Bernie (Guardians In Love Book 3)

by Brianna West

  All of these women here were nothing more than decorative objects. They weren’t prized for more than who they were betrothed to or who they succeeded in being claimed by. Yet, that’s all they wished to be. They never endeavored for more than what they could obtain with their sensual glances and barely clothed bodies.

  Because women were so few and far between in our population, heavily outnumbered by men, they were wooed after by nearly every man that crossed their paths. It wasn’t for reasons of love and adoration, but simply, these men wanted to continue their family lines, and it was a great honor to be chosen. And the women had reasons of their own for leading each one of them astray, be it wealth or other, that they sought to trail a string of googly eyed hopefuls endlessly until their very wedding day. It was a sort of game amongst the ladies at court. Vindictive, calculating, and overall deceitful—that was who nearly every woman looking to marry into society was.

  Disgusting.

  But women who belonged to the five families of court weren’t as lucky. Like my betrothal to Anric, often, women in the five families were betrothed at birth. Their purpose was only to produce heirs, from what my father instituted during his rule. A life sworn to a man you hadn’t been given any choice to be with and continuously having his children, until you either could no longer birth them, or he sought his affections elsewhere. A world ruled by man. A world I had no desire to be a part of.

  It was at my brother, Yaniv’s, beckoning that I was allowed to become a warrior—my saving grace from this horrid life of subservience to man. Anric was only given permission to tutor me on how to control the ranks, as he was eventually to become my husband, so my father saw little reason to worry about what Anric permitted me to do of his own freewill. Though, I didn’t think that it was my father’s initial intention to let me oversee his army. But with the passing years and my talent for fighting, Father sought nothing more than his own selfish whims, so I was all but forgotten in the mix of it.

  Thankfully so. I’d go mad if I was counted among the decorative, deceitful objects in the room.

  The man who sat at the head of the room with his leg crossed over and a black robe flowing over his chair and onto the floor was my eldest brother, Yaniv. His tall form was majestic in the chair he sat; the one that he had taken from my father that sported the weapons of all the previously fallen kings. His pure black hair framed light blue eyes as they trailed from the conversing crowd below to where I stood at the entrance.

  Though Yaniv appeared rather lithe at first glance, he was the strongest of our kind and wielded a similarly large sword to mine. His true face—the one very rarely seen by those he didn’t trust—was genuine but incredibly clever, and always foresaw what one might try to do to him well before that person had even the notion of doing so themselves. As Anric once said, Yaniv was always ‘one hundred steps ahead’ when most endeavored to be two. But he was my most beloved brother and my greatest ally in this world of deceit and ulterior motive.

  Yaniv’s lips lifted in a silent greeting as he beckoned me over with his hand. “Come, Sister,” he urged, immediately quieting the room with his deep, entreating voice.

  He was so handsome in his little dark robe with silver and gold embroidery. I was secretly hoping he would tell me who tailored his robe so I could have that very same embroidering on my armor.

  The gaggle of women that hovered near his chair dispersed as I walked over, the clink of metal along my armor and weapon the only sound echoing in the throne room as I made my way purposefully over to him. I kept my eyes trained to my brother, ignoring the stares of those I passed, knowing them to be of equal distaste for my rebellious decision to fashion my battle garb in their presence.

  Most of the court thought my affinity for battle and unashamed love for fighting was disdainful and evidence of ill-breeding. Since I was the youngest, many thought I was allowed to do whatever I wished. None of them understood how a woman that was only a means for reproduction should be allowed to fight, but I cared very little for their opinion of me.

  Most of these people were jerks anyway.

  Luckily, my indifference towards them wasn’t a lie. I didn’t care for their silent judgment or ulterior motives. I’d rather be out on the battlefield with my men, who thought of nothing but conquering our enemy and saw me only as their fellow comrade. It was where I felt slightly freer than the current chains of this room with all its intense and unforgiving high society expectations.

