The Kinetic

She looked over her shoulder to be sure the guards weren’t paying attention. They didn’t notice her; and she kept her head down and never gave them a hard time. A few others wore the same color wristband and were sitting close enough to watch her movements. She gnawed on her lip, not sure if she could trust them. If she was caught—well, she didn’t want to think of what would happen.

Kinsley looked at the band around her wrist. As far as she could tell it was used just for sorting purposes. In her case, it meant her eyes changed color. Little did they know she was a full-blood Alterealm resident. She glanced to the other women again, wondering how much Alterealm DNA they had. Some of the women that slept on the main floor wore bands as well, but theirs were ability blockers. That brought her back to the reason she was thinking about all of this in the first place. They couldn’t find out she had an ability. More importantly, they couldn’t discover that she was working undercover for the Alterealm royal family.

She watched as a woman wandered close to the barrier and stopped. That would get all of them in trouble. No one wanted to be on this island, but she was making her escape attempts too obvious. She turned to see if the guard was watching and blew out a breath of relief to see he wasn’t.

Her gaze landed on another woman, or more specifically, the bruising on her face. Kinsley’s heartbeat sped up, she felt like she was failing. There was only so much interference she could create to keep the men away from the women. She was just as much at risk, with the sheer number of men that came and went from this hunk of land in the middle of the water. Twice now, she’d had to fight to prevent unwanted advances. She almost felt physical pain in knowing that she couldn’t always protect the rest of the women. She’d barely slept since arriving: the cries that echoed through the building wouldn’t allow her to sleep. She didn’t know what the royal family had done on their end, but the security and visits from the higher-ups in this crazy place had increased tenfold.

Okay, she put her hand out and touched the tall weeds growing beside where she stood, now or never. You can’t get caught with the phone. With her other hand, she reached into her top and pulled out a small phone. Quickly she opened the message function and hit send. Hurry, hurry, she chanted in her mind. It vanished from the screen. Check your messages, Justice. Clutching the phone against her chest, she turned to be certain no one was looking her way. Taking a quick breath, she backed up a few steps to see a rotted-out knot in the tree. Taking a deep breath, she opened her hand and watched the phone move carefully toward the tree and didn’t take another breath until it was tucked inside the knot of the tree, out of sight.

“Hey.”

Startled, she turned to see one of the guards scowling at her. With a fake yawn, she stretched her arms over her head and gave him a sweet smile. He watched her for a moment more, then turned away.

Let the cavalry come soon was her only thought as she slowly wandered back to the others.

I stood there looking at all the things I’d tossed on the bed. There was no way it would all fit into one duffle bag. I had no idea what I would or wouldn’t need from this point forward. Did royal guards even get days off? I didn’t know. They had to, right? The other personal guards spent a lot of time in the yard, so they must have free time.

I looked at my new porter. It had three locations programmed in: the underground chambers, the palace, and the guard’s yard. Only the high ranking and personal royal guards had this elite porter, so I shouldn’t complain that home was a long way away. I had no idea when I’d be back to even visit.

Sighing dramatically, I went to my closet and dug around for another bag. Finding one that was long discarded, I tossed it on the bed. I needed to pick up the pace. I didn’t want to keep Captain Rafael waiting downstairs and alone with my family too long.

My family. They were exhausting. Of course, my father understood what an honor my achieving the placement was as he’d been a royal guard for over a hundred years. His father and also my great-grandfather before him were guards. My mother was not so understanding. I often wondered if it was because my brother had dropped out of the training, or that I, her daughter had passed. Her daughter should be delicate and spend all her time in a dress, doing womanly things. I didn’t fit into her belief of what a daughter was. I was petite, a whole five foot three, but that was my only quality that fit her definition of a daughter. I could take down three quarters of the other guards in a practice skirmish, without using my ability. For the others I did need the occasional assist, but Captain Rafael and Prince Michael laughed when I used it. As far as I was concerned, using my ability was more than acceptable to defend myself.

Stuffing the last of my things into the smaller bag, I quickly closed it, picked up my bags and went to the door. I paused to look around my room. Truth be told, I wouldn’t be heartbroken if I never had to sleep here again.

~

I walked back into the kitchen and cringed. My mother was hovering over the captain with that look on her face. The look that meant she was trashing my profession again.

“…her best friend’s father died on that island rescue.” My mother’s tone was hostile.

Rafael glanced at me and stood up. “I’m aware, Mrs. Hinton.” He inclined his head, “we are doing everything we can to help his family.”

My mother scoffed. “That won’t bring him back.” She pointed to me, “I don’t want my daughter to end up the same way.”

Rafael cleared his throat. “Kinsley is a very skilled warrior. You should be proud of her.”

I watched my mother’s shoulders rise and fall. I glanced at my father; his expression mirrored my thoughts. I needed to get out of here. “I hope this isn’t too much to port back.”

Rafael gave me a quick look. “As long as it’s not a car, I can manage.”

My father chuckled. “I wouldn’t say that, Captain, she’ll be running back up to get her weights.”

Rafael grinned. “She has access to the family’s gym now, so hopefully they won’t be needed.”

“Who is she guarding?” My mother blurted out.

I wanted to melt into an invisible puddle.

“My niece.” Rafael said calmly.

I watched my mother process that. “So, she won’t be in fights anymore? Will just be spending her time hanging around the palace? You know she hurt her arm not long ago doing something for the guard?”

My father interrupted before Rafael could answer. “It’s an honor for her to get this posting.”

I picked up one of the bags. “We should get going. I want to be there before Rena arrives.”

Rafael came over and took the bag from my hand. “It’s going to be an adventure.” He smirked and gave me a quick wink.

~

When we stepped outside, I glanced to make sure my mother hadn’t followed. “I’m so sorry.” I whispered.

“Don’t be.” He stopped and looked down at me. “It’s not the first time as a royal, or captain of the guard, I’ve dealt with hostile mothers.” He grinned.

I blew out a breath. “I like to think any other mother in this realm would be thrilled her daughter was selected out of several hundred to be a part of the royal guard.” I shrugged, “but no, she’d rather I’d be in a frilly dress drinking tea.”

He laughed. “If you prefer, we can get you a frilly uniform to wear.”

I cringed. “No. Thanks.” I smiled. Hopefully the rest of the family was as easygoing as he seemed to be.