The Guardians (The Highest Order, Book One)

CHAPTER 22

I didn't end up falling back to sleep. The fear of opening another portal while I did overtook my entire body and I just knew it was gonna be a while till I got a good night's sleep. So, no, I didn't sleep like Kaleb had suggested, instead, I just sat there dwelling in the dark of Maia's room as she slept soundly beside me, facing the window at the far end of her room.

This is what my life has come to. Last week, my biggest fears and worries were an abusive, narcissistic and controlling father, who only recently, I found out wasn't even my real father. According to Kaleb, Maia, and any other Knight or adviser or whatever had to say, I was powerful, real powerful but if I was so powerful, how did I not see this coming?

Nothing makes sense anymore, I thought to myself. I had questions; so many questions.

As night turned into day, the birds began to chirp and as if like some sort of clockwork, Maia began to stir. The clock on her bedside table read, exactly, 05:30. It must be some kind of training as I had no doubt, on the dot, this was the time she woke up every single morning. From what she had told me, being a knight came with excellent self-control and required great diligence. Anything to keep our Guardian alive, she'd said. Anything? I'd ask. Anything. She responded, as if she'd never been more sure of anything in her life.

Standing up from my catatonic seated position on the bed, I face the mirror hung on the wall. My eyes, void of their previous state, were back to their normal dull green. My bronze hair, although seeming brighter than usual, was a mess, pointing messily in every which direction. Exhaustion laced my skin, my eyes and any other visible feature. But the bruises were healed, almost completely, which wasn't much of a shock given how fast the punctures in my arm from Daria's nails had healed.

'You look like hell.' The four words came humoured from behind me, looking at Maia through her reflection in the mirror, I responded simply, picking up her hair brush, 'Right back at you.'

I paused, carefully speaking, 'Did they find it? The demon that trashed my house, I mean?' I follow up quickly, pulling the brush through the knots in my hair.

'I heard you had a little soul wandering experience last night,' She skilfully avoided my question, 'How was that?'

'Don't avoid my question Maia.' My voice was stern, I needed answers, I needed to know my mom was safe.

With a sigh, she offers me a small sigh, 'They lost him somewhere near Arkansas, his trace went cold, that's all I know, Faith. We're gonna keep you safe. You and your mom.'

Her words were not as reassuring as she wanted them to be, I knew she knew that. I appreciated her effort, I appreciated everything her and her family had done for me.

'Come on,' she continued after a moment's pause, 'family meeting, we need to get dressed quick.'

In less than a second she's out of bed and halfway across the room, 'How...' I start with a dumbfounded look on my face, the brush halfway through a handful of hair.

'Magic.' she jokes, waggling her eyebrows before pulling jeans and a T-shirt out of her drawers and throwing them to me, 'They should fit.'

I felt the need to remind her that my hips were almost twice the size of her model-thin ones but I kept quiet, trusting her words. Low and behold, when i pulled them on, although they were more snug than i was used to, they fit me, almost perfectly. The T-shirt, well, what I thought to be a t-shirt at first, was the same. The thin satin material was more girly than anything I'd worn in my life but screamed Maia, it barely covered my chest and stopped above my flat tanned stomach, exposing me more than I'd usually appreciate. All of this for a family meeting? What game was she playing?