  I took a knee, crossing my arm over my chest like one of my soldiers and giving the room even more reason to recoil with distaste. “My King,” I greeted, though I’d much rather throw myself at him and embrace the smile right onto his face.

  I’d do it when he wasn’t looking and the many judgmental eyes of society weren’t upon us, because my eldest brother knew who I was even when I did my best to conceal it. There was nothing I could hide from him, because Yaniv was not only intelligent and perceptive, he also cared deeply enough for me to watch and know who I was in spite of my convincing fabricated persona.

  Smart and handsome, that was my elusive older brother!

  “How are you, dear sister?” Yaniv asked, a knowing glint in his eyes as he kissed my head tenderly and motioned for me to take a seat beside him, “I see you are quite at home in your armor.”

  The loud clack of my weapon drew the eyes that hadn’t already been on me as I took a seat beside him and rested the large sword next to me, keeping my chin lifted as I glared down at a few of the men that clicked their tongues at me. The chiding sound had come mostly from my two older brothers, Helson and Claude, who weren’t in the least bit happy that I’d gone to battle. Their silver eyes were trained to me from the moment I sat down, but soon they lost interest and spoke to the status-hungry vixens crowding around them.

  Music lifted into the air as I crossed a leg over, fixing the belt around my waist and eyeing my brother for a moment before sucking in an irritated breath. “I would have been better if you had called upon me after I had won the battle.”

  Yaniv’s mouth lifted into a small smile, blue eyes luminous. “Anric has already imparted your rather dishonorable actions on the battlefield.”

  Already?! That bastard.

  My face was trained, showing no emotion. “You left me with little choice, Brother.”

  Yaniv glanced at the crowd. “I see, my apologies,” he replied sarcastically, motioning at the guards to clear the room, “I have some unseemly news of our brother.”

  The room cleared out in seconds as I turned to look at the glowing eyes of my eldest brother. “What news?”

  “It was as we suspected all this time,” he said deeply, voice penetrating the air with violence, “He has betrayed our kind.”

  No.

  “It…surely there’s an explanation,” I started, searching my brother’s face as it grew sullen, “Vlad could not—no, he would not, Brother.”

  “But he has.” Yaniv pushed back his hair, which was decorated with expensive stones and metals, braided through and brushing along his alabaster jaw. “I will be sending Helson and Claude to the mortal realm to—”

  “No!” I yelled, breaking through my usual stoic regard and clamoring out of the chair, “Please, Brother, let me retrieve him. I can talk some sense into him.”

  “It is too late, Nyla. There has been enough talking. With this, action must be taken or we risk an insurgency in court.”

  Vlad could be convinced. There must be a reason he thought he had to betray us, because, like me, he had always hated the chains of our birth and sought to escape at every opportunity. My father had imprisoned him for the last transgression, but Yaniv had pardoned him when he came into rule.

  “It is not too late, Yaniv. Please, you must let me seek him out,” I pleaded shamelessly, breaking character for the sake of a beloved brother who I’d bonded with over our distaste of finer society.

  Yaniv cradled his chin, seeking something in my expression before he was sighing with a sad smile. �
��Very well.”

  I did it!

  “Under a few stipulations,” he added with his brow drawn down and the usual clever spark in his eyes.

  “Anric!” The massive man materialized in the throne room, on a knee with his head bowed in reverence. “Get in contact with the Promiscus Guardians and their leader, Simon. I wish to secure a team to help assist with my runaway brother.” Anric stood, eyes straying over to me before he was bowing and leaving without argument.

  “The Promiscus Guardians?” I asked, confused by Yaniv having mentioned the mixed creatures who policed the mortal realm.

  “You will be partnering with one of their teams to seek Vlad in the human world. Neither you nor Anric know enough of the human world as it currently stands to blend in well enough to find him.”

  Yaniv stood from his chair, triggering me to get to my feet as well. “You will need a guide. It will also be an opportunity to cement our ties with the Guardians for further ventures into the mortal realm.”

