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I choked on the sip of water I’d taken.
“What? It’s true.” A pause. “I think. At least, that’s what I’ve heard.”
I wiped my mouth and placed the bottle on the table.
From what I’d learned, Kavina hadn’t found her Nyrith, but she didn’t seem bothered by it—or at least that was the impression I got from how openly she talked about it without a hint of hesitation.
“So what do you say? I’ll protect you.”
My lips rolled in as I considered making a break for it. The guys were on patrol, so none of them were around to stop me.
I’d agreed to stay here for Zeke’s sake. I didn’t want Cornaith to hurt him, but the resentment of being commanded to remain when I’d been told I wasn’t a prisoner burned through me, leaving me raw and agitated.
Kavina’s reasoning made sense, though. She was a member of the Elyrdin Guard. She’d keep me safe. And Ezra wasn’t bothered by Rinlora taking me out. So why would this be different? If Cornaith took issue with that, maybe he needed to rethink those he enlisted to protect the Elyrdin people.
“Yeah. Okay. Let’s go.”
“Great! I can be there in, like, fifteen minutes? I just dropped off some paperwork and got my patrol schedule, so I’m over at the palace right now. Meet me out front of the house?”
“Sounds good.”
About ten minutes later, Kavina pulled up in front of the house in the same car she’d taken me dress shopping in. Nothing extravagant, it resembled many vehicles on Earth, except for some interior modifications to the navigation system and design.
At least it had a charging port for my phone—I’d forgotten to charge it last night, so the battery was almost dead.
I’d almost expected the guards to chase us down and snatch me out of the car as we passed through the palace gates and entered the city, but nothing happened.
We parked, and she led me inside a building several stories high. It reminded me of the mall where I used to work on Earth, with small stores lining the walls and decorative fixtures and kiosks running down the middle of walkways filled with people.
Thankfully, none of the people shopping noticed I wasn’t like them. I’d always wondered if there was some kind of aura around me that screamed, “She’s not entirely like you!”
“Zeke wasn’t kidding when he said y’all take a lot of inspiration from Earth.”
Kavina shrugged. “We have a lot of advancements humans haven’t accomplished—mostly because we use magic and they don’t—but all in all, we use what works and skip the things that don’t.”
“Like what?”
She paused in front of a children’s clothing store. “Well, take gasoline, for example. Our cars don’t need it. We don’t have the resources on the infernal plane, and we don’t rip apart our land to find something similar because we have magic.”
I followed when she started walking again. “What about non-magic stuff?”
“Maybe borders and countries?”
“What do you mean?”
“Earth has many countries and borders restricting entry and places where people can live. Not to mention that the rules change with each place. Some rules change within smaller boundaries in each country—like provinces and states, depending on the country.”
“How is that bad?”
We stopped in front of a novelty shop. It looked like it had everything from board games to eclectic home decor to gag gifts displayed near the entrance.
Kavina peered into the window before turning to me. “In here.”
I followed her through the store until we reached a black curtain dividing the front from the back of the store.
She turned to me. “Elyrdin is ruled by the council in Alonia. Everyone has the right to be anywhere they choose within the country. Bigger cities and designated towns have officials maintaining order, but the Elyrdin council establishes the rules and regulations they adhere to. Most of us consider it a better form of government than humans provide, since a unified rule means no room for war or disagreements about politics.”
I understood her reasoning, but Earth wasn’t like Elyrdin.
