Bernie (Guardians In Love Book 3)

by Brianna West

  Round ears and fur, like a beast that one might come across in my realm, but nothing I’d ever seen in my travels. Its fangs and sharp claws were another indication it was a creature that didn’t lack the ability to harm us.

  But despite the clear danger it suggested with its mere appearance alone, I was mesmerized by it. Utterly enchanted. It was beautiful. There was something so unique about its power, which seemed to permeate through the air with a full-body static, that I was almost left paralyzed by my interest in this powerful beast.

  Another pulse from our left had Anric moving, his unparalleled speed taking him across the field to where another body, much like the first, moved low in the grass. Each movement that the two beasts made was calculated and confident, done in unison and perfectly in sync with each other. Which was reason enough to attack before our enemy had an opportunity to.

  My heavy weapon cut through the air as I lunged towards the beast nearest me, who had continued its slow crawl, nearly painted against the ground as its striped body and powerful shape appeared to be postured for an attack. But before I went after it, I stopped abruptly as the beast quickly transformed into a man that smiled with elation. Orange and red magic swirled over his naked form, clothing his body before my eyes had managed to see what couldn’t be unseen. I shuddered with surprise at the sight of him once the orange and red power had faded, stiffly holding my sword at my side.

  Bloody hell! What sort of beast was he? Animal or man? I’d only heard of such creatures, but I’d never seen one in the flesh.

  “Carl! Carl! I got the cutie!” the man yelled, his amber eyes glowing brightly as he stampeded across the space separating us with impressive speed.

  But I was quicker. I twirled and kicked him right into his abdomen, lofting the huge man-beast backwards and sending him colliding loudly with a far-off tree, the impact triggering creatures of all makes to flee from it in fright. Most of them becoming airborne.

  I somersaulted, landing with my weapon low to the ground and my body poised as I prepared for another assault. Not totally sure what we faced, because I knew these creatures harbored skills that weren’t easily seen upon first glance, I silently prepared for a magical attack as well.

  Anric was instantly at my side, his massive body heaving before he was nodding twice—our signal for me to stand down. “No need,” Anric said shortly, “These are the Guardians we were waiting for.”

  These two?

  I watched as the man wearing a hat wobbled from where he had made contact with the gigantic tree, breaking it at the base. Suddenly, the tree tilted sideways before it was crashing into the other trees beside it. The man froze, pivoting to watch the slow destruction of forest behind him before turning back around and smiling sheepishly.

  He rolled his shoulders, the gleam of his golden skin drawing my eyes to where heavily muscled arms and a supple torso were exposed. He certainly embodied a strong warrior, though his reaction time needed improvement. He began to shake bits of the tree he had stuck from his hair and shirt, further intriguing me when I read what was written across the chest of the shirt he had chosen to wear with some strange form of pants and boots.

  “In touch with my animal side?” I asked as I read his shirt aloud.

  The large man who had been thrown into a tree walked forward with an odd smile on his face, pulling the fabric of his shirt as the other man, the one Anric had gone after, came to the strange man-beast’s side. And suddenly, there were two of him. I glanced over to Anric, unsure if I was somehow seeing double or the man could clone himself.

  “His twin,” Anric explained, leaving me still mystified as the two came forward, “An identical brother.”

  Twins? How rare. More so, they were bloody gorgeous.

  My gaze strayed from the one I’d thrown into a tree to the other man-beast, whose hair was drawn back and away from his face with some sort of hair product. Many of my kind had naturally luscious hair, but they too enjoyed a similar look from time to time. His amber eyes and sun-kissed face were the same as the one I’d assaulted—strong and masculine, yet gentle in the eyes and mouth—as he smiled the moment I looked at him.

  “I apologize for our rude introduction,” the nicely dressed Guardian said, coming forward and bowing, “It is a great honor to meet you, Princess Nyla.”

  Oh no, bloody Anric already told them of my position among our kind. I leered at the tall blue-eyed man beside me, knowing he did it on purpose with the small upturn of his mouth.