  Rely on the Guardians to be our guide?

  “Wait,” I started, eyes searching the space Anric had previously occupied, “Anric?”

  “You are too vulnerable to travel there alone. Our enemies are everywhere, Nyla. With you being the only female heir, there will be those that would seek to use you now that we have come into the war against the Dark.”

  Before he could go on further, Anric reappeared, on his knee once more. “I have secured a pair of Guardians to guide us. They will meet us on the morrow in our time. I suspect that you intend for my Princess and I to leave quickly?”

  Yaniv smiled at the man, gesturing for Anric to rise. “As always, you work swiftly. Gather the necessary items for your travels and visit me in my chambers, Anric, before you go. There is further instruction I wish to give you. You will, however, be given two weeks, Sister, to find and convince our brother.”

  “Only two weeks?!” I asked loudly before I cut off the sound with my hand, ashamed my emotions had gotten the better of me.

  “Two weeks in our realm is dramatically more in theirs. It would give you several months to achieve what you seek to do there,” my brother said coolly, waving me away, “I do hope you convince our brother, but should you not, I will send Helson and Claude in two weeks’ time to arrest him and return him here to be judged.”

  My brother came over, kissed me on the cheek, and swiftly walked off the other direction, where a door at the corner of the room connected with his personal chambers. He disappeared the instant a soft breath escaped my lips as I realized I was going to the mortal world—a place I’d dreamt of since I was a child. I looked over my shoulder to where Anric stood, his blue eyes gleaming brightly in the low light of the room.

  “My Princess,” he said with a secretive smile, bowing in mocking.

  Jerk.

  “Call me Nyla from now on,” I said, unable to keep the smile from reaching my mouth as I walked over to him, “We will need to blend in with the humans from here forth.”

  “Of course, your wish is my command,” Anric said, chuckling when I slammed him with the hilt of my retrieved weapon. My speed was something even he couldn’t match.

  I was brimming with excitement, knowing that I was going to meet the Promiscus Guardians. Even more so, I was eager to convince my brother and bring him home.

  Chapter Two

  ~***~

  I stood in front of the eight-foot standing mirror in my personal quarters, fixing the braids weaving through my hair as I pulled them into a tight ponytail. I licked my lips, moistening them in face of the image I intended to project to our new companions. Not one iota of emotion appeared on my face as silver eyes grew luminous in the mirrored image of a short woman with a slight frame, dressed in fresh attire—a tightly fitted tunic and thin pant with leather armor signature to royalty strapped to my body by black and silver metal buckles.

  But inside, I was overcome with giddy readiness to venture into the mortal world.

  The woman, whose pink-blonde hair gleamed in candlelight and whose flawlessly alabaster skin matched that of her brother’s, stared back at me with all the regality afforded to her over a lifetime of projecting nothing but indifference and authority. But my mouth was twitching slightly; a sign to those closest to me that emotion was heightened inside and my inner personality was running rampant.

  I got to go to the human world! I got to be Nyla and not princess to the Spiritum Bellatorum. I’d simply be Nyla, the warrior seeking a traitor to bring him to either sense or justice.

  I hoped that Vlad could be convinced, but I knew how greatly my brother wished to escape our life here. How long he had fought to get away and never did. Now that he had been backed into a corner, he did the one thing that would never allow him back into the good graces of our kingdom—he brought darkness to our realm. He had used his magic freely to assist the Dark. He had made enemies with the Promiscus Guardians. All of which had been told to me earlier by Anric when I’d come to gather what I needed to stay in the human world, though I wasn’t really sure what all that entailed.

  I’d only heard stories of the human world from Yaniv and my mother, who was an avid supporter of making ties with the Guardians and people like them. But she had died just days after I turned five, so my memories of her were limited and growing hazy.

  “My Princess?”

  Holy mother!

  “Yes?” I asked, keeping my tone light as I recovered from my internal shock and took my weapon from where it rested next to the mirror, securing it to my back and turning to look at Anric as he strode into the room.

