Page 56 of The Last Guardian

I positioned myself, releasing the tension in my shoulders. With deep, slow breaths, I washed every emotion from my mind as my eyes stared at the pads.

Dax grinned, holding his hands in front of me. “Jab!”

THE AIR FELT thicker as the ship docked two days later. A metallic scent floated in the air, dancing with the wind, melting into the sea, and tickling my nostrils, leaving a faint buzz under my skin. It was static yet flowed; it was invisible, yet everything felt more alive.

The colors glowed, every scent a bit sweeter—the world felt richer. Brighter. The air hummed through my hair, dancing in that soft, playful way that made you stop and notice it. The change.

It wasn’t actually a change—because everything looked normal. It felt like the world was whole; the sky, the sea the stars.

Was it magic?

We had finally reached the lands of Keraneeth, well, Shavaar—the realm of the Surani. Golden mountains brushed against the clouds. Each peak glowed with the sun’s rays, and at their feet, a small village, tiny wooden houses lined alongside the dock. Beyond the village, a camp stretched, thousands of tents where warriors and soldiers moved along the sandy paths.

After two days of intensive training with Dax, to make up for the days when I hadn’t been able to train because of my injuries, my body had never been so sore; every muscle contracted with every movement. Between core training, archery basics, and hand-to-hand combat, I felt exhausted.

My eyes drifted to the crew maneuvering the ship into position; the footsteps of sailors running from one railing to the other echoed in the air, some giving orders, others pulling on the rigging to adjust the sails.

At the bow, the captain gazed at the horizon; at her side was the commander, who had finally emerged from the hole where he’d been hiding for the past week.

My gaze lingered on them up there, captivated by their black leather suits that somehow accentuated their eyes even from a distance. Nefeli and Zaidkiel smiled at each other with such tenderness. The way their gazes softened whenever they met, the slight smile that lit the commander’s lips as he gazed at his sister, her eyes sparkling as she stared at the horizon…

An ache spread in my chest. Home had never seemed so far away, and I had never longed for it more than now. My thoughts wandered to my family. I missed them so much it hurt.

For the last five years of my life, I caged myself inside my grief, trying to maintain the walls around my heart so they wouldn’t see me shatter, hoping the distance would shield them from the mess I had become.

The darkness that was creeping in.

At the time, I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought hiding the cracks and the damage would keep them safe. But the more I struggled to hold myself together, the more I slipped away. And now, without them, the silence was different. I wasn’t just alone—I was lost too.

“Drop anchor!” shouted one member.

“Prepare to disembark,” said another.

“Come on, guys! Get off of the damn ship. We’ve got land beneath us!” shouted Nefeli with a big smile on her face.

As I stepped off the ship, a sudden heat pressed into my back, and my body stiffened. I turned my gaze, finding the smug face of the commander, and my blood boiled at the sight of him.

“I hope you enjoyed the ride, Princess,” Zaidkiel said in a cold tone, despite his smirk.

Something in his eyes stopped me in my tracks. The usual spark inside of them had vanished—in the same way that Nefeli’s gaze faded when the shadows of the past returned to haunt her.

What had happened to them to cause their sparks to die out in seconds?

Zaidkiel walked past me before I could ask him what was going on, brushing his arm against my side, letting warmth shiver against my skin as he headed toward the ramp.

Zaidkiel halted abruptly, then turned to me with a frustrated glare when he noticed that I wasn’t following. “Are you coming? We have someone to meet.”

IT WAS DIFFICULT to keep up with the commander. He walked—almost ran through the camp. All the while, people bowed their heads in deference as he passed.

The camp was enormous; thousands upon thousands of various-sized tents were spread everywhere. A group of men played ball with children on a high lawn, while others cooked or cleaned their tents.

Everyone was smiling and laughing, beaming with life. These people didn’t look so different from Humans, though they were taller and bigger. Surely, stronger too. But their features… The glow was the same as a human.

It took us about twenty minutes to reach the end of the camp, where the largest tents lay. Zaidkiel stopped abruptly before the entrance to one of the tents, stopping me in my tracks.

“Wait here,” he ordered in a dark voice. “Don’t move.”

My mouth was ready to argue, something like, “I’m not your dog to call every time you want,” but of course, he didn’t wait for my answer and went straight into the tent, leaving me alone.