She bit her lip and looked away, wondering if she was making a mistake by coming to him. He already knew more about her than he should, but he didn’t know everything, and it had to stay that way. However, he had told her that she could come to him if she ever needed anything.
“I want to ask you something, but you have to promise not to read into it—and you have to promise not to laugh if you think it’s a stupid question,” she said, reaching for a curry-comb just to have something to do with her hands while she talked. She began grooming the sleek black coat of the horse she knew was named Eclipse, waiting for Kaiden to agree.
“That depends on what you ask,” he said, grinning roguishly. “But I must say, I’m intrigued.”
Alex frowned. So far, their conversation wasn’t going to plan and it had barely begun. But she decided she might as well jump in and see what happened, so she said, “I want to know about the Soori Outpost.”
Kaiden’s entire body jerked, and Alex looked at him in surprise.
“What about it?” he asked, his brush strokes becoming visibly tense to the point that Eclipse pinned his ears back in irritation. Kaiden noticed and relaxed his grip, prompting the horse to relax again too.
Confused by his strong reaction, Alex said, “I want to know why it’s there. Medora is a supercontinent currently run by a single monarchy, so why is there an active military force if there’s no one to go to war against? And do they use other weapons stronger than Stabilisers? Also, I always presumed Wardens were more like glorified guards, but now I’m not so sure. Who has more authority—them or the General?”
Kaiden wasn’t tense anymore; that was for sure. But Alex almost wished he was, since he was now looking at her with a scrutinising expression.
She swallowed and focused on moving her curry along the barrel of Eclipse’s stomach. “No reading into it, remember?”
“Hey, at least I’m not laughing,” Kaiden said. “That’s one out of two. Take what you can get.”
“I’d rather a judgement-free answer,” Alex responded. “With no follow-up questions.”
“I’ll answer you, but I can’t promise there won’t be follow up,” Kaiden said, moving further along to brush the curve of Eclipse’s apple-shaped rump. “Let’s start with the Wardens. Don’t ever let them hear you calling them ‘glorified guards’ or it may be the last thing you ever say. And I mean that, Alex.”
If his serious expression was anything to go by, he really did mean that.
“Now, in a not-reading-into-this kind of way, am I right to guess that you don’t know much about what Akarnae students do after they graduate?”
“Um…” Alex hesitated. “Hypothetically? Let’s go with that. From here on out, just act like I know nothing.”
Kaiden’s lips twitched, drawing Alex’s attention to his mouth before she forced her gaze back up to his eyes. Judging by the humour she found in them, she had a feeling she wasn’t fooling him at all.
“Well, then,” he said, looking down at what he was doing once more. “As you know, there are five years of schooling with an additional two years on top of that should any of the instructors invite you to stay on as an apprentice. Whether you graduate at eighteen or twenty, Akarnae alumni are always sought after for the top positions in any of Medora’s workplaces. It’s not so much that we have gifts—though that can definitely be a drawcard depending on your career choice—but it’s more that our education here has covered, well, everything.”
Alex nodded, having just been over most of that in her History class. “What does that have to do with Wardens?”
“There are two kinds of Wardens, did you know that?” Before she could respond, Kaiden said, “Never mind, don’t answer that. I forgot that you hypothetically know nothing.” He didn’t even try to hide his smile at that. “Wardens fall into one of two categories: Swords or Shields. The Shields are intelligence analysts—they come from all different backgrounds and are usually recruited later in life after having the experience of years behind them. They do most of the stuff outside of the public eye, keeping a finger on the pulse of the world and the people in it, so to speak. They are essentially a ‘shield’ against any threats made by humans and by… others… who have their own agendas. Wardens like Bear’s dad, William Ronnigan, are Shields, and they keep us safe mostly by the use of their collective intellect and intuition.”
Alex raised her eyebrows, wondering how Kaiden knew about William. But he continued before she could ask.
“Swords, on the other hand, are the field agents; the Wardens who deal directly with anything the Shields uncover. Swords actively seek out the threats to the kingdom and swiftly neutralise—or eradicate—them.”
Alex couldn’t help automatically imagining the Medoran equivalent of James Bond. In place of a tux and a gun, her invented figure wore a cape and held a sword. Strangely—or not so strangely, considering—he looked an awful lot like Hunter.
“Other than the obvious, the main difference between the two is that only Akarnae graduates can ever hold positions as Swords—and specifically those who have stayed on as apprentices in Combat or SAS.” Kaiden sent her a wry smile as he added, “I’m sure you can figure out how both of those classes are high up on selection criteria for Sword applicants.”
Alex returned his expression, understanding completely.
“So you can see how highly trained, combat-ready, stealthy Swords who all have gifts might not take too well to being referred to as ‘glorified guards’, right?” Kaiden said. “And while Shields might not mind as much, they both wear the same uniform, so it’s better to be safe than sorry since you may never know which one you’re talking to.”
Alex quickly nodded her agreement. Then she asked, “Warden Jeera—you and Declan seemed to recognise her name when I mentioned her after the SAS trip. Is she a Sword or a Shield?”
Kaiden laughed softly as he grabbed a new, softer brush and moved to stroke it down Eclipse’s face while Alex reached for a comb to untangle his mane.
“Jeera’s a Sword,” Kaiden answered. “One of the best.”
“And, um…” Alex wasn’t sure why—or if—she wanted to know, but she still pressed. “Do you know her well?”
“You could say that.” Kaiden laughed again. At Alex’s questioning look, he said, “She’s my sister.”
“Your sister?” Alex wasn’t able to mask her surprise. “But—but—”