The Masked Guard [book #1] - 《li Martinez》

"You look lovely tonight," he says to me as we glide along with everyone else.

I allow myself to blush. "Tell me," I say. "Where are you from?"

He hesitates for a moment. "I am from the Sunlands, Your Highness," he says after a moment.

"Please," I tell him. "Call me Abigail." The slight shock in his face makes me chuckle.

"You are nothing like the other princesses I have met," he mutters.

This makes me smile. "I am not," I agree.

He smiles at me.

He seems so familiar. If only I could see under his mask...Then I sense his mood change. I frown. "Are you alright?" I ask. The music ends and he takes us out of the group of dancers. "Where are we going?" I ask.

But he doesn't answer. He takes us out of the ballroom onto a balcony.

"Is there a meaning to this?" I ask.

"Yes," he replies. He lets go of my hand. Slowly, he unties the knot in the string of his mask.

I gasp as he takes off the mask. He is the boy I saw in the city only days before.

The boy sees the recognition in my eyes. "You must come with me," he says. "You are in danger."

"Why?" I ask.

"There is no time," he replies.

"First," I tell him, "what is your name?"

"Ian," he says.

I smile. "Then we have met before."


Highest ranking: #74 in #fantasyadventure