Guardian (Sequel to Fearless)

Chapter Five

The rogue ate faster than usual, noticing that her stomach yearned for food after her intensive training. In fact, she nearly had finished half of her plate by the time someone stood at her table. Iris knew who it was without looking up.

"You wound me," came Kayde's glossy voice as he sat down with his own tray. "You were supposed to find me at dinner... not sit all by yourself."

Iris looked up, but otherwise, did not reply. After all, she was too busy chewing her food.

Just as his custom, he wore a wily grin on his face, off-setting the somberness of the black robes he wore. "I don't know if you were blessed by the gods or cursed by them to get Hench as your mentor," he said. "Tell me, dear girl, how do you fare?"

Iris swallowed her food. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, on a scale ranging from one to ten, how badly did Hench beat the hell out of you?" He took a sip from his mug.

She raised a brow. "Be nice."

Kayde's smile went from one of amusement to one of ingenuity. "Do not mistake me, dear girl. I am hardly making fun of you. Forgive my crudeness, but Hench is nothing short of an incomprehensible badass."

Iris chuckled and nodded in agreement. Finally, she answered, "About seventeen."

"The scale only went to ten," Kayde reminded her, taking another long draw from his cup.

"I know," she said, shivering at the memory of getting hit by Hench... again and again and again. Her body would be sore all over for days; Iris knew that without doubt. Her reply and the expression on her face paved the way for Kayde to let out a deep, belly laugh. And for a moment, Iris felt his mirth wash over her. She wanted to laugh too. She should laugh, actually. She wasn't hiding an identity anymore... nor was she at home trying to fit Renna's pieces back together.

And when she realized that there was literally no reason for her to hold it in, damn it all, she laughed with him. It might have sent hot fire into her belly, but she did it anyways. It took a long, few moments for the both of them to settle.

They quietened for a minute. Kayde was the next to speak, his voice considerably softer in volume at his next words. "I have missed you, dear girl."

"You too, Kayde. It is good to see you well."

Kayde only offered her a smile and then turned his head back to look at Hench, who still sat with her mates.

Iris seemed to follow his gaze.

"She's already on her second cup of ale," the rogue remarked. "She's not even fazed by it, I don't think. Does anything bring her down?"

Kayde turned back to Iris with a raised eyebrow. "That's not ale," he told her with a snort, "That stuff she's drinking? That would be whiskey."

If Iris was ever unfamiliar with anything, it was alcohol. Besides that one night during her mission, she generally veered clear of the stuff. It made her head fuzzy. No one in her family --back before Renna went mad-- cared for the stuff. "What's that?" she asked. She hoped it wasn't a foolish question. She couldn't imagine it being any different than ale.

"What, whiskey?" Kayde asked, forking some rice into his mouth. "If you truly don't know by now, it's better if you try it yourself and figure it out." He let out a chuckle. "And so help me gods, make sure I'm there when you do."

Iris narrowed her eyes. "Have you tried it?"

"Yeah," he paused, "Yeah, I have. Only on a couple occasions though. The first time was about seven years ago, when I was nearing seventeen years old. Hench actually was there for that. She was twenty-two, I think." A thought took Kayde away for a moment. And then, he said, "Gods, has it already been that long?"