Second Guard Read Free

had been spoken in haste by an
exhausted young man. She would dwell on them no longer.
    They passed a field of grazing alpacas, their long woolly hair nearly ready for harvest, and a fluffy white yearling followed them for several minutes, trotting alongside them like a playful
pup. The alpaca’s ears seemed to work separately from the rest of his face, popping up and down in random intervals, and the absurdity of his expressions made Tali laugh aloud.
    When it became clear that the yearling seemed intent on following them for the entire journey, Tali sighed and pulled on the reins. “Come along,” she called, turning her horse
around. “Let’s go find Mama.”
    Though it was time she could not well afford, Tali backtracked until she found the yearling’s mother at the edge of a wooden fence, bleating for her baby’s return. A young Earth
Guild girl, nearly lost inside a frayed, mud-colored poncho, ran forward and thanked Tali with a grin, displaying several missing teeth.
    Tali smiled in return and raised her fist in the sign of her guild. “May Intiq warm you.”
    The girl dipped her head and placed a small hand over her heart. “May the Mother hold you.”
    Tali nodded to acknowledge the blessing, then urged her horse forward. She knew the traditional Earth Guild words were meant to be a comfort, but she could never hear them without feeling a
sense of loss. Mother Earth was no replacement for a real mother, no matter what anyone said.
    By midday, she finally reached the Queen’s Paseo, the wide stone-paved loop that connected all the major cities of the realm before running straight down the southern
bridge to the Alcazar. The Paseo had been designed to accommodate a full Second Guard legion: five columns of twenty soldiers on horseback. Tali had seen the legions pass a few times in her life,
and on each occasion a tingle had traveled her spine, knowing that one day she might wear their coveted blue uniform. If she were good enough, she might even be named one of the red-sashed
centurios who helmed the legions, their left arms adorned by iron brassards studded with firestones to signify their years of service.
    Tali’s hand now dropped to the hilt of her sword as she remembered her father’s parting gift. The sword had been a surprise. “This was your mother’s, given to her by
Queen Twenty-one,” he’d said, pulling it from a leather sheath and handing it to her. The blade was a bit longer than Tali’s arm and felt heavy in her grip, but not overly so. The
hilt was made of forged steel, but the pommel and crossguard were both plated with silver. The smooth, round pommel had been engraved with the last queen’s mark, XXI, the foreign numerals
another import from the Far World along with horses and ironwork. Intricate filigree decorated the crossguard, intertwining all three guild symbols of earth, sun, and moon.
    “I’ve had it polished and sharpened,” her father said as Tali ran her fingers along the flat of the blade. “Take care with it, my girl,” he added, his voice growing
quieter. “This is no practice sword.”
    “Yes, Father,” Tali said, replacing the sword carefully. Her father took the sheathed sword and leaned forward to buckle it to her belt, as if she was still a little girl. His eyes
dropped and his face went slack. She wondered if he’d had the same look on his face twenty years ago, when he’d seen his young betrothed off to serve the realm.
    When the sword was securely tightened, Alondro Sanchez set his hands atop Tali’s slim shoulders. “You are a brave daughter, an honorable sister. Your sacrifice will not go unnoticed
by Intiq.”
    Tali blinked back tears. She did not wish her father to regret his words, to second-guess a decision made long ago. She was ready for this.
    He gripped her shoulders tightly then, as if reading her thoughts. “Listen, my child. Do not let pride get in the way of reason. I know you dream of becoming a warrior like your mother,