Guardian Angels Chapter 4

Akarisa groaned, rubbing her forehead roughly. Between staying up most of the day to investigate the abandoned dorm, and being unable to sleep with Kalin's very awake consciousness streaming through her mind, the last thing she wanted was to have to deal with her father. But he had concerns about her ability to handle a meeting with the Karinean council, which she could understand. If she wasn't massively sleep deprived.

Try to get some sleep. Both of us being sleep deprived is going to be miserable. And suspicious.

She could feel Kalin's guilt over having kept her up. She smiled softly. Don't worry about it. It's going to be rough on both of us, adjusting to this.

How long will it take?

That is going to depend on us. Akarisa sighed. Just take everything one breath at a time. Don’t talk to anyone but me or Kieran about us, even if they say they already know about it.

And you’ll always be here in the back of my mind to ask for questions and advice? Akarisa could tell Kalin meant it half-sarcastically, but...

That was the original point of bonds like this, yes.

Kalin’s mind whirred away, a hum of activity that Akarisa tried to shove to the background. She knew the human was just processing the information, but it was very distracting while Akarisa was trying to get ready to meet with her father.

There has to be a way around this.

Well...it doesn’t sound like this bond was created while your people—Ayniel?—were so separated from humans. We would have been on the same or a very similar sleep schedule, right?

I suppose so...Akarisa turned that thought over in her mind before sighing. She was going to be late at best, and at worst, late and unprepared. At least her father had planned on buying her breakfast before their meeting so they could go over a few things before she met the Karinean representative.

I had been nervous enough without an illegal majine in my head.

Sorry...

Akarisa took a deep breath, held it for a moment, and let it back out slowly. I’m not upset with you...none of this is your fault. It’s just frightening and stressful. For both of us.

I’m not sure if I should find that reassuring...but at least we’re not alone?

Akarisa checked her reflection in the mirror, sweeping her hair behind her shoulders before opening the door to step onto the balcony.

Good luck. Kalin sounded sleepy. Hopefully she’d sleep peacefully, without dreaming, so Akarisa could get through this meeting.

Thanks. Sleep well. We’re going to need as much peace and rest as we can get.

Akarisa stepped off the balcony, extending her wings to slow her descent towards the ground. She still had just enough time to walk so she could gather her composure, but if she ended up cutting it too close she could always fly the rest of the way.

The bitterly cold wind whipped at her face, and she pulled her scarf up over her chin. She forced herself to take a deep breath despite the way it stung her throat. You can do this, she told herself firmly. You have to. It’s not just about you anymore.

Thankfully, it seemed like Kalin had fallen asleep, and so far, was sleeping peacefully.

The Ayniel admin building started to appear between the bare tree branches. Akarisa kicked up leaves from the path with every step, watching them catch in the wind and flutter along before drifting back down to the ground. She forced another deep breath, clenching her hands in her coat pockets to stifle their shaking. She picked up her pace as she caught sight of a tall, thin figure pacing the steps leading up to the grand entryway of the building. Her father’s white hair didn’t so much as move in the wind, and his immaculately put together outfit only moved in a flattering manner, exuding authority and control.

Akarisa pulled her coat tighter around her body, hurrying up the old stone steps to take shelter under the overhang supported by marble columns.

“I’m not late.” she said irritably as her father opened her mouth. “I’d rather be on time and ready than early and unprepared.”

He sighed and nodded. “Very well. Let’s go inside.” He held one of the large, engraved dark wood doors open for her, and she pretended she didn’t see his arm shaking with the effort.

He’s getting worse. She stepped through quickly, sparing him the effort of holding it open for longer. She glanced around subtly to see if there was anyone else in the grand entrance hall. A couple of employees bustled about their business in a far corner, but she didn’t see anyone to worry about.

Sirius stepped up behind her, gesturing to the sweeping staircase leading up to the offices. “I have breakfast laid out in my study.” he said, his voice rough.