  His eyes swept down my body once before the side of his lip lifted. “What outfit number is that one?”

  “I hardly know what you mean,” I retorted evenly, kicking the small pile of clothing beside my bed all the way beneath it, “I was simply looking for the right fighting attire to wear.”

  Anric fingered his jaw, scratching the light stubble as his eyes trailed to where I’d hidden the pile of clothing, then back to my face. Thankfully, I’d maintained the stoicism and lackluster expression I usually carried.

  “Of course you were. But I fear that you may find yourself changing once more. You will be found out very quickly dressed like that. Also, we will need to conceal your weapon with magic.”

  My baby!

  “I…but why? Do humans not carry weapons on their person?”

  Anric coughed into his hand, obviously amused, the jerk. “Not like yours, no.”

  I touched the hilt of my weapon, sighing unhappily before removing it. “Do what you must,” I said, handing it over and wandering a short distance to my armoire in hopes of finding another outfit that was suitable for our human world excursion.

  Anric came over to me after casting my weapon inside a concealment charm with his dark grey magic before looking to where I searched through my travelling clothes. “If I may?”

  Glancing over my shoulder, I nodded and he came around to assist with the search through my clothes. Or so I originally thought, but instead, he unhooked the leather that had been held together by metal buckles on the chest and leg armor I wore and pulled the form-fitting pieces off my body without hesitation, tossing the armor back into the drawer before stepping away with a slight grin.

  “Much more human-like,” he said, smiling at me handsomely.

  I felt naked!

  “This?” I looked down at the simple shirt and pair of pants I favored underneath my armor because it was comfortable and easy to move in. “This is hardly an outfit, Anric. What would the elders say?”

  “Nothing,” he remarked, eyes straying down once more and forcing me to cross my arms against my chest, “We leave under the cloak of night.”

  Secret mission spies!

  “Whatever for?” I turned, internally giggling as I thought about the prospects of sneaking out of the kingdom like some sort of degenerate.

  Anric sighed, taking the small suitcase I’d packed and lugging it with him to the door. I followed, pra
ctically running after him until I managed to calm myself enough to return to my normal pace.

  “Your brothers weren’t quite onboard with your searching for Vlad in their stead,” Anric disclosed, looking left and right before bringing my arm into his elbow and escorting me down the hall as he often did, “So your brother thought it best that they weren’t told of it at all. He will have them searching for Vlad in the realm for the next two weeks, which will give you enough time to find him in the mortal realm.”

  Going against my jerk brothers and visiting a place I’d dreamt of seeing since childhood, I was definitely enjoying this mission well before it had begun.

  ~*~

  I stared at the world around us, marveling at the yellow, nearly white light as it beamed down from above. The world of color expanded far beyond what I could see, and I was lost to the many marvels of it as we stood just after our venture through the portal to the human realm.

  Anric glanced around us, seemingly agitated that no one had greeted us upon our arrival. I wasn’t as worried as he was as I took to walking through the golden field, brushing my fingers over the blades of high grass that appeared strikingly similar to what one might see in our realm. But somehow, it all felt oddly different in this new world I’d set foot inside.

  “They should have met us here,” he grumbled, crossing his large arms against his chest as he searched the area again with his light eyes, “I think we should venture to the nearest town and call upon their leader once more.”

  My gaze darted to the side, body suddenly postured with alarm at the abrupt shift in the air. Anric had already drawn his blade, stepping lightly and swiftly to stand in between the place where we felt the sensation of something amiss and where I currently stood, protecting me. I gripped my concealed sword, the metal glinting as it materialized. I held it aloft, at the ready for whatever crept slowly towards us.

  Something pulsed and the softest sounds of unnaturally fluctuating grass drew my eyes to the side as I was unexpectedly face to face with the illuminated gaze of gold and orange eyes, which accompanied a strong body that moved through the field, oddly blending in with it in spite of the clearly mismatched colors.