Chapter 31

The sudden tension flooding into the room has anxiety straining against my nerves in response. The two guards share a not so subtle look between them that I can't read.

It's easy to guess that I must have asked something offensive without realizing it and I wince, "Sorry, was that an insensitive question or something? I don't know that much about shifters, so I didn't realize-"

"No, no," Xavier rushes to assure me with a wave of his hand, "you don't need to apologize. It's an understandable question. It's not impolite or anything."

I'm relieved to not have inadvertently offended either of them, but my face scrunches over with my confusion, "Then what-?"

Arden, still seated at one of the chairs at the table shuffles around in her seat, getting comfortable, "We were just surprised that the Commander's eyes changed in front of you is all. Have they done thata lot?"

The muscles in my legs are getting stiff from standing for so long, and I shuffle over to the still made but wrinkled bed and settle onto the edge. A sigh slips through my lips as the weight lifts off my still sore feet. I consider their question, chewing on the inside of my cheek as I think, "I mean, how much is *'a lot'*? His eyes usually change at least once whenever I see him. Is thatbad?"

Xavier coughs as if suddenly uncomfortable, "The Commander's eyes don't usually change much," He explains.

"I've only seen them change twice, myself," Arden jumps in, "though I haven't been around him as often as some people because I only got moved to his squad recently. And I've only ever seen them shift to orange when he's irate."

Orange.

I remember seeing them change to that orangey shade of amber as well. They had turned that color right before he slaughtered the entire retinue of Unseelie soldiers who had been traveling with me. I hadn't realized that the reason they had changed was because he was angry, though.

"So, his eyes change colors with his emotions?" I ask curiously, trying to clarify what it is she's hinting at.

"Commander Lothbrook isn't like many other shifters." Xavier tells me, back to his usually serious demeanor.

I shoot him a grin in an attempt to lighten the tense atmosphere of the room, "So I've gathered."

Arden chuckles, rolling her eyes, "Smart ass."

Xavier continues speaking over mine and Arden's shared laughter, "There are a wide variety of shifters, and our King happens to be something called a berserker."

"A berserker?"I repeat, testing out the unfamiliar word.

"Most shifters have a second form they can change into at will," Arden explains, "bears, wolves, mountain lions, birds, things like that. Unless they're born without one. The Commander is more deadly than most because he has *two* additional forms."

Xavier nods, clarifying for me, "He has a deadly panther form that he can change into at will and a berserker form-a monster that comes out on its own based on emotion."

"And his changing eye colors are connected to his berserker form?" I ask.

"The color of his eyes are an indication that his berserker form is about to make an appearance. A bit of a warning for those in his presence. His eyes usually stay black because he's always so in control of his emotions. That's why we were a little shocked that you've seen the color shift so much."

So his eye color is connected to what he's feeling? His eyes shift color around me so much that while I was admittedly wonderstruck by them the first time I saw them, I'd slowly become accustomed to the mercurial nature of his eye color. Equated them as being just another part of him. And while they still *were* just another part of him, something about the fact that his emotions were so interwoven to them drew my incorrigible curiosity.

I want to know what all of those changing colors mean.

"Which color means that his berserker form is going to emerge?" I ask.

"Orange," Xavier says matter-of-factly, "well, dark orange. It serves as a warning. So if you see his eyes go orange, you need to proceed with caution."

I spend the rest of the day with Xavier and Arden. They show me around the castle again, taking me to the few areas we weren't able to get to yesterday. My favorite of the rooms we visit today is the library which is located on nearly the bottom level of tunnels.

The librarian is a robust, energetic woman who shows me around the large cave-like room with the ease of someone who's spent many, many years here. When I ask, she helps me find the book on hand languages so I can begin learning on how to communicate with Mitra. My guards look mildly surprised at my desire to learn her language, but also pleased, and something akin to respect shines in their eyes.

We spend some more time in the gardens and this time they show me the rows of crops being tended to by a few shifters in the back. And after combing through the rows, when I'm starting to feel tired, they offer to bring an early dinner back to my room so I don't have to walk all the way back down to the commissary. Even though a large part of me wants to see what the dining hall is like at a normal meal time and get a good look at all of the people living here, I agree with them. I'm already feeling wiped out from yesterday and all the walking I did today has pushed me to my physical limits.

They eat dinner with me in my rooms and I enjoy their easy chatter. Arden explains a little about their shifter forms with me-her form being a hawk while Xaviers is a type of grizzly bear. It's a little hard for me to picture these guards that I've gotten so used to transforming into something else entirely and the curiosity to see it with my own eyes tugs at me.

When my eyes begin to droop shut, they take the empty food trays and bid me goodnight with the promise to come by in the morning. After a quick bath, dirty from the trek through the gardens and caves, I slip into one of the soft nightgowns in my armoire and settle into bed for the night. I'm so exhausted that I'm only able to get through a few pages of the hand language book before I fall head-long into a deep and exhausted sleep.