  “Nyla,” I said shortly, glancing at the charming, well-spoken man that addressed me, “I would prefer to keep my status in the realm between us, if you would. And what might I call you?”

  Before the first could speak, the one I’d injured just minutes before strode forward, taking my hand abruptly into his and instantly regretting the move as I took hold of his finger and brought him to a knee with the singular shift of my hand, ready to break the digit right off.

  “Holy smokes!” he yelped out, taking hold of his hand as I put pressure on the finger I held captive before he was nodding his head, “I give, princess, I give!”

  Aw, how cute was he?!

  “Very well,” I said coolly, releasing him as he fell to his hands and knees, inhaling relieved pants of air.

  His eyes flew up my form, fixing to my face as his smile grew unexpectedly broad. “I think I’m in love!”

  He got to his feet, his short brown hair still sporting bits of grass and bark as he put a hand across his chest, for what reason I’d never know, and lifted his chin with a grin. “The name is Bernard Johnson, princess. I will be your personal guide while you’re here.”

  He recovered nicely from his injuries, so I could definitely see potential there. I might even make something out of the clearly disturbed man-beast while we were here.

  Vigor returned, I pinned my stare to him. “You may address me as Nyla, strange man-beast.”

  “She called me a man-beast, Carl, did ya hear?” Bernard said spiritedly as he elbowed his brother.

  Carl pushed Bernard away with the palm of his hand, sending the excitable man-beast off kilter. “Shut it, or I’ll let her use that massive sword on you.”

  Bernard shouted a laugh, shuffling so he didn’t fall with his hat waving through the air. “Aw, this stuffy brother of mine is just jealous you called me a man-beast before him.”

  Carl scoffed, causing my eyes to fix to his face as one side of his lips lifted into a sarcastic smile. “I’m pretty sure it wasn’t a compliment, dear idiot brother of mine.”

  Anric stepped forward, his looming form not in the least off-putting to the strangely excited Guardian by the smile he tossed my tall bodyguard. “See that you never touch Princess Nyla again, or I shall not be as forgiving as she.”

  “Ooh, he’s so powerful and alluring,” Bernard said, his voice pitching and growing girlish as he removed his hat and curtsied, “And who might you be?”

  The man bearing the same face as the other, but definitely not the same personality by any means, just shook his head with a deep sigh, clearly not in the least bit surprised by this interesting Guardian’s antics. Anric wasn’t as interested as I was in Bernard, his jaw clenching and hand growing tight around the handle of his sword.

  “Anric,” he said shortly, voice gruff, “I am Princess Nyla’s betrothed.”

  Bernard glanced at me shortly before he smiled again, taking Anric’s hand forcefully and shaking it. “An honor, sir. You do a mighty good job of appearing just the right amount of imposing and manly, so I’m eager to work with you.”

  I was starting to wonder if this Guardian, Bernard, was a masochist that enjoyed being beaten. I’d definitely enjoy him more if he was. I loved how quickly he bounced back, but I was more curious to know about these beast forms that they had greeted us with.

  I’d only come across a few that could be similar—Dragon Spirits, which were able to partially or fully transform into a dragon; or demons, as they could appear quite human until they transf
ormed into their given shapes, to name a few examples. These beasts were unknown where my knowledge was concerned.

  Nevertheless, I couldn’t appear too eager to know what these beasts were. It was ill-breeding to appear even the slightest bit interested in such things, so I had to hold back from asking too many questions that would indicate I was.

  “I’m Carl, this idiot’s brother, unfortunately.” The other Guardian came forward, his button-down shirt and pants a bit more familiar to me, as they were worn by quite a few of my kind.

  It was a casual sort of dress for us to wear, but I knew of a few that favored a similar kind of dress on a daily basis. His vest was nicely tailored and fitted to his chest. The pants were wrinkleless and tight around a strong waist, where a weapon was holstered onto a fitted belt. I wasn’t quite familiar with such a weapon, but I’d heard of what it might be. For confirmation, I would ask Anric later in private, as not to appear rude by questioning men I’d only just met.

