The Guardian King

Chapter Fifteen

~ Phoenix

I relished the look on Ember’s face when she realized the name tattooed on my wrist belonged to my nine-year-old sister. After Knox opened the door and I alighted from the backseat, I offered my hand to Ember. It wouldn’t have surprised if she refused, but the bond between us had already begun to strengthen. She could no easier resist me than I her.

*

As we walked towards the house, I didn’t need an empath ability to sense Ember’s nerves. Despite her claim she wasn’t the least bit interested in a romantic relationship, making a good impression on my family mattered to her.

*

I stopped Ember just outside the large oak door, where I assured her, “You needn’t be worried in the least, little dove.”

“How can you say that? You’re the guardian king and they’re your family. Don’t you care what they think of your companion?”

“I don’t actually.”

“Why?” I contemplated the question, before replying, “I don’t need someone else to tell me you’re incredible in order to see it for myself.” I rang the bell while she considered my answer. Receiving compliments seemed to be a new experience for Ember, one she didn’t know how to react to. My biggest hurdle would be getting her to see herself the way I did.

*

“Nic!” Lilly squealed upon opening the door. I should have guessed the menace would be the one to answer the bell. In a flash of wild caramel-brown hair, she leaped at me, forcing me to relinquish Ember’s hand in order to catch my little sister. Lilly wrapped my neck in a vice and I could barely speak. “You’ve gotten stronger,” I grunted.

“That’s nothing,” she said as she released her hold on me and I returned her feet to the ground. “Wait till you see my right hook. I’ve perfected it.”

“I’m sure you have, mon petit monstre.” She rolled her pale-blue eyes at the nickname I’d given her since the days of her terrible-twos.

*

“You’re late, you know,” my sister stated.

“Says who?” I asked.

“Says me.”

“Hmm… then I must beg your forgiveness, my lady.” I placed my hand over my heart and gave her an over-exaggerated bow.

*

When I stood straight again, I brushed back the hair that’d fallen in my face and said, “Lil, I’d like you to be the first to meet Ember.” I gestured to my angel, standing nervously beside me. Lilly eyed her from head to toe and innocently asked, “You are my brother’s new companion?”

“I am,” Ember replied.

“What makes you so great?”

“Lilly!” I scolded.

“What? You haven’t had a companion in over two years. I want to know what makes her special.”

“I wish I knew,” Ember said, shifting her gaze to me. “He won’t tell me.”

“He doesn’t tell me a lot of things either,” Lilly muttered.

“That sounds really frustrating,” Ember commented.

“It is.” Lilly looked up at me and asked, “Did you choose her because she’s so pretty?” I spared a look at Ember, smiled, and said, “One of many reasons.”

*

The door opened again, revealing my stepmother. “Lillian, where are your manners? Bring your brother and his guest inside.” As we passed the threshold into my family’s home, Audrey wiped her hands on a tea towel before pulling me in for an affectionate embrace. “She’s been staking out the driveway from the front window all morning,” she told me, referring to my sister.

“I have not,” the nine-year-old rebutted.

*

I reached for Ember, placing my hand comfortably at the small of her back. “Audrey, this is Ember. Ember, my stepmother, Audrey.”

“We met last night, didn’t we?” my companion asked.

“You’re sweet to remember,” Audrey replied, “Yes, we were briefly introduced, but the ball was so hectic we didn’t get the chance to get to know one another.”

“Thank you for inviting me into your home.”

“I’m happy to have you here, Ember.”

*

“Where’s dad?” I wanted to know. Audrey’s smile faltered a bit and transformed from genuine pleasure to strained politeness. “He’s in the study,” she stated. She cleared her throat before continuing, “On the phone with your mother.”

“Oh, good grief,” I mumbled.

“Perhaps your presence can get him out of there and to the table before brunch gets cold.”

“I’ll do my best.” I turned to Ember and said, “Do you mind if I leave you?”

“I’m fine.”

“We’ll take good care of her, wont we Lilly?” At Audrey’s suggestion, my sister’s eyes grew wide with ideas as she exclaimed, “Oh, I can show her my knife collection!”

“Um, maybe wait until after we eat to bring out the weaponry,” I told my sister, who had a bizarre affinity for sharp objects. However, my companion chided me as she responded, “I can answer for myself, thank you. Lilly, I would love to see your knife collection.” Ember had no idea of the huge points she’d just scored with Lilly by uttering those words.

*

I left my companion in Lilly’s company and ventured deeper into the house to locate my father. With his study door open, his voice reached me as I passed through the opening. “I understand, Mags,” he said into the phone, “but I really think you’re getting ahead of yourself.” He noticed me, but gave no indication he was ashamed to have been caught conversing about me. Which meant, despite his own reservations about Ember, he’d at least come to my defense where my mother was concerned. At some point over the past decade my father stopped seeing me as a young boy and starting seeing me as a man. Though he would often offer advice and guidance, he ultimately accepted my decisions as mine to make. Maman never made the transition.