Akarisa studied him out of the corner of her eye as she kept pace at his side. His condition had definitely deteriorated far more than she’d originally thought.

Sirius was gasping by the time they reached the top of the stairs. Akarisa steered him towards one of the benches along the walls between office doors.

“Sit.” she said firmly. “Just for a minute.” She waved her hand, unlocking her ‘pocket dimension’ as Kalin had referred to it in a rather awestruck manner when she’d gone to start getting ready for her night earlier. She pulled out a stack of papers and handed them to her father. “This is what I have in mind.”

Sirius skimmed the papers as he struggled to catch his breath. His ice blue eyes narrowed as he read, and his lips turned downwards, but he nodded as he handed the papers back to her. “It’s not bad for a first attempt, especially given our...position entering negotiations.”

Akarisa shifted her jaw to keep away the tension. If she’d had her way, those papers would have read much differently.

Sirius looked over at her with something akin to sadness in his gaze. “I know you think we should resist. But this war was already fought long ago, and the Karineans won...and humanity and its allies lost. They rule the stars, and we live under one of those stars.”

“You forget the blood of Karine runs through the veins of every Ayniel. If not us, then who?” Akarisa hissed exasperatedly.

Sirius shook his head. “Aye, Karine blood...and human blood, which weakens us in comparison to them. You will see.”

“Just because we have less magical powers does not make us lesser beings! We are still people, and we deserve to be acknowledged as such!”

Sirius turned to her. “You will see, when you see the delegate. It would cost us far more than we could win to fight them. We must instead protect what we have.”

Akarisa bit her lip hard, tasting blood on her tongue. She licked it away, unable to hide her grimace at the taste. She glanced away from her father, out the window at the bleak landscape. Like a view of my future. She thought bitterly. She sensed a vague stirring in the back of her mind, and wondered if her heightened emotional state would be enough to wake Kalin. Would the human woman be dreaming of Akarisa’s lived experiences?

Akarisa took a deep breath. Calming down was best, for both Kalin’s quality of sleep, and for her own composure meeting the Karinean delegate.

She kept quiet as they reached her father’s suite, forcing herself to take a few bites of fruit and nibble on a pastry from the spread provided. She was aware of her father’s eyes on her, but dismissed his worried expression with irritation.

“So now we wait?” she asked as she set aside the last half of her pastry.

“You should eat more.”

“I’ll be sick if I do. Wouldn’t want to tarnish your oh-so-carefully polished reputation with our handlers.” she spat. Sirius sighed.

“Then yes, we wait.” he said, sounding exhausted. He looked down at the table, and Akarisa realized he had never even gotten a plate for himself.

“You should eat something. You look ready to keel over.” She could’ve sworn she saw him flinch. But he did take an apple from a nearby silver bowl and bite into it.

Akarisa stood and walked over to the windows lining the wall opposite the door, curling up on the windowsill with her forehead against the glass as she swallowed the lump in her throat. The dim, lifeless scene outside contrasted against the opulent reflection of the room behind her did not help her mood. Her father had carefully curated his office as much as his own appearance—all dark wood and silver finish, with deep blue carpets and chairs. His stone fireplace held a merrily crackling blaze. As she studied the two images in the glass, the double doors opened behind her, and two aides stepped inside to clear away the uneaten spread.

Sirius struggled to his feet, moving across the room to his desk as he took his seat, carefully arranged the folders and pens before him. Akarisa huffed, arranging her hair in the mirror before walking around the desk to sit in front of him, crossing her legs and staring past him, out the window, towards the sky. How she longed to break through the glass and spread her wings, to fly free of this net.

How is it that I am the one with wings, and yet Kalin is more free than me?

The next time the doors opened, Sirius lurched to his feet, managing to turn the movement into a respectful bow. Akarisa stood and dropped into a perfect salute in the old style, balancing on the ball of one foot while flourishing her arms and legs in a way that had always felt more comical than elegant to her.

