Are You Married?

THEY left the glass court and exited the castle onto the royal ground. The sky was pitch-back, and Eira had lifted her head for a moment to glance at the stars, but the captain of the royal guard pulled her with a spine-snapping force. 

"Get in." A carriage was right in front of them, its polished mahogany panels gleaming under the bright light of the glass lamps stationed around every corner of the massive royal ground. 

The coachman, with dark shoulder-length hair and violet eyes, climbed down to settle his feet on the concrete floor. He was about Eira's height of one hundred and sixty-five centimeters and as thin as she was. 

"My lord!" His smile widened, and he rushed towards Valek with open arms. 

Valek, however, caught him by his head and shoved him aside. "Behave, Azrael, and get the horses ready."

Eira didn't take her eyes off the man until the door of the carriage was closed by the captain. 

Azrael puckered his lips and scoffed, walking over and climbing back up to sit down on the boot of the carriage. The horses moved, and they headed towards the massive gate. 

After minutes of silence, Eira turned to Valek, who sat opposite her in the carriage. "Rumor has it that every butler of yours ended up dying within a certain period. Is that going to be my fate as well?" 

The captain surveyed her up and down, frowned, and averted his gaze. 

"Do you intend to ignore me forever, my lord?" 

His jaw tightened, and he clamped his teeth. "Was I ignoring you? Or perhaps you asked a question that reeked of ignorance, intentionally poking at my nerves." 

Eira's brows rose, and she pursed her lips. "How old are you, my lord?"

"Twenty five." Oh, he answered! How surprising. 

She batted her lashes at him, giggling. "Such a young hybrid! Your existence alone is impressive, and it baffles me that you were able to hide it for this long and even become a royal guard. But do you want to know what is even more impressive?" 

He nodded. "What?" 

"Becoming Gavaria's greatest enemy and leaving its mighty king on the edge of his seat at the age of nineteen." But the captain said nothing. She continued either way, "I know it is very impressive. Think about the hell I went through from the age of eleven and how hard I had to train to have this skill, build my own kingdom, and get them to serve me with loyalty."

"The very ones that got you caught?" the captain said it with mockery in his tone. 

Those weren't the words Eira had expected from him. 

She frowned, checking her irritation. "You do not know how to hold a proper conversation with a lady. It is not very gentlemanly of you," she said through gritted teeth. "And, point of correction, my skill didn't fail me, and my people didn't betray me. The betrayer was foreign." 

"I don't care, Mourean." 

"You're very unpleasant to talk to." She rubbed on her wrist, fixing her shackles as if they were bangles, and smiled slowly. "Lord Valek Trancy." 

"Are you married?" 

"No."

She fanned herself with a hand. "I'm not married either." 

"What are you implying?" The captain grimaced. 

"Nothing." Eira slurred her words and tried not to laugh. "You're an earl and the captain of the royal guards. I can't help but wonder how many of the court ladies must wish to bear children for-"

"Will you keep shut, or do you need me to slit your throat first?" Valek's nostrils flared. 

Her hand subconsciously went to her throat, and beads of cold sweat dropped from her forehead. "That is not very gentlemanly of you, my lord." 

The carriage came to a halt, and Valek reached for the door. 

"Why have we stopped?" she asked. 

Valek opened the door and stepped down to the wet concrete ground. He stretched his hand out for her, motioning for her to get down. "We've arrived," he said. 

Eira moved to get down, but he took hold of her skinny waist, lifting her off the carriage and down to her feet. 

The gates before them were closed, obstructing the stone wall-rounded compound. 

"Bring that one along," the captain said to Azrael. 

"Hey!" Eira bristled. "That's rude!" Was she a bag of trash to him? 

Azrael grabbed her by her shackles, and they approached an entrance that led to a marble courtyard, where a water fountain was sculpted. 

"The king sure holds you in quite high regard," she commented. The captain didn't say a word, nor did he spare her a glance. But she didn't stop. "Will he take away all these riches if he finds out who you truly are?" 

The tip of a knife was pressed against her throat, and she shifted her ashen eyes to Azrael, who didn't appear amused by her questions. 

"Watch your mouth before I paint you with your filthy blood," he warned.