Page 58 of The Last Guardian

I brought my hands to my face, as if to block it out—to block everything out.

Focus, focus.

She knew about my memories. No, I didn’t want her to know. But how could she be in my head?

Large hands slammed against the wooden table; everything in the tent shook, and my mind froze. The cloud of colors from Eirlys’s power vanished in seconds.

“That’s enough,” Zaidkiel shouted; my eyes darted to his face. A vein bulged at his temple. “Stop your tricks, Eirlys. It’s not needed!”

Everything was a blur. In my head, a swirl of voices whispered what she had told me, again and again.

A dark smile tugged at her crimson lips, ignoring the commander’s order as she said, “The people you cherish will become the most important pawns on your path. Some from your past, some from your future.”

I removed my hands from my face, blinking through the tears, and the world tilted. “Can you see the future?” I asked, surprised by the absurdity of the words that had escaped my mouth.

She tilted her head thoughtfully. “I see a thousand possibilities for you, for us,” Eirlys said, lifting a ball of purple and black swirled in the middle of her hands—her power. “Each one is shaped by our choices, our actions, and the people surrounding us. Everything is written, but nothing is immutable. Every path can change… break.”

I frowned, trying to wrap my head around what she was saying. “How… how is that linked to your quest?”

Eirlys got up from her chair, stepping closer, the air between us thickening, but didn’t answer.

“What are you searching for exactly?” I insisted.

A moment of silence fell as her eyes shone. A somber expression crossed her immaculate face, and she ignored me once more and turned to the commander: “You need to initiate her, Zaidkiel. It’s the only way to dig into her mind for her memories.”

Zaidkiel’s laugh at the woman’s command was nothing but open anger, laced with a hint of exasperation.

“Don’t make that face,” Eirlys snarled. “The others are not here to do it; only you can achieve this through the skills acquired during your training, which you already knew when you brought her here,” she whispered, turning to me; her violet eyes sparkled. “That’s the only way to recover the memory she’s seeking.”

Hells, I didn’t like that she knew about it…

“Don’t be condescending,” Zaidkiel growled, glaring at her.

“Then don’t growl at me!” Eirlys attested, flashing her teeth at him. “You have to do this⁠—”

“He has to do what, exactly?” I barked at them, interrupting her mid-sentence, and I added, shaking my head, “Actually, it doesn’t matter. I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I don’t want him or anyone to initiate me into anything. What is it anyway?”

Silence filled the room. Eirlys stared into space, her eyes lost in thought, and she spoke without looking up.

“This is the only way. You don’t have a choice.” Eirlys looked up at me at last and added, “If you want your memories back, you have to pass the rite.” Eirlys turned to face Zaidkiel. “And you, you have to help her if you want her help with the quest. If not, she’s going home, with other darker possibilities to help regain her memories.”

Zaidkiel’s jaw clenched. Was there another way? Darker, she had said. What did that mean?

“It’s not certain she will get them back with the rite, Eirlys.” Zaidkiel glared at her.

“Yes. But it’s the only way we can try,” Eirlys declared. “The only right way.”

Zaidkiel didn’t debate it, and after a few seconds, he nodded, accepting the terms. If Zaidkiel—who clearly did not want to do this rite thing with me—gave in to Eirlys’ request, I wondered what frightened them by letting me look for answers elsewhere. The discussion was coming to an end, and Eirlys walked in the direction of the tent’s exit.

“Are you going to tell me what this rite is?” I blurted out, stopping her in her tracks. “And will you tell me exactly how I can help you? What are you searching for that can help overcome chaos?”

Eirlys stopped, looking back at us, at Zaidkiel. But she didn’t answer right away; instead, she exchanged a long, unreadable look with Zaidkiel. One that made his nostrils flare, his beautiful green eyes sharpen.

Eirlys’ eyes fell on me at last, and she whispered, “The Last Guardian.”

THE LAST GUARDIAN.

Why did they need this Guardian to stop chaos? And what was a Guardian? But before I could get a word out, Eirlys stormed out of the tent and didn’t look back. The flap swayed behind her. The silence she left behind charged the room, and the echoes of her words rolled through my head.