In the doorway stood a beautiful man, with long, light golden hair and pale purple eyes. A noble? Likely a minor noble, but still. He wore a white ceremonial suit and robe, both trimmed with the same light purple as his eyes, with his family sigil presented at every opportunity—tie, cufflinks, embroidered into his robe.

“My lord Fruilen, welcome.” Sirius said.

“Be seated.” The Karinean said, his face expressionless, and his tone cold. Sirius sank into his chair, relieved. Akarisa rose from her salute and reclaimed her own seat, remembering just in time to straighten her back and refrain from crossing her legs again. She tucked her feet under the chair.

The delegate—Lord Fruilen—crossed the room and took the seat next to her, his movements fluid and seemingly effortless. Is this how humans see us? Akarisa quickly replayed some of her interactions with Kalin from the human’s point of view. To her, Akarisa and Kieran had seemed to have similar ethereal qualities. That doesn’t mean anything, though. People are people.

She refocused just in time to hear her father introducing her. “This is my daughter, Akarisa. She is starting to take over her duties as my heir and will be sitting in on this meeting, with your permission, of course.”

Fruilen nodded to her, and she lowered her head respectfully in return.

“Of course, your heir is welcome. Congratulations on your progress.”

Akarisa hoped her pained grimace would pass as a smile to this man. “Thank you, my lord.”

Fruilen returned his attention to Sirius. “Any changes to report?”

“I happily have no concerns to address at this time.”

Fruilen glanced at Akarisa. “Then may I speak with your daughter about how she intends to handle things in the future?”

Sirius spread his hands in an open gesture. “By all means.”

And that’s the real reason why I’m here.

By the time Akarisa finally took a breath of free air, her head throbbed. She could feel her pulse in her eyes. She stumbled over to one of the columns and leaned her forehead against the freezing surface.

The Karinean delegate had grilled her on every topic she’d prepared for and a dozen more besides. Her father had sat back and watched. I think I actually did okay. The whole point was making sure that we—and humanity—weren’t going to be getting any uppity ideas, and if anyone did, that I would eliminate them. As long as her disgust towards the questions and expected answers had been interpreted as disgust towards humanity itself, they were safe.

A sense of discomfort lapped at the edge of her mind, and she realized Kalin was awake...and she didn’t know how much the human had overheard.

I’m sorry...are you okay?

I understand...that you don’t really feel that way. But the wave of discomfort was now tinged with pain, and Akarisa could feel Kalin struggling to breathe around the lump in her throat.

I’m so sorry. Akarisa imagined reaching out to give her majine a hug. Her own guilt mixed with Kalin’s discomfort, creating a cesspool of negativity, and Akarisa took a deep breath, forcing herself to swallow it all. We’ll get through this. We’ll be okay. He didn’t suspect anything. The last one sounded much like a prayer, but...If that’s what it takes.

She could feel Kalin also trying to suppress the magnification of their mixed, intense emotions, though with less training.

Just breathe. Focus on what’s around you. Really feel the pillow, the blankets. Feel your pulse, your breath. We will be okay.

I’m not facing this alone. I...want to help you the way you’re helping me.

Not yet. But there may come a time. Don’t worry about it. We’ll face whatever happens together.

Kalin paused, her mind darting in an unexpected direction. Did people used to get to choose who they bonded with?

I...think so? Majine were forbidden while I was still too young to understand very much.

Do I want to know how long ago that was?

Probably not. Akarisa winced. I’m still considered a young adult for my species, thank you very much.

Kalin laughed softly, before glancing at her roommate—Anna—to make sure she was still asleep.

It’s nearly dawn. Akarisa noted the lightening sky to the east.

I guess I’ll stay up and study. You should probably sleep.

Akarisa groaned under her breath, making her way down the stairs. I still have lesson plans to do and homework to grade.

Us trying to do all this at once will be an interesting experience.

Akarisa considered breaking open a nice vintage bottle of wine. Interesting is one word for it.