Guardian (Sequel to Fearless)

Chapter Twenty One

"Well, I'm glad," Kayde said after a moment, and then clasped his palms together and stood from his seat. "I'll make sure to wish him well on your behalf, dearest girl."

"Thanks," she replied and then leaned back, getting comfortable where she sat. "And don't be in such a hurry to leave. It's not breakfast yet; stay and talk to me."

He took the cue and sat down again.

"Will you be seeing your mother and stepfather when you go to meet with Zayn?" Iris asked him. "Or is it just a serious trip? There and back after you talk to the general?" Before he got the chance to answer, Iris hit him with another statement. "You could if you wanted --he moved his main office closer to Eda so he could be home more often. It would only take a couple hours to get there and back."

A light laugh left Kayde's throat. "Well, I'm taking Hench... so there probably won't be delays. She's got you to take care of here and I doubt she has any family or friends to see in Eda."

"Right," Iris said. A ghost of a smile passed across her face. "You're taking my mentor. Have fun with that."

"And that means?"

"That means exactly what it sounds like," Iris elaborated before her small grin twisted wickedly. "It also means she's the private type, so if you talk to her at length, be careful what you say and be careful what you ask her. She doesn't like personal questions. Also, don't do anything stupid; she doesn't like that either --and trust me, I know. Also, she likes to spar in the morning sometimes --says it gets her blood pumping. So you have fun with that if you two are the only ones going."

"Sounds like a lot of rules for one person," Kayde pointed out. "Ah, I'm not afraid of Hench. We'll be fine."

"You're not, huh?" Iris stood up and turned to face away from them. The guardian watched as she shifted a bit. The robe she wore fell down a little ways off her shoulders, enough to expose the pale skin of nearly half her back. Kayde was startled a bit at the motion, but nonetheless, he saw what she referenced nearly immediately. A widespread, blooming reddish-purple spot swelled angrily from one shoulder-blade to the other and then whisked ferociously down her spine.

After a minute, Iris pulled her robe back over her shoulders and retied the front.

"How'd that happen, dear girl? That looks... like it hurt. Really bad." Kayde didn't know what else to say.

"That's from when Hench hurled me across the room yesterday. It was like I weighed nothing," the rogue said, a little too casually. "So you'd best get afraid if she decides to spar, or you'll get worse than this."

"Then maybe I shouldn't spar with her, dear girl," Kayde said, a hint of a smile turning up the corners of his mouth. "I'm not her recruit, after all."

"No!" Iris said a little too quickly. "If she wants to fight, you fight."

Kayde let out a loud laugh. "And why is that?"

"Because that would take the fun out of it for me," Iris answered honestly. "Come on, I don't want to be alone in this boat. It would be nice to see Hench pummel someone other than me, don't you think? You can handle a few bruises. You can even tell me the story behind each one you get."

And for a moment, the two of them laughed together. The both of them sobered, settling back down into their seats and succumbing to silence.

Kayde was the first to speak. "You know," he said, "I missed you when you were gone, dear girl."

"It was only for a couple of weeks," Iris said.

"No. Before that," he told her. "When I came back here after the war was over. I missed you when you were gone. We had some good times, some good training, and some good laughs. It's too bad it took you a here to come over here and start training, but I'm glad you did. This job will be good for you, I think --judging by what I know of you."