If Stratagor Ziras doesn't kill me, my training program will!
Every day I wake up and go through the motions, but they've figured out that I'm not a Knight. I can't ride, I can't fight, I can't do magic, and worst of all, I can't see whatever it is...
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Trelix looks at me as if I've lost my mind. "You haven't noticed two elves following you everywhere?"
My heart restarts, but it's beating much too fast. "Last night, yes, but not today."
He raises an eyebrow at me but doesn't comment.
I clench my fists to hide their trembling. "Why do I have guards? I thought I wasn't supposed to have guards. Am I not allowed to leave? Am I being followed?"
He shakes his head. "Of course you're allowed to leave. You've had guards since the ésú tried to kidnap you. Did you think Solara just happened upon you? They're there to protect you, but they hang back to give you some privacy and freedom. However, if you try to leave the gate again, you may be stopped."
I nervously kick at the dirt. He can call it being guarded, but I'm being watched. The whole idea gives me a bad feeling. "Why do I have guards if I'm free to leave?" I'm shocked my voice is so steady and calm; I want to scream that question in his face.
"They're not prison guards. They're not holding you captive or anything else your brain is imagining. They're protecting you. I don't wish to bring up a bad subject," he says slowly, like he's talking to a crazy person, "but you do remember what happened yesterday?"
"Yes," I say even slower.
"Well, after what happened, how can you ask why you have guards?"
"I don't know what you're talking about. I acted like a child, did something stupid, and was attacked by some animals."
Then the thought strikes me: what if those weren't wild animals? That had never occurred to me. I just assumed they were like lions in the savannah. If you get eaten by a lion, it's your fault for being where you shouldn't.
"Those gryphons were wild animals, right?" The alternative is too frightening to consider.
Trelix scratches his bicep. I know he's considering what he's about to say more than actually having an itch. He rubs the back of his neck and says, "No."
The world tilts to the left, or maybe something in my brain just popped. I'm light-headed and dizzy. "What do you mean, No? Did someone try to kill me yesterday? Why would someone want to kill me? Why me? I'm harmless."
He inhales deeply and speaks on the breathy exhale. "Agatha, you are far from harmless. You're just untrained."
"So, someone tried to kill me? Who would want to..." I ask, and then come up with my own answer. "Did Ziras try to murder me yesterday? Why would he want to kill me? Doesn't he need me?"
"Ziras doesn't need you. We need you. You would make things easier for him, but he can find the key without you. We can't."
The blood leaves my face. My fingers are so cold they hurt. I was just starting to feel better, and then this. "What do I do with this? How do I live knowing that someone is actively trying to kill me?"
