Collecting the Pieces of the Shandhi Sword (Book 2 of Mark Series)

Chapter 37

I paused and turned to look at them again with narrowed eyes and a small scowl on my face. "And what do you mean by that, my Lord?" I asked, and my tone grew harsher than a part of me would like, but I ignored it while I stared at them. "What did Raphael do?"

Raphael looked at me with wide eyes filled with pain and fear before he looked at Gregor. His face was pale, and guilt filled his eyes, pushing the pain and fear in his eyes, but he did not say a word because he knew that I didn't like him talking when we were in front of others, for he was merely a servant boy and nothing more than that.

Gregor set his jaw and bowed, not looking me in the eyes before he cleared his throat and licked his lips in hesitance. "Unfrotubanarely, I am not able to say a lot, Your Highness," he said, "for many lives would be lost and whatever you have to face will be different than what you have to face now."

"Explain. Now. What did you do to me?" I looked at Raphael when I said that and bared my teeth in warning, biting back a small growl.

Raphael flinched and bowed lower. He took a step back and moved closer to Gregor as if he knew that Gregor would protect him from my wrath, not saying a word.

"Your Highness, please," Gregor said and bowed lower while he shook his head, and I looked at him. "As I have stated before, there is only so much that we can say for not only your safety but a defenseless child that may be born down your bloodline."

"My Lord," Raphael hissed with a small warning in his tone. He scowled and narrowed his eyes while he placed his hands behind his back and stood taller.

"Silence, Raphael," I said and looked at him, waving my hand to silence him, before I looked at Gregor. I scowled and narrowed my eyes, baring my teeth in warning. "Explain further. Now."

Gregor shook his head and pressed his lips into a thin line, and a look of pain and sadness flashed through his eyes. "I cannot," he said and shook his head. "That is all I can say with no fears of changing the future."

He paused and cocked his head when a sudden thought occurred to him while he studied me. "Do you remember any of the gifts that I told you I had, Your Highness?" he asked and raised an eyebrow in question. "I can see..." He trailed off and raised both eyebrows in unison, silently telling me to continue his train of thought or comment.

The hair on the back of my neck stood at attention, and my whole body shivered as if cold, even though I knew that I wasn't cold.

"'I can see the past and the future,'" I said, quoting what he had told me a long time ago. "'I am here, but I am also there. I know more than I allow myself to say out loud because it has always been my duty to protect the sword and the one that yields it.'"

"After I had been blessed so long ago when it was first broken into a million pieces," Gregor said and slowly nodded, setting his jaw. Pain flashed through his eyes before he cleared his throat and shifted on his feet. "Yes, Your Highness."

I pressed my lips and slowly nodded. "And this has to do with the future version?" I asked and raised an eyebrow in question. I glanced at Raphael before I looked at Gregor.

"Yes, Your Highness," he said and nodded. He cleared his throat and gestured toward the way that I was going in for some reason after I woke up from... something and was put here. "This has to do with a future version."

I looked in the direction that Gregor had gestured toward before I looked at him. "And I am leading you two to something?" I asked, raising an eyebrow in question, and Gregor nodded in confirmation. I frowned and furrowed my brows, trying but failing to come up with a reason as to why I would be leading them to something, Raphael especially, when we were not supposed to be near each other too much before we collected the rest of my swords. "What?"

Gregor bit back a small smile and shook his head. "Unfortunately, I am not allowed to say," he said and tucked his head closer to his chest, pressing his lips into a thin line. "However, my suggestion is for you to follow the path that you have been given, and see where it leads, Your Highness."

I narrowed my eyes and scowled while I studied the Lord and the servant before me. "Why?" I asked coldly.

"Because this ties with the future of someone else, Your Highness," Gregor said and glanced at Raphael before he looked at me, clearing his throat. "This future is dependent on you going that way so that you do not feel... stuck."

But why would I feel stuck..?

"There is no reason for me to feel stuck," I said and shook my head. "I was born and live here and nowhere else."

But why did that feel as if it wasn't fully true?

I set my jaw and narrowed my eyes further while I looked at Raphael. "What did you do to me, Raphael?" I asked, coldly, for I had a feeling that he was the cause of my discomfort and the reason why Gregor wanted me to continue to walk down this path.

Raphael bit back a small smile and bowed, shaking his head while he looked away from me. "Unfortunately that is something I am not able to discuss at the moment, Your Highness."

I bit back a small growl and gritted my teeth together. "But you did do something to me to cause this discomfort, correct?" I raised an eyebrow in question while I studied the male before me, trying but failing to come up with a reason why he did what he did.

Raphael hesitated before he slowly nodded, not looking me in the eyes. "Yes, Your Highness," he confirmed. "I was the cause of your discomfort, and I do apologize for it, but it was something that needed to happen. It needed to be done."

"Why?" I asked and looked between the two men because I had a feeling that Gregor knew about this as well before I looked solely at him. "Why did you do it?"

"To help," he replied before Gregor cleared his throat, silencing him without saying a word. Raphael licked his lips and bowed deeper, glancing at Gregor from the corner of his eye before he looked down. "Unfortunately, that is all I am able to say, Your Highness. I do apologize, but that is all I can say for not only your safety but others as well."

I hesitated before I set my jaw and looked between the two of them. "Then what am I supposed to do now?" I asked and looked at Gregor, hoping that he would be able to answer my question.

"Follow this path, Your Highness, and hope for the best," Gregor said and bowed further. "I wish I could give you more guidance, but unfortunately, that is all I know myself."

I set my jaw and slowly nodded, pressing my lips into a thin line. "Are you staying near?" I asked and looked between the two of them.

"Yes, Your Highness," they confirmed in unison and nodded. "We are going to stay close and make sure that you stay safe."

I bit back a tired sigh and slowly nodded, relenting. "Ok," I said. "Then stay close."

And with that, I turned on my heels and started to go back the way that I was going in, with them following me, not knowing what the future held but gaining this sense of urgency that I needed to complete this before something else happened, and I was awake somewhere else.

Even though I had no idea where...