  With Anric’s nod of permission, the other Guardian, Carl, took my hand and placed a greeting kiss that was similar to how I was greeted by subjects when I was forced to appear in court. The only difference was that it was light, simple, and without motive. His smile was genuine and kind, which made me want to smile and hug him around the shoulders, but I was able to refrain as he pulled away. I enjoyed his simple, yet genuinely courteous mannerisms. They appealed to me greatly.

  I could see Carl and I being fast friends.

  But surprisingly, I found my eyes straying back to where Bernard stood, shaking the leaves and bits of bark from his head finally after feeling around his short brown locks for a minute to check for injury. His amber eyes drifted from where he wiped dirt from his pants up to mine, glimmering the moment our eyes connected.

  Oh my god, he was absolutely gorgeous! Both of them were. I especially loved their gold-colored flesh as it shimmered much like the precious metal in the sun.

  Not one person in my kingdom had such tan skin. It was something only the Ignitherials—Fire Sprites—were inherently in possession of. Terratherials—Earth Sprites—could also have such complexions, but not at all like the Ignitherials.

  Bernard’s smile was sweet as he shuffled closer, eyes straying to Anric for a moment before he bent his head down to my level and winked. “Like what you see, princess? Bernie here will be your knight in shining—”

  My sword rose to his throat, the blade touching where his Adam’s apple bobbed with the uncomfortable closeness of the sharp, deadly edge. Bernard’s hands went up as I peered into his amber eyes, face expressionless as Anric shifted angrily at my side. But he wouldn’t intervene unless I needed him to.

  I very rarely did.

  “I may not be your princess, sir, but I am royalty and expect to be treated as such,” I said evenly, keeping my blade at his throat. My gaze trailed to his brother, finding that Carl was smiling to himself, pleased with Bernard being put in his place.

  Interesting.

  “That’s a pretty impressive weapon for such a delicate princess,” Bernard said, hands still raised as he glanced between me and the sword at his throat.

  I pressed the metal further into his skin, seeing that his forehead was now perspiring with either the heat of the sun, or the nearness of my blade. Either way, it was making my pulse thrum steadily in my ears with excitement.

  He looked absolutely adorable with his hands up in surrender. Just a bit more and I’d let him go.

  “I am not the least bit delicate, Guardian. I have killed men with this sword, and I am not beneath punishing those that seek to go against me, be it with action or words,” I said resolutely, sword held without the slightest quiver.

  It was a confidence that I would offer any foe or soldier that I wished to make an example of. I had a reputation to keep, and that person would not stand for anyone making light of my position as royalty.

  “You’re really not the joking type, are ya, miss?”

  Anric growled as Carl took a few steps to stand beside his brother. “I apologize for this imbecile’s transgressions against you, Princess Nyla. I’ll be sure that our team leader duly punishes him for them if that would please you.”

  “Hey! Whose side are you on, you big meanie,” Bernard whined as I withdrew my blade, finding it hard to keep the satisfied smile from reaching my mouth.

  He was hilarious and going to be so much fun to play with when I needed to let my brutality out somewhere. Almost as good as the new recruits. I just might like it here.

  I trained my face, regarding Anric with a nod. “Now that we’ve been introduced, I think it time to see if there is any information to be obtained on Vlad’s whereabouts.”

  Bernard had recovered once more from his near decapitation and was smiling from ear-to-ear as he rested his bulky arm on his brother’s shoulder, tilting his hat at me with another unsubtle wink. Apparently, he didn’t seem to recall that his earlier flirtation was the very reason he had nearly lost his head, so I was interested to see what he might try next.

  I always did enjoy breaking the recruits’ spirits before building them back up again. It was one of the many training techniques that Anric had taught me.

  “Let’s saddle up, yee-haw!” Bernard shouted enthusiastically.

