I would kill for this. Whatever he wanted my help for, it was worth a shot, right?

On my own, could I recover my memories?

I hesitated… I didn’t know the man. Could I really trust him?

Zaidkiel saw my hesitation on my face as he stepped back slightly. When he put his hands on his knees, I gazed at his tattoo. The one that looked like the mark I had on my skin.

“About your tattoo⁠—”

A hard knock on the door stopped me in my questioning. Zaidkiel’s eyes drifted toward the door.

“Take a night to think about it,” he advised, standing up. “You can tell me your answer tomorrow.”

The door rattled again, and I took that as my invitation to go. I stood up; Zaidkiel walked with me to the door and opened it. A man was already waiting in the hall—the large man with the long hair and tawny skin I had seen a few times in Lorath.

“Damn, I didn’t know you were busy, Zaid,” he said, raising his eyebrows with a broad smile on his lips.

I immediately stiffened at what he was implying.

Zaidkiel rolled his eyes. He didn’t look at all like the commander I’d seen before. He looked less harsh.

“Shut up and come in,” he growled, with a smile on his lips. The broad man went inside as I exited the commander’s quarters.

Zaidkiel’s voice called to me as I stood near the stairs. “Goodnight, Princess.”

I glared at him, and a mocking smile spread across his lips.

Ass.

Zaidkiel’s door closed behind him, and laughter echoed from within as I returned to my quarters.

SLEEP ELUDED ME for the entire night; I tossed and turned in my bed, my thoughts whirring.

I spent half the night gazing out the window, and salty air caressed my skin as I watched the sky. The blackness of the night changed in minutes into a kaleidoscope of hues, erasing the stars and the darkness. A beam of light bathed the world in a wash of pink, orange, and purple.

Dawn.

I ran my fingers over the soft skin of my wrist, playing with the strange mark that still lingered there, tracing its patterns—the six swirling white lines.