Free Messenger (Guardian Trilogy Prequel 1) by Laury Falter Page B

back and to squeeze an answer from him, but a single word brushed all that aside.
    Coming to a stop, I blurted, “We?”
    He rotated at the waist to examine me, his eyes lit mischievously. “I told you,” he stated, “I am your escort.”
    I remember him using a different term the other night, one jarringly similar to the name he had given himself and his legion in the afterlife, but I wasn’t able to mention it.
    “You are mistaken if you think I-”
    He interrupted me without any sign of guilt. “I don’t mistake you for someone interested in protection, Friedricha. I’ve seen the way you handle a sword…and I’ve come to understand your sense of independence.” He added under his breath in a not so complimentary way, “or rather your demand for it.” Before I could show any sign of offense, his voice rose to its normal level. “I am escorting you solely out of a need to understand what happened the other night between you and the three individuals who caused you to panic. I don’t know where they are, but I do know where to find you. So, the only way I can accomplish my goal is to remain by your side until you and your three nemeses cross paths again.”
    “And what if we don’t cross paths?”
    Without hesitation, he replied blithely, “Then you will be gifted with my charming personality for a rather lengthy period of time.”
    I sighed through my objection, which made him feign insult.
    Leaning toward me, he teased further, “You never know, Friedricha, you might actually enjoy it. I’ve been told I’m fairly charismatic.”
    With him so near, his scent moved past me causing my heart to do something unexpected. It skipped a beat. I had to calm it before I could muster a concise thought, which turned out to be in his favor.
    It was easy to see how he would be told this.
    With my thoughts deceiving me, I redirected them.
    “And what will you do once you learn why the three individuals affect me, and me them?”
    “I’ll leave you alone,” he said casually. “Be gone from your life forever…as you so clearly wish.”
    I almost stumbled at his promise but caught myself in time.
    That was what I wanted, wasn’t it? So why did I stumble? Why was I torn between relief and disappointment? I spent the remainder of our walk to our destination analyzing these reactions and failing to come up with any reasonable answer. But once there, something else tore my attention away.
    The sting at the back of my neck, the perspiration and the shakes didn’t begin this time until I had paid off the guard at the wall to allow us to pass. As he tucked the coins into his pocket, smiling a wide gap-toothed smile, I grunted and absentmindedly rolled my shoulder back to stop the pain.
    Before I knew it, my hand was at the back of my neck pushing down the fine hairs there.
    One look at me told Eran that the panic had returned. His hands came swiftly to my shoulders, pressing with tender, consoling resolve.
    “Friedricha,” he said, although his voice sounded hollow and warbled, as if it were coming down a tube. “Friedricha, look at me. Look at me.”
    “She going to be sick?” the guard asked in disgust.
    “No, she’s not sick,” Eran said. “Friedricha, look at me.”
    I did, although it was a struggle. The muscles in my neck had grown rigid.
    The effort ended up being worthwhile because for some reason Eran was a comforting sight.
    “You’re not alone,” he said, his voice returning to its typical stubborn determination. “I’m right here beside you. Do you understand? Nod your head if you understand.”
    I nodded.
    “Good, now do me a favor. Breathe. Draw in a slow, deep breath from here.” He placed a hand on my stomach, which was unexpected, and sent a pleasant, distracting jolt through me.
    I followed his request, concentrating on his hand.
    “Now hold it,” he instructed. “And release it.”
    I exhaled, which sounded like a wheeze.
    “Repeat.”
    When I inhaled this time, my heart slowed its