The scent of lavender was strong, wafting in the air. A single candle cast long, dancing shadows across Liana's room.
The first thing she registered was the throbbing ache in the side of her neck. The second was the rough bite of rope around her wrists and ankles.
Her eyes snapped open. She was on her bed, tied up. And sitting across from her, in her chair, was Nolan.
He had the chair turned backwards, straddling it with his arms crossed over the top of the chairback, his chin resting on them.
His expression was flat and unreadable, but in the flickering light, his silver-white hair and pale eyes made him look like some kind of otherworldly being.
"You," she gritted, her voice raspy. She tried checking the bonds, but the knots were infuriatingly tight.
"Me," he confirmed, his voice devoid of any emotion.
"Untie me. Right now."
"No."
"This is an Assault! What are you doing in my room?! When I get out of here—"
"You'll what?" Nolan interrupted, his head tilting a fraction of an inch. "Tell them what, exactly? That you saw me threatening a fellow recruit? A recruit who, I might add, will swear on his life that nothing of the sort happened. That you, in your hysterical state after hitting your head, imagined the whole thing?"
Liana's blood ran cold. 'He must have gotten to the boy and threatened him. Of course he would.'
"They'll believe me," she insisted, but there was uncertainty in her voice.
"Will they? The unstable, headstrong new Sentinel, found unconscious, spinning a wild tale about the quiet, unassuming poor Novice-rank? Versus the collective testimony of the same Novice and another witness who saw nothing?" He let the silence hang for a moment.
When she said nothing, he continued. "You're not that naive, Liana."
"What do you want exactly?" she whispered, the fight draining out of her, replaced by a slow, creeping dread.
"For you to be quiet and listen," he said, his gaze unwavering. "Your 'heroic' intervention today almost ruined my very delicate investigation."
"Investigation?" she scoffed. "You were about to murder a boy!"
"I was extracting information from a potential security risk," Nolan corrected, his tone still leveled. "Alexander Zerath does not exist."
Liana blinked, confused. "Who are you talking about?"
"The—forget that if you're not smart enough to know."
"Okay, what are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about the fact that this world is far more complicated than your little dream of being a Guardian," he said, subconsciously letting his millennia of knowledge form a coherent answer which Liana most definitely could not understand.
"There are people moving pieces in the shadows. Alexander is one piece. Sylvia Volksnon, slumming it as a Novice when she should be a rising star in Vaelen, is another. You, with your suddenly changed fate, are a third."
Liana looked utterly focused, nodding.
Nolan frowned. "You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"
"Not at all?" Liana admitted. "What is this all about?"
As expected. No one could ever understand him, because his problem was one only he knew and understood.
Nolan sighed and said, "Let me put it this way. People are after me, and they will use anyone to get to me."
This seemed to pique her interest. She tried adjusting herself but it was useless, so she just exhaled and asked, "Who are after you?"
"I have no idea either, but believe me when I say I've had to deal with them more than a thousand times. I just realized them now and they're angry that I'm not doing what they expect," Nolan explained. "Or so I believe."
Liana remained quiet, trying to wrap her head around what Nolan was saying.
One thing she did know was that Nolan wasn't some random weak person with shady motives. He was stronger and skilled. It was only logical to say, with his explanation, that he must be putting up a weak act because of these 'people' that were after him.
"So, you wanted to be sure the boy wasn't working for them?" She asked, still not fully believing him.
Nolan gave a single nod. He knew she still had doubts, so he tried another means. "I can help you become a greater person, so you keep this between us alone."
Liana's eyes immediately went to him. "What do you mean?"
"You wanted to be part of this? To 'protect the world'? Fine. This is what it looks like. It's not just swinging a sword at a mindless beast. It's parsing lies from truth, allies from assets, and knowing when to look the other way. I can guide you."
Liana searched his eyes for any hint of deceit, but she found none. All what Nolan was saying was confusing to her, but for some reason, the confidence he had and the way his words seemed believable made her wonder if he was being honest.
"The people who smile with you everyday might be more dangerous than the demons in the battlefield," Nolan continued. "You can't trust anyone."
"And why should I trust you?"
Nolan remained silent for a beat before smiling. "Because I have seen it all and I'm offering you a chance to not fall a victim and become a greater person. I'm the only one you can count on."
Liana's expression remained questioning, but Nolan knew better. He had successfully broken the last shed of suspicion in her and replaced it with trust.
"So," he said. "Do you take the offer?"
Liana looked away, reluctantly saying, "What do I do?"
He smiled and gestured vaguely at her with his chin. "So here is your first real lesson as a Cerulean Guardian: Stand down. Forget what you think you saw. And do not get in my way again. You hit your head when attacked by a demon and passed out."
"What? That's how you'll help me?"
He unfolded himself from the chair in one smooth motion, the legs scraping against the wooden floor. He walked to the door, pausing with his hand on the knob.
"You want to learn everything in a day?"
He opened the door.
"Oh, and Liana?" he said, not looking back. "The next time you try to blackmail me, I won't be nearly this polite."
The door clicked shut, leaving her alone in the flickering dark.
"Wait!" She called out, but he was gone. "Untie me," she groaned. "How am I supposed to get out of this now?"
She managed to move her hands and they hit something.
Looking down, she found a small fruit knife there. "Hm? He's not stupid after all."
A minute later, she managed to free herself, rubbing her wrists. However, Nolan's words still echoed in her head.
The world had just gotten much, much bigger, and infinitely more dangerous.