Missing Lily (Tales of Dalthia) by Annette K. Larsen Page A

would know of my sincerity. Sealing the missive with wax and using my ring to leave an impression of—appropriately—a lily, I set it aside, knowing that it would take some time before I was brave enough to send it. I wished for that bravery now. He deserved to know what had happened to me. He deserved more than a few sentences scratched out in haste and left for him to find. But I was too afraid of what he would think of me once he knew. So I left it in a box on my desk and went down to breakfast.  
    My mother and Lorraina were already eating. My father walked in shortly after I did, smiling sadly as he gently squeezed my shoulder. Though my mother and sister had already finished their meal, they stayed for several minutes to talk with me and be sure that I was recovering well. Their hovering was sweet, but it made me feel a little guilty. True, I had some physical ailments, but my experience had not been nearly as harrowing as they seemed to believe.  
    My mother kissed the top of my head before leaving to attend to her duties, and Lorraina left shortly after.
    My father had remained quiet and distracted. His eyes were heavy, tired, and bloodshot. We ate in silence and when I finished my food I decided to leave him to his thoughts.
    I rose from the table, but halted when he spoke up. “Lylin, a word?”
    I nodded and followed him out of the dining hall and into his study. He did not sit behind his desk, but instead leaned on the front of it. It was his way of setting an informal tone to this meeting. I preferred this over his sitting, in all his regal glory, behind his desk.
    “We need to discuss your protection.”
    I took a breath and nodded, already resigned to an adjustment in my protection after what happened.
    “I know that Nathaniel has worked out well, and he will continue to take the lead in your protection, but when you go outside the palace walls, you will be accompanied by no less than two guards. If you are going on more than just a short ride, there will be more.”
    My heart sank, uncomfortable with the idea of so many guards following after me, but I didn’t bother arguing. I just looked at the floor, waiting to hear the rest of his new rules.
    “If you are traveling any distance, you will take a carriage.”
    My head snapped up. “Father, surely that’s not necessary.” I despised bumping along inside those stifling carriages.
    His eyes narrowed. “It is .”
    “For how long?”  
    “Lylin.” There was a warning edge in his voice. “You must let me protect you.”
    “I can be perfectly safe on a horse. You know—”
    “Lylin.”
    I fell silent, hearing the note of finality in his tone, and nodded.
    “I know how much you dislike the lack of privacy, but you know that your safety must come first. Remember, we still have not apprehended the last man involved in the attack.”
    “How many were there? I saw three, but there may have been more.”
    “There were only three, and Nathaniel dispatched two of them.”
    “Do we know if they targeted me specifically?”
    His eyes swam with worry. “No, we don’t. And unless we find out otherwise, we have to assume that you were the target. And we also have to remember that there could be others involved.”
    I sank into a chair, overwhelmed by the possibility that a threat of danger still stalked me. My father crouched in front of me, forcing me to look at him. I tried to smile as though I weren’t worried, but he was not fooled. He put a comforting hand to the back of my neck, and I tipped my head forward to rest it on his shoulder.
    “I will keep you safe, Lylin,” he murmured, and I just nodded.
    After the conversation with my father, I wandered out to the stables, only to realize when I got there that I didn’t have a horse to visit. I missed Willow.
    Several days later, I decided to try riding, but I only got as far as her empty stall before I lost my enthusiasm. It was another week before I could convince myself to try a different