Page 53 of The Last Guardian

“Who ordered you not to speak to me?” Both men glared at me with a blank look, and before they could answer, I added, “Never mind.”

Freaking Zaidkiel. Who did he think he was, ordering people not to talk to me?

“So, do you know where I can find him or not?” I sighed, annoyed.

Sam shrugged. “He’s busy.”

“But we can keep you company.” Bennett smiled, curling his arm around my shoulders. My eyes fell on his hand, which was squeezing me, and he withdrew immediately. “Sorry! But seriously, you can hang out with us if you w⁠—”

“Leave her alone, jackass!” said a female voice behind us—Nefeli. She stepped near us, her long black hair falling on her dark leather, and crossed her arms.

“Cap’!” said Bennett and Sam, bowing before her.

Nefeli rolled her eyes, “Stop this, assholes. Go find another occupation. I think Carl left some rum there⁠—”

Before she could finish her sentence, the two men ran, almost stumbling over each other, to the table, searching for the bottle. Nefeli laughed, eyeing her crew. “Men are idiots, right? If not women, it’s alcohol. Typical.”

A little grin begged to form on my lips at her remark, but I couldn’t let my guard down—not yet. Nefeli noticed it. “Care for a walk?” she asked gently, opening her arm for me to follow.

My brow furrowed, but I nodded as I followed Nefeli’s steps. For a few minutes, we walked without exchanging a word; the only sounds nourishing the silence were the shouts and laughter. The crew hauled in the catch, passing it over the rail. With a sharp jerk followed by a jet of water, the fish hit the planks with a dull, wet thud.

“I suppose Zaid didn’t give you a tour,” Nefeli said, resuming her walking. “This deck is reserved for fishing. Most of the crew here are fishermen, but as you noticed, they don’t all work effectively.” She smiled, clearly referring to the two men who had spoken to me a moment before, but it wasn’t a reprimand.

“Are they all humans?” I asked, observing the different men and women on the deck.

“Some, yes! Bennett is Vallenian, and Sam is Borenian. But we have a bunch of Evarim and Surani around, too.”

“How do people not notice what you are in Perygan?” I said, and then I added, “I mean, your origin. The fact that you don’t age.”

Nefeli smiled. “There are still a few places with open minds in Perygan, if you know where to go. Like the place where we live—Lys. The people here are aware of where we come from.”

“And they are not scared of you?” As soon as the words left my lips, I immediately tried to take them back, stammering. “That’s not what I mean. It just… We were taught since we were children to be scared of who and what lies on the other side of the sea…”

“I know what you mean.” Nefeli stopped me, facing me with a small smile on her lips. “Don’t worry. But they have known us for a long time now, and they know what we are fighting for. You’d be surprised how many Humans are aware of all this—like Sam, Ben⁠—”

“Arthur,” I added, meeting her blue gaze.

Nefeli nodded, a soft smile curling her lips. “Yes.”

The truth—all the things Arthur had hidden from me, from us… I tried—tried—not to let the deception show on my face, not to let the pain fill my chest. In vain.

“Arthur knows where you come from, then? About magic?”

Nefeli’s eyes softened for a moment as she nodded. And maybe she saw the pain crossing my eyes, because she added, “I know you feel hurt. My brother hid a lot of things from me, too—still today, actually. Arthur swore not to reveal a secret that was not his to tell. It’s not a lack of trust, but a need for protection and loyalty above all else.”

I looked, really looked, at the woman before me, the way her eyes shone with such devotion and truth, with the need to help and protect. The sight of her stirred something deep inside my chest.

“Why do you trust me?” The words came out before I could hold them back.

Nefeli’s sapphire eyes shone brighter than ever as she said in a sweet voice, “I understand what it’s like to be locked behind walls—not to be protected, but to slowly suffocate. I spent so many years running from those who had hurt me that I forgot how to live. I can see it when someone is trying to find their own way, regardless of what others expect of them.”

“You don’t know what happened to me,” I said, lifting my eyes. “What’s telling you it’s not an act on my part?”

Nefeli shook her head. “I can see it in your eyes—what you’ve been searching for for so long… No one can fake that feeling.”

“How? Is that one of your powers or something?”

She laughed, the sound so rich and joyful that I couldn’t help but smile slightly. “No, it’s not from my power,” Nefeli said. “Everyone can see it if they know how to look.”