  Helplessly taken with his strange personality, I followed the brothers as they led us to our first venture in the human world.

  Chapter Three

  ~***~

  I glanced around the area as we took a path leading into a strange town that was built very differently from our world. Though, one would have to be sort of envious of these humans; for they didn’t lack any sort of creativity, nor did they lack the means of executing it.

  Anric and Carl were speaking amongst themselves while I avidly watched the passing humans as they went about their days as though nothing was especially wrong. And truly, for them, nothing ever would be. I shifted the massive weapon at my back, thankful that Anric taught me how to recloak it before we’d arrived.

  My eyes flitted to my right where the Guardian—an intriguing masochistic gentleman named Bernard—sauntered beside me as if he hadn’t a care in the world. His easy-going, naturally charming personality was evident on his face with every sideways glance and smile he paid me. His cute silliness was a breath of fresh air to all the stuffy, arrogant men I was normally surrounded by in my world. His overly expressive face and happy mannerisms made my stomach feel oddly fuzzy.

  I’d only experienced such a sensation a time or two, but each time I had, I had discovered that ultimately with whoever it was that first gave me the feeling that their motives, which were almost always impure, started to show themselves as time passed. Unfortunately, it was never a good sign when I had an unnatural response to another person. It put me slightly on guard with this stranger who projected himself as the happiest man in the room.

  But to be like that, to just allow yourself smile and interact freely with anyone you pleased, I was very envious of him as well. Freedom of who you desired to be was something I knew I’d never truly have, and I was jealous of this man who reminded me of that very reality.

  “Bernard,” I started as my gaze strayed down to his shirt once more, biting back the question I desperately wished to ask, “What exactly is it that you Promiscus Guardians do here?”

  Almost iridescent orange-red eyes met mine as Bernard’s head turned my direction, elation etching its way into his features at my mere asking him a question. His strong form, which ironically was much larger from this angle and would rival that of our strongest warriors, pivoted at the waist as he pushed back somewhat wet, slightly chaotic locks that had been distorted by the hat he chose to wear. He beamed another smile at me, chuckling happily to himself with a soft hue of pink flushing through his cheeks. It was brief, but he almost appeared to be blushing.

  How could this oversized man-beast be so bloody adorable?! It was quite literally baffling, almost to the point of forcing me to question it out loud and against all my royal b
reeding.

  “Bernie,” he corrected, giving me reason to tilt my head, “My friends call me Bernie, little girlie.”

  Anric’s glare shot over to the Guardian. But since we were in the presence of too many humans, punishing him for his rude address of my person wasn’t feasible. “We are not friends, merely acquaintances.”

  Bernard put a hand over his heart, doing a sort of side-skip to keep his body facing my direction as we continued heading towards the middle of town, or so I presumed. He took his hat from his head, which was one I’d never seen until I’d met him, and placed it over his heart.

  “You injure me with your words, Nyla. Do you not see me as a friend?”

  His eyes were so beautiful when the light caught them from his current angle as it rained down from the heavens. His antics and jokester nature didn’t detract from how truly handsome he was. Actually, all of his masculinity was elevated by his eager and happy demeanor.

  Bernard had a strong, square jaw that was shadowed by a growth of facial hair accompanied by a body that exuded power, even in spite of the ridiculous clothes he wore. The simple pants hugged massive thighs; the shirt, which was often disturbed by the wind, was loose but didn’t hide the true size of his bulky chest. By every definition of the word, Bernard was very clearly a powerful man.

  But most intriguing of him thus far was that it seemed even he appeared to carry secrets; those secrets insinuated by a concealed marking on his body. When he had turned to greet a passing human woman with an overexaggerated bow, for the briefest moment, a dark mark appeared near the top of his shoulders, where the fabric had come away slightly. It looked to be some sort of marking that one might see of our kind to celebrate their status, but I couldn’t be sure. I’d held back from slipping in closer and taking a longer look at it when I’d seen it. It would be unseemly for a princess to do so.