Free Warden (Elemental Paladins Book 1) by Montana Ash

shown to her room, Ryker wasn’t sure she would even make it up the stairs, she had looked that unwell. He figured a decent night’s sleep and a meal or two would do her wonders – and a vitality exchange of course, not that he planned on volunteering for the task. He wasn’t that thrilled that some of the others had offered the evening before and again today, but he wasn’t officially their Captain so they could do as they pleased. It wasn’t that he wanted the warden to go without such fundamental energy but he just didn’t want it going on in his home. This place was his sanctuary, his refuge, his place of peace and somehow, someway over the years it had become that for the other knights living there too. He intended to maintain his haven for himself and for his fellow soldiers for as long as humanly possible. Having any warden around was not conducive to peace in his opinion and he knew for a fact that this one female warden in particular was going to be a total nightmare.
    Having said that, when he had walked in and seen Max standing in his kitchen still pale, still exhausted, and sporting a freshly bruised lip he had seen red. He had wanted to gather her up and kiss her lip. He wanted to feed her and hold her until she felt safe and fell asleep. He just plain wanted to make her all better … and that just plain pissed him off. What was it about the female that managed to barge past his strongly erected barriers with no more than a single look from those incredible eyes of hers? He still knew nothing about her except for the obvious fact that she was a warden. That in and of itself should have had him running in the opposite direction. So instead of voicing his concern over her sick and vulnerable state, he had gone on the offensive and acted like a total prick so no one would suspect his true inclinations.
    “Ryker! Are you listening to me?” Cali demanded.
    He sighed again, “Yes, Cali. I’m listening. I’m sorry, okay?”
    Cali snorted, “It’s not me you need to apologise to. It’s Max.”
    Not a chance in hell, Ryker thought to himself. He had a feeling she would like that a little too much. “I’m not apologising to the woman. It was the truth … she does look terrible.”
    “She looks terrible because she is running on fumes both physically and emotionally if I’m reading her right. And has been for some time.” Beyden chimed in, pushing his half-eaten plate to the side. Now Ryker knew he was in trouble, Beyden never left a meal unfinished. For a lean guy the man packed away food like it was going out of fashion. He was constantly munching on something from the time he rose in the morning until he crashed at night. Even then, Ryker often heard him up in the middle of the night raiding the refrigerator. Ryker had no idea where he put it all.
    Despite being a bottomless pit, he was a good man to have at your back. Ryker had known him for over ten years now and he had been crashing at the camp for almost eight of them. He was soft spoken and humble and didn’t often get involved in the politics of their world. But he was as observant as he was perceptive so when he chose to contribute, Ryker always listened – even if he didn’t want to hear it.
    “What makes you so sure it isn’t all an elaborate act?”
    Beyden’s look was full of scorn. “That woman’s face is an open book. I don’t think she could lie to save her life. She may have dodged answering certain questions last night, but she never outright lied … and you know it.” The look Beyden gave him was reproachful, “You can read people better than anyone else in this room. So tell me; is she lying?”
    Dammit! Beyden was absolutely correct, he was good at reading people. And not in the same quiet, attentive way Beyden was either. Ryker’s domain was life itself. Although he couldn’t see auras or manipulate a person’s body to the extent of a warden, his element offered certain advantages when it came to interacting with