Second Guard by J. D. Vaughn Page B

said, her voice rising in disbelief.
    “That is a serious accusation indeed,” Zarif said, crossing his arms in front of his chest, as if he too could not accept what he had just heard.
    “I’m not saying anything or accusing anyone,” Chey said, his voice tight. “I told you, they are rumors. Make of them what you will,” he added, turning away and
heading for the stairs. “It’s time to return to the ferry.”
    Tali and Zarif exchanged a brief look, then followed behind him. They walked back down the spiral staircase and all the way to the harbor, the silence between them full of unsaid things. When
they reached the pier for the ferry, Tali shielded her eyes and scanned the harbor in search of her father’s tradeboat. Despite the deep friendship she had forged so quickly with the two boys
beside her, Tali longed for her twin. She ached to speak to Nel once more, to find out what had scared her, what she knew of Jaden. And why didn’t Paulo trust the Guard? Were the two things
related?
    Finally, Tali saw the ferry come skating across the lake in their direction. She turned to alert Zarif and Chey, but they had both wandered off in different directions. Zarif was chatting
politely to a dockhand, while Chey stood near a wharf post, staring out at the lake. Tali noticed the slump of his shoulders and the melancholy tilt of his head. She had hurt him.
    She walked over and leaned against him. “I did not mean to doubt you, Chey. It just seems so far-fetched to believe that Jaden could be responsible for that much wrongdoing,” Tali
said quietly. “But I suppose anything is possible, and I trust you would not have told us such reports without good reason.”
    “I only want to keep you and your sister from harm, Tali. Perhaps the rumors are false, but Jaden
is
hiding something. I can feel it. You need to stay away from him.”
    Tali let out a breath. “I appreciate your concern, Chey. But if there is some connection between Jaden and my family, I need to find out what it is.”
    “Understood, but promise me you will not allow yourself to be alone with him. Not even for a minute. Swear it.”
    Tali smiled. “You worry too much. But just to please you, I will swear it,” she said, holding up her fist, then tugging on his tunic. “Now come, future protector of the realm,
we have a ferry to catch.”
    The next morning, Tali rose with a pit in her stomach. After their return from Porto Sol the evening before, she and her friends had tried to carry out the evening in their
usual fashion. They had dined in the Great Hall and spent time with Boulder afterward, letting the huge dog temper their worries with his playful affection. Boulder seemed to sense their ill ease
and played the court jester in dogskin, scratching his back on the rough sands of the shore, his feet dancing above his wiggling form.
    Still, those worries had come back in full force upon awakening, especially at the thought of seeing Jaden. Though Tali rarely saw the centurio outside of their morning endurance training, her
eyes kept darting around the Great Hall at breakfast as if he might appear at any moment. And what would you do if he did? she asked herself. Confront him?
Not likely. Not unless you want to
find yourself dismissed from the Guard.
No one spoke to a centurio without permission, and certainly no one
questioned
a centurio’s honor.
    It was somewhat of a relief, then, when she and her friends walked down to the lake after breakfast to discover his absence. Instead, one of the Alcazar guards had taken his place for the
morning, her long blond hair blowing in the breeze off the lake. “Centurio Jaden was needed elsewhere this morning,” she announced in a no-nonsense, yet highly refined voice. Moon
Guilder, Tali decided. They can’t help but be elegant, even in uniform. “However, he has left me your exercise program for the day, and I mean to see it done to satisfaction.” As
the guard rattled off the list of orders,