Free United (The Guardians Book 2) by Jessica Roe Page B

want to sleep with her, do it on your own time, kiddo. This ain't a dating service.”
    “I think we should vote on the matter,” Dorian declared cheerfully.
    Gable gaped, taken aback. The whole discussion had just kind of. . .snowballed. They wanted her to be a Guardian? Her ? Seriously? Were they on crack? And did she want to be a Guardian? She hadn't even thought of a life beyond getting Sacha back. In fact, it had been a long, long time since she'd thought of a life beyond getting Sacha back. But maybe. . .maybe becoming a Guardian would be a good thing, kind of an awesome thing. It would give her a purpose, a true path in life like she'd never had before. Oh, that was weird.
    “We take a vote on whether Gabrielle joins the team for the mission,” Dorian continued, with such authority in his voice that if Gable had had doubts about his ability as an Elder before, she lost them all immediately. “And if she does, this can be a test of sorts. If she is successful on the mission, we agree to train her as a Guardian. What say you? Weejida, you first.”
    “I like a strong woman,” Weejida replied contemplatively. “I think we need more of them. I see a lot of potential in you, Gabrielle, a lot of potential indeed. In a way, you almost remind me of myself at a younger age – so ready and willing to do whatever it took to get what you want. I vote yes.”
    What? Gable opened her mouth to say something but then closed it again, speechless. She'd spent so long being hated for being one of the bad guys that having people suddenly believing in her and rooting for her was seriously hard to comprehend.  
    Under the table, probably feeling her friend's anxiety, Terelle took her hand and squeezed.
    “I also vote yes,” Faiz said, though he looked rather bored by the whole conversation. “Because I think humans have a warped value of what's right and wrong. In Zawavia, Gabrielle would be seen as a strong warrior, and that is what's most important.”
    “I vote no.” Esha went next. “But that is no surprise, I have already made my reasons perfectly clear.”
    “I like you, Gable,” said Talon. “But I've got to vote no. Try as I might, I just don't see a place for you.”
    “Well luckily I have much better vision than you, old man,” Dorian teased. “We all know I vote yes.”
    Next up, Gustavo folded his arms across his chest. “No,” he barked, and that was all.
    And last, as the deciding vote, was Ralf. He scrunched up his mouth as he studied Gable for a tortuously long time. “My problem, you see, is that if you were a Guardian, you'd be working in my sector and every one of your actions would reflect back on me,” he pondered out loud. Another drawn out silence, this one lasting almost a whole minute. “I guess it's a good thing I like taking risks. You're in, Gabrielle Xanders. Don't let me down. I vote yes.”
    Gable didn't know what to say. She couldn't quite believe it was really happening and that she'd done nothing to stop it. She needed her head examining. They all needed their heads examining.
    “Then it's done,” Dorian called out happily. All of the Elders clapped, even Esha, Talon and Gustavo. It seemed that when a decision was made final, they all chose to respect it, though Esha and Talon accepted it with slightly more grace than Gustavo.
    “Welcome to the Guardians, Gabrielle.” Weejida smiled. “If you impress me with this mission, perhaps I'll consider training you myself. It has been a long time since I took on a student.”
    Gable didn't know a whole lot about the inner workings of the Guardian world, but even she could tell that being trained by Weejida would be a huge honor, so she smiled with as much respect as she could muster.
    The problem was, she still. . .wasn't sure. Being a Guardian wasn't something she could have dreamed for herself, not in a million years. She didn't even like them. Hell, she'd been mocking them not hours before. She couldn't ever imagine a world in which