Ancient Guardians: The Uninvited by S. L. Morgan Page A

eyes and grinned. “It’s been too long, Miss Bryant,” he said, as he reached for her hand and bowed over it dramatically.
    Reece laughed softly. “It’s nice to see you again, Harrison. I have to admit, it’s been pretty quiet around the palace without you there entertaining us all.”
    “This does not surprise me.” Harrison responded with a wink as he clapped his hand on Levi’s shoulder. “How’d this old man treat you while I was away? He has a tendency to become deeply depressed whenever I leave him behind to go on assignment. I can only imagine what you must have gone through.”
    Levi rolled his eyes while Reece smiled in response. “I have no idea how he did it, but he found a way to manage.”
    Harrison smiled and turned to greet Elizabeth, who was standing next to Reece. “It is always a delight, sweet one,” he said, as he bowed properly over Elizabeth’s hand.
    “Harrison, it is always good to have you amongst us,” she answered.
    “Well, gentlemen, we have at least thirty more minutes until we arrive at our destination for the evening. I know our ladies must be famished, so we can convene this discussion later,” Navarre said, and before turning to escort Allestaine toward the carriages. With that, the rest of the group followed behind. Levi, however, hesitated and used the opportunity to steal a quick kiss from Reece.
    The next two days of travel to the Oxley’s oceanfront estate went fairly quickly. Levi and Harrison followed close by the convoy on their horses, giving Reece plenty of time to admire him along the way. They traveled through numerous villages, stopping only to eat, before they were soon on their way again. The terrain they traveled through began changing on the third day. Glistening-white sandy hills replaced the vivid green pastures, and it became obvious they were nearing the ocean. Reece was eagerly anticipating what an ocean in Pemdas would look like, given the beauty of everything else in this world.
    When the ocean came into view, it was absolutely breathtaking as she imagined it would be. Aquamarines, turquoises, silvers, and a brilliant jade color sparkled brightly off of the surface. The white foam of the waves rushing toward the shoreline appeared as if someone had thrown silver glitter into the water, and it shimmered brightly as the waves surged toward the seashore. It was like a whole new world inside of Pemdas was opened up to her. There were people walking arm in arm, using umbrellas to shade themselves from the sun. The trees were similar to palm trees, except their leaves were an iridescent green, and their trunks were shimmering white. The glittery sand gave Reece the overwhelming desire to ask if they could stop, so they could walk barefoot through it.
    Seeing the coastline again made memories from her life in San Diego come rushing back to her. A strange pain stabbed in her heart as thoughts of her father returned to her. She hadn’t thought about him much lately. Levi had filled the void that his death left her with; but for the first time since she had been in Pemdas, she saw a landscape that reminded her of being home with her father. She fixed her eyes on the surf rolling in as memories of her father flooded over her, accompanied by the grief of losing him. She inhaled deeply, and forced back the tears. I miss you, Dad, she said to him in her thoughts, as the carriage stopped unexpectedly.
    Reece snapped out of her daze to find Elizabeth watching her with concern. She had been so absorbed with remembering her father that she hadn’t noticed her cheeks were wet from tears that had been streaming down her face.
    “Is everything okay?” Elizabeth asked, as she handed Reece a handkerchief to dry her eyes.
    Reece sniffed, while blotting her wet cheeks. “Yes, of course. I’m sorry, it’s very beautiful here. I grew up at the beach as a child—” Her words caught in her throat. She managed a confident grin, took a deep breath, and tried to speak