A Guardian's Fate (Book #2)

Chapter Thirty-Two

So, he gulped and nodded once.

Victor pushed him back, releasing his wrist. He straightened his doublet and rolled his shoulders.

"Good. Now go find that insufferable cousin of ours. Her mother has been bothering me immensely about her." With that, he turned on his heel and sauntered out of the kitchen while Henry remained in place, trembling like he'd been exposed to the dreadful winter of Aristol.

He reached into his pocket, searching for his coin. Upon feeling it, a bit of calm took over. Enough to move his feet.

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Eldon didn't have much time before he was expected back at the training grounds. But a note had summoned him to the back of the town, right near the path to the temple. Considering who it was from, he felt bad turning the invitation down.

As soon as the captain called for a rest, Eldon bolted out of there before Leanne, or any other trainee, could see and stop him.

Navigating through the loud and crowded streets of the town was tedious and made the trip far longer than necessary. A few children even stopped him to ask him about his uniform and his sword. He tried answering each one, except that only encouraged them to ask more. Eventually—and thankfully—their mother called them over. Eldon nodded at the woman and took off running toward his destination, knowing his time was almost over.

The further back he went, the lonelier the paths became. He occasionally walked past some people who didn't care for his presence. He also spotted a few cats searching for scraps in piles of muck that smelled worse than he and the trainees did after practice. But, overall, he enjoyed the quiet.

He finally arrived at the spot and paused in his steps, seeing who he came here for. She hadn't heard him yet.

"This what you do on yer free time?" he asked, startling Ivy from where she stood atop a short tower of crates. She whirled around in a blur of pink and gold. He lingered a moment, recognizing the silk and lace gown as one he'd seen Elouise wear before. But he snapped himself out of his daze and casually returned to what he'd been saying. "I gotta be truthful, it's kinda—"

"Shh!" she stopped him, holding her hands out in front of her. She then tapped her ear with her forefinger and nodded her head toward the wall.

Eldon blinked.

"Just come here," Ivy eagerly whispered.

Eldon made his way closer, smiling at the steps she'd created to reach the tower she was on... which she probably also made. He got on the crates, reaching her height, and getting a view of the fields beyond the wall. Ivy grinned at him as she pointed out at something in the distance.

"Do you hear that?" she asked.

"No."

"Well, try to listen first!"

"With you yellin' like that, how am I gonna hear anythin'?"

"Shh! Wait! There it is again!"

Eldon leaned forward and strained his hearing. At first, all he could make out were the sounds from the market: laughter, shouts, and—of course—music.

Then, softly, he thought he heard a growl. Pained and hungry.

It didn't sound like anything he'd heard growl before. Not a dog, wolf, or a trollbie. Squinting, he met Ivy's wide and excited eyes.

"What's that?"

"I have no idea! I've been hearing it for weeks. I thought I was the only one who could hear it, but I knew that wasn't possible! No one else is concentrating long enough to hear anything out of the ordinary."