The Magyki around them still stared, refusing to move until Taeral began shouting angry commands, threatening to disembowel anyone who didn’t get back to work.

Vera watched them slowly disperse, avoiding meeting any of their gazes. This wasn’t the first time she’d lost a spar, both Elric and Jaren had beaten her more times than she could count, but it was the first time she’d ever lost to an audience.

She turned, forcing her feet to walk at a normal pace when she wanted nothing more than to run as fast as she could to the cover of the tree line. She teetered, feeling slightly lightheaded. Gods, she needed a bath and a damn nap.

“Tell me, Your Highness,” Reniya called out, jogging to catch up and make pace with her, “is he your zisdemyoz?”

Vera’s brow creased, not recognizing the last word. Was she talking about Jaren? “My what?”

“Your zisdemyoz,” she repeated, as if saying it again magically explained what it meant.

“I know what you said,” Vera muttered, “I just don’t know what it means.” She could feel Reniya’s gaze as she stared at the side of her head. “I’m not perfect at our language yet,” she reluctantly admitted, trying to walk faster.

Reniya kept up, either not taking the hint, or—more likely—just didn’t give a shit.

“Would you be more comfortable if I spoke like this?” she asked, her mouth and tongue twisting in an almost endearing way as she enunciated her words in the common tongue.

“No,” Vera snapped, her embarrassment somehow growing even hotter. Would she just leave her alone?

“I am fluent in both,” Reniya continued, despite Vera’s obvious irritation.

Stopping in her tracks, she pressed the pads of her fingers to her eyelids and audibly exhaled. Of course, she was. The female was apparently good at everything.

“What do you want, Reniya?” she asked, pointedly using Thyabathi. “You and Taeral made your point quite clearly. I get it. I’m leaving.”

Reniya slapped her hand against the sword sheathed at her side, pointing at Vera and then herself. “Zisdemyoz. A guardian. I am to be yours.”

Vera frowned, still not understanding what she was rambling on about. “Like a personal guard or something?”

Reniya nodded. “King Vesstan assigned me to you not an hour ago. I begin this evening after I set up my replacement here.”

Vera balked, her thoughts immediately going to Eithan. She hadn’t even considered the fact that she might be expected to walk around with a guard following her. Just the thought made her cringe.

She’d assumed Jaren would be enough. But considering how Taeral had reacted to him, and that King Vesstan would soon learn what he was to her—though she still didn’t understand why that was bad—she shouldn’t be all that surprised they weren’t allowing it to be him.

She shook her head. “King Vesstan did not discuss protection with me. He didn’t seem to—We didn’t speak for very long,” she finally said, not trusting Reniya enough to say more about how their interaction had gone.