Into the Wonder Dark by Lilian T. James

Author:Lilian T. James [James, Lilian T.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781958763117
Publisher: Aleron Books LLC
Published: 2023-12-25T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter

Thirty-Six

ADELAIS

Regret and a healthy dose of self-loathing filled my chest as I twisted away and ran in the other direction the second the brothers stepped out of sight. But I shoved both feelings down to the pit of my stomach to overthink and hate myself for later.

I’d spent my entire life putting men’s feelings first, making sure they were content and satisfied, even while my own plate remained permanently empty. Now that I was finally free, I had no desire to continuing living like that, even for men as kind as Duma and Dex.

And it wasn’t that I didn’t believe the warning Duma gave me about the queen’s guards being dangerous. If a man like him was nervous around them, I knew there’d be a legitimate reason. I just also knew their list, whatever it was for, posed no threat to me, since there was zero chance of my undead self being on it.

Never having seen a guard of any kind before, I wasn’t exactly sure what I was looking for as I turned the corner to where I’d seen everybody hurrying away from, but it didn’t take me long to figure it out.

Though I assumed their name came from the fact that the queen resided at the White Castle, it appeared the White Guard also got their name from the fact that they literally bore no other color. From their shoulders down to their feet, they were solid white, apart from a single red rose on their chest plates and the deep, blood-red handles of knives far larger than Terek’s.

No, not knives. Swords. Literal, giant swords.

There were several dozen, each with short hair that was shaved on the sides and clean-shaven jaws. They were scattered throughout the street, which appeared to have only homes built up and down it, and they held rolls of parchment. I watched in confusion as they casually knocked on doors, their armor sharp and loud against the wood.

I frowned. Besides the fact that they were all armed with frighteningly large swords, none of them looked dangerous. The people who’d chosen to stick around didn’t even look worried. If anything, they appeared not to care about the guards at all. They just went about their lives, heads bowed and steps slow.

Sure, some of the guards wore expressions like they were eagerly waiting for someone to piss them off and give them a reason to retaliate, but even those select few weren’t actively hurting anyone. They were just…holding up their rolls and talking to people.

I stepped out of the alcove I’d tucked myself into, daring to walk a little closer to the nearest guard to hear what they were asking or telling everyone. He’d just caught a young man who’d been attempting to scurry past and slip into a pale blue house, shooting a hand out and blocking the door.

“Why in such a hurry?”

The boy said nothing, his eyes darting around from person to person, clearly searching for someone to step in. No one did. Besides me, I wasn’t sure anyone had even noticed or cared that he’d been stopped.

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