*

I could faintly hear my mother’s shrill voice through the phone. My father nodded along as he tussled his thinning chocolate-brown hair. “I agree, but at the end of the day we have to accept what is,” he said into the receiver as I sat in one of the chairs in front of his hand-carved desk. “Yes. I’ll call you later. Good-bye, Magnolia.” He placed the phone on its holder, looked up at me, and said, “She’s in a right state.”

“She insists on getting herself worked up needlessly,” I replied unconcerned.

“Is it needless though? Put yourself in her shoes, Son. Does she not have the right to be worried?”

“Her worry stems from lack of trust in me.”

“Her worry stems from distrust in your companion.”

“Why don’t you meet her for yourself before you defend Maman.” With a forceful exhale of concession, he replied, “Very well.”

*

My father stood from his desk and moved toward the door. I got to my feet again and stopped him before he could leave the room. “Just one thing, Dad.”

“Are you going to ask me to go easy on her?” he guessed. “Because you know better than to ask such a thing.”

“Don’t mention Jonas.”

“Does she not wish to know about her own father?”

“It’s a sensitive subject.”

“Jonas was a good man. He deserves to be remembered, especially by his own flesh and blood.”

“He will be. But she knows nothing of his life… or his death. And I want the opportunity to give her the full story.”

“I see.” My father nodded and paused, before he added, “I will say nothing of Jonas.”

“Thank you.”

*

My father had a strong presence. At six foot five, he was the only person I stood eye to eye with. And though I was king, he had an air about him that one couldn’t help but respect. I often found his personality to be more similar to Ambrosia than that of her own daughter.

*

When we entered the dining room, I found Lilly dominating Ember’s ear. “And then he said that girls couldn’t hit as hard as boys.”

“What did you say back?” Ember asked hanging on Lilly’s every word, seamlessly filling the role of big sister Lilly craved. “Nothing,” my sister replied. “But during sparing practice I broke his nose.”

“You did what?!” I exclaimed in surprise. “Who’s nose?”

“Seth Lamond’s.”

“Lillian Rainier!” Father scolded.

“Lamond?” Ember questioned. “Is he related to Sadie?” I nodded and answered, “They’re second cousins.”

“The boy is former king Soren’s grandson,” Father stated. “I hope Master Quinn gave you demerits.”

“He didn’t,” Lilly answered.

“It was during sparing, dear,” Audrey pointed out.

“You knew about this?”

“I had a long talk with Seth’s mother last night at the ball and smoothed everything over. While she wasn’t thrilled with the way Lilly handled herself, she admitted to committing a similar offense when she was her age.”

*

I moved behind my little sister seated at the table, put my large hands on her dainty shoulders, leaned closer, and said, “Next time, knock out a tooth.”

“Phoenix,” Father admonished. “You shouldn’t encourage her to m**m Soren’s grandson. There could be serious repercussions.”

“That boy may be the grandson of the previous king, but Lilly is the beloved sister of the current king.”

*

“I think what your dad is saying,” Ember spoke to Lilly, “is that it would be good practice for you to consider your actions a bit more carefully beforehand.” I’d already become king by the time Lilly came into the world. Myself, Father, and Audrey often discussed situations pertaining to Lilly in her presence, while excluding her from the conversation. Ember addressed her directly as though she were a part of the conversation. This pleased my sister greatly. She gave Ember a soft smile and a nod.

*

My companion stood from the table as I said, “Ember, I’d like you to meet my father, Obsidian Rainier.” As she made her way around the table, I fought the urge to reach for her nervously clasped hands. “Forgive me, I’m not familiar with guardian etiquette,” she said. “Should I bow to the king’s father?”

“It wouldn’t hurt,” he told her.

“He’s teasing you, Ember,” Audrey kindly clarified. “You are the king’s companion. You needn’t bow to anyone.”

“She’s right,” Father said with a smile. “Technically I should be the one bowing to you. But as we are in a casual atmosphere, how about a simple handshake?” He extended a hand to her and I noticed the tension in her ease a little as she accepted. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Rainier.”

“You as well. And it’s Obsidian, please.” She nodded as Audrey said, “Sit everyone, the food is ready. Let’s eat.”

*

With Ember seated beside me, we loaded our plates with my stepmother’s scrumptious cooking. My little sister, having taken a liking to Ember, seated herself at my companion’s other side, while opposite us my father and stepmother sat side by side. Ember remained quiet as we began eating. “What’s the status on the restoration project?” Father asked me.

“You mean the project civilians aren’t supposed to be aware of?” I responded with a smile.

*

“Please gentlemen,” Audrey interjected. “The purpose of this rare occasion we’re all gathered is for us to get to know Ember and she to know us.”

“You’re right, dearest.” Father said. “Ember, tell us where you grew up?” Ember swallowed and answered, “I’ve lived in Florida all my life. First Destin, then Pensacola.”

