FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS, I followed Christian around without incident. And as I did, I found myself growing more and more impatient.

For one thing, I was discovering that a lot of being a guardian was waiting around. I'd always known that, but the reality was harder than I'd realized. Guardians were absolutely essential for when Strigoi decided to attack. But those Strigoi attacks? They were generally rare. Time could pass— years could pass—without a guardian ever having to engage in any sort of conflict.

While my instructors certainly wouldn't make us wait that long during this exercise, they nonetheless wanted to teach us patience and how important it...