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Jes sat down next to her again and stared at Willon’s roof some more.
“He
“She knows Guardians are vulnerable,” Seraph corrected firmly. “She knows there are things that are very dangerous for Guardians—very strong emotions, even good ones, are difficult. When you are falling in love, Jes, you have nothing but strong emotions. One minute you’re happy, the next you’re sad.”
Jes nodded in emphatic agreement.
She wished Tier was here, to say the next part. But she needed to warn Jes, and this was as good a time as any other.
“Another thing that will be very difficult for you is sex,” she told him.
Jes stiffened beside her, and Seraph kept her face a little averted so he couldn’t see the rising color in her cheeks. She cleared her throat. “You have a hard enough time controlling the volatile nature of the Guardian without dealing with your own emotions ru
“The Guardian is closer,” he told her. “He used to sleep a lot, but now he’s always near. We switch more often, too.” He hesitated. “He listens to me better, though, and when he takes over, I can still be there with him. I used to wake up walking in the woods and not know why, but now he usually lets me stay if I want to.”
“I didn’t know that,” said Seraph. “It sounds like a good thing to me.”
He nodded. “To me, too.”
“He
“She wants to leave to save me,” he said, and, from his aggravated tone, he wasn’t appreciative of the idea.
“She wants you to be safe because she loves you,” said Seraph.
His head jerked around.
“Your father told me she loves you,” she told him, knowing he’d trust Tier’s judgment.
He took a deep breath, his shoulders softening with some emotion Seraph thought might just be simple relief.
“She loves you too much to trust in your strength when it is your life at risk. She doesn’t see what a gift she is to you: a woman who is not afraid of the Guardian, a Raven who has enough control she can touch you without causing you distress, a woman who is strong enough to love an Eagle.”
A slow smile crept across his face. “Pretty,” he said, and Seraph felt an answering smile rise in her.
“Very,” she agreed.
Jes stood up and started for the temple, but then stopped and turned back to her. Seraph got to her feet—slowly, because the hair on the back of her neck told her it was the Guardian who watched her out of her son’s eyes.
“Why is she still here?” he asked. “If she wanted to leave to save us, why doesn’t she just leave? The puzzle of the gems is more important than Jes is?”
“The gems are more than just a puzzle,” answered Seraph. “Guardian, the Travelers are dying. We can’t afford to lose so many Orders when the Orders may be the only thing that can save us. I don’t know why she hasn’t told me everything she knows, but I think she has earned the right to expect me to trust her judgment.”
The Guardian nodded and retreated behind Jes’s eyes. “It’s all right if He
Seraph raised her eyebrows and started walking toward the temple. “Oh, he does, does he?”
Jes laughed.
CHAPTER 5
The pristine antechamber of Seraph’s memory was gone. The temple flooring was covered with dirt blown in through the open doors. The furnishings Seraph remembered were gone.
Only when she and Jes entered the great domed chamber with its frescoed birds flying in a circle around a false sky did the temple match her memories, even down to the magelights that illuminated the walls. She wondered how long the lights would continue without the wizard who fed them.
Jes paused to look at the eagle that dominated the sky. “He thought the Eagle was the Stalker, didn’t he?”
“No,” Seraph said, walking briskly toward a door on the far side of the room. “He didn’t know anything about the Stalker at all, except that it was trapped. He knew even less about the Eagle. You know Travelers don’t talk about the Eagles because your Order has enough to bear, and the clans try to protect the Guardians from the few things we can. Volis heard whispers of parts of the two stories and put them together with a handful of straw and came out with nonsense.”
Jes followed her out of the room.
They found the library and the others, thanks to Jes, who followed the sounds of voices through the labyrinthine series of narrow halls dug into the stone of the mountain.
Though it was a large room, it was sparsely furnished, as if Volis had just begun to fill it. One wall was lined with shelves that were half-filled with books. On the other side of the room were a bench, a chest, and several cabinets. Lehr and Ri
He
Seraph couldn’t help but smile at her a little smugly. “Ravens like secrets.”
“Papa said,” agreed Jes cheerfully.
He walked behind Ri
“That’s a karis,” he said, pointing at a picture of one of the little wagons. “The Lark, Brewydd, had one of those she rode in because she was very old.” He looked up at He
He
“What did you say to him?” she demanded, her usual aura of calmness gone as if it had never been.
In contrast, Seraph felt quite tranquil—an unusual state for her. She enjoyed it.
“His hearing is quite good,” she reminded He
He
“Why are you doing this? Why encourage him?” He
“My son doesn’t hide from life,” said Seraph, making no effort to shield her words from the three people in the next room, who were doubtlessly holding their breath so they could hear better. “You might trust him to know what he can bear and what he ca
He
“I told him nothing but the truth as I know it,” said Seraph. “What he does with that knowledge is his business—and perhaps yours.” She looked at the other Raven and sighed, putting away her secret amusement. “Life can be so hard sometimes, He
Deciding she had dispensed more advice than she was comfortable with, Seraph left He