“The beach?” Lilly asked. She lit up with excitement when Ember nodded. “I love the beach!”

“How would you know?” I teased. “You’ve never been.”

“I would love the beach, if anybody ever took me,” she grumbled before readdressing Ember, “Did you go swimming every day? What about surfing? Are you a surfer?”

“Gosh no!” Ember replied with a laugh. “Honestly, the beach was wasted on me. I can’t spend time in the sun without burning, I’m not a fan of sand or saltwater, and I’ve been stung by a jellyfish more than once. It’s not an experience worth risking a repeat of just for what the beach has to offer.” With a serene smile that pierced my chest, she added, “I love mountains.”

“Then you must feel right at home around here,” Audrey surmised.

“From the moment I entered Middlebrook.”

***

Father remained relatively quiet during our meal, but I caught him absorbing everything Ember said. Audrey and Lilly led the conversation for the most part. The ladies were quite taken with my companion. If only they knew how precious she was to the entire guardian world. Even Phyneas didn’t know the full extent of Ember’s destiny, though he suspected there was something significant about her. For twenty-four years I’d kept that piece of the vision to myself. My greatest struggle of late consisted of the ever-weighing question; how would I explain the truth to my queen?

*

When there reached a lull in the conversation, Audrey dabbed her mouth with the cloth napkin and asked, “I’m curious, Ember, if you came to Middlebrook unaware you were a guardian, what did you want to do when you arrived? How did you plan to establish roots?”

“Actually, for the first time in my life, I didn’t have a plan at all,” Ember admitted. “But in the back of my mind I’d always hoped to have my own shop. I wanted to combine all my favorite things; coffee, pastries, books, and flowers.”

“Sounds ambitious.”

“Especially considering I can’t bake worth a lick,” she said with an infectious giggle which had me hypnotized. “But the dream still prompted me to major in business.”

“Oh, you went to college?”

“Yes, in Jacksonville.”

*

My Father sat up straighter in his seat. “How recently did you leave Jacksonville?” he asked. An uneasy feeling settled in my gut as I suspected what was running through his mind. He knew of my brief detour to Jacksonville months prior, yet was unaware of the details. My father was proficient in connecting dots others missed and in this instance made me nervous. Ember nudged her empty plate away and answered, “I just graduated this past spring, a few months before moving to Middlebrook.”

“I see,” Father replied, sparing a suspicious glance in my direction.

*

As Audrey began clearing the table, a task which Ember insisted on helping with, my father all but dragged me back to his study. Only he and Ambrosia I respected so highly I allowed them to treat me in such a way. “You hardly spoke two sentences during brunch,” I stated in my desire to take control of the conversation.

“Oh, believe me, I deduced plenty,” he replied with obvious annoyance.

“Such as?” I asked innocently.

“You knew of the unknown’s existence months before she arrived, didn’t you?”

“Please do not refer to her as such.”

“Answer the question, Phoenix.” I rubbed my stumbled chin, before I nodded and said, “Yes, her existence was brought to my attention months ago.”

“You’ve been planning on making her your companion long before the ball,” he stated. Seeing as he did not say it in the form of a question I chose not to reply, which was all the confirmation he needed.

*

My father massaged the back of his neck in his trademark contemplative fashion. After a deep sigh, he said, “You believe her to be the paragon you dreamed up when you were nine… don’t you?”

“Does it matter?”

“Dammit, Phoenix!” He began pacing the room in frustration as he ran his hands through his short thin hair. I let him stew for a moment before he rounded on me and with an eerie calm said, “This stays between us.”

“Add it to the pile.”

“You’re on dangerous ground, Son. If your intentions come to light, it would spell disaster for you both.”

“A fact I am well aware.”

*

Father ceased pacing and half-sat on the front edge of the desk as he looked at me and asked, “Can you feel the bond? Is there an energetic reaction when you make contact with her?”

“How do you know the signs?”

“When you became king, I began doing research on destined companions… just in case.” Just in case I was right about my vision, were the words he hesitated to say.

*

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I wanted to know.

“Your mother,” he replied. Those two words were all the answer needed, but he continued, “She refused to even entertain the possibility what you saw all those years ago could be true. I let her unrelenting logic of its improbability sway me from listening to my own son’s well-tuned instincts.”

“Instinct had nothing to do with it. God all but slapped me in the face with destiny,” I said with a soft laugh. I’d carried the weight of my vision over two decades. The impact was new to him, therefore, he didn’t have a laugh to spare. He did, however, look at me with an expression of awe as he asked, “Is she the one then? Is she your other half?” I moved to stand directly in front of him and placed a hand on his shoulder as I replied, “She is.”

“Then I have one question.”

“And that would be?”

“How do you plan to tell her?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author’s Note:

French:

mon petit monstre = my little monster

*

Thanks for reading!

Chapter sixteen coming next Sunday, February 19.