Read Online Tiva Boon: Royal Guardian by Jenn Nixon - Free Book Online Page A

waiting for the procession of his soldiers. Dressed in the traditional robes and headdress, he glistened like a statue in the suns' light. Tiva gawked at him as her body resisted every command she attempted. He ran his hand through his hair exposing the markings on his forehead. They were black. She knew then, he was the one she sensed in the study. His anger, his trepidation, his panic, flowed through her.
    She turned from the king and observed the line of legionnaires. Some she recognized from her induction ceremony, others she had never seen before. A couple of guardians from the Finto and Ispek families were present, but none from her own. She tried to remain strong in front of the twins, but as the droves of people passed with the bodies of the dead, tears streamed down her face. She wiped her cheek and jumped to her feet. Zaynus gripped her arm before she moved.
    “Do not interfere, this is tradition,” he said
    “My father might be among them,” she said and fought against his hold. “Let me go!”
    Litru knelt in front of her, and wiped a tear away. “Tiva, we must wait. I know your fears and confusion. If your father is among them, nothing will change if you go to him now. You must trust us.”
    Tiva looked into Litru’s eyes, her markings turned darker , but she yielded and stopped struggling.
    A loud siren screamed out from the top of the Palace of Kinchar. The piercing high-pitched ringing reverberated through the air. Tiva shivered, but did not understand the significance of the siren.
    “We must head to the Great Hall and gather for the mourning.” Litru put his hand on her shoulder.
    Tiva obeyed and followed the Truda twins. The siren dissipated as legionnaires and guardians filed into the palace from all areas of the grounds. As the three neared the palace doors, a voice echoed in her ears.
    “Tiva?”
    She turned upon hearing her name and saw her mother running toward them.
    “Mother!” she said.
    They ran to each other. D’laja dropped and gathered her in her arms.
    Tiva cried again. “I was with Zenid…I felt the panic from everywhere. Where is Father?”
    “Your father is safe, precious one, but there was a confrontation; he was injured and could not make the journey back.” D’laja held her tight, kissed her cheek and forehead. “You should not be here to see this.”
    “I looked for you, cousin Towt was not at his post. The Truda twins stayed with me.” She searched for the twins, but they had vanished inside the palace.
    D’laja stood and took Tiva’s hand. “Let us go home now, we need not be here for the mourning.”
    “But, Mother, they lost their lives while in service of the king, we should remember them.” Tiva sniffled, tears spilling down her cheek.
    D’laja began to sob and picked Tiva up in her arms. They held each other.
    “Speak of what you are hiding, Mother.”
    “Your cousin, Towt, is one that we must mourn, precious one.” D’laja sighed and wiped the tears from both their eyes. She tucked a strand of hair behind Tiva’s ear and carried her up the palace stairs. “He went this morning with other guardians and legionnaires to thwart the threat in Hentor Province, and he was killed along with many others.”
    D’laja entered the palace and put Tiva down. Her mother’s words sank in. Towt was gone.
    She tried to move. Her legs shook and she grabbed her mother’s hand for support. Tiva had read of death, knew stories of wars and battles, both victories and defeats. She knew many of her kin had perished early on in their lives, the crests on her home were proof, but nothing prepared her for what she sensed when she entered the Great Hall.
    The dead lay on the floor of the hall, a silk shroud of white and gold covered each body. The Vicars circled the group chanting the death rites. Royals, guardians, legionnaires, and other nobles stood silently praying. Towt Narja was the smallest, and most likely youngest of those who had perished.
    Tiva could not look