Barclay turned to Ethel to moan about his failure, but before he did, he noticed her brooch had gone red, like a piece of fiery coal.
He turned around. Nearly every student’s brooch was red. The only ones that weren’t belonged to him… and Tadg.
Erhart even wrote this exam himself,Ethel had told him. Barclay realized it didn’t matter if you cheated. All the brooches did was tell the proctors that youhad. There would be no disqualifying. No consequences.
He turned in his exam feeling worse than foolish—feeling pathetic.
Abel and Ethel waited for him at the door. Ethel looked rather pale, but Abel yawned and stretched his arms behind his head.
“I’m ready for a nap,” Abel told them. “You look like you could use one too, Barclay. And a mug of pear cider.”
“You couldn’t mean Ironwood Inn cider, could you?” a cool voice asked from behind them. It was Soren.
Barclay took a frightened step backward. “I… No…”
“Yes!” Abel said brightly. Barclay recognized a grown-up-pleasing face when he saw one, though he wouldn’t have expected one from Abel. “Best in town. That’s why we’re staying there.”
Barclay could have kicked him. Now he’d have to fear Soren trying to murder him in his bed.
“How charming,” Soren said, smiling his all-too-pleasant smile. He held out a wicker basket. “Please return your brooches.”
Barclay shakily dropped his inside, as did Abel and Ethel. He barely breathed again until Soren moved on to another student.
“What’s wrong?” Ethel asked him.
“That man…” Barclay lowered his voice. “He attacked me! He tried to steal my Beast.”
Abel furrowed his eyebrows. “Why would he do that? What sort of Beast do you have?”
That didn’t strike Barclay as the right question to ask, but before he could say so, he was distracted by Soren’s voice once more.
“Being honorable won’t get you anywhere, Mr. Murdock,” Soren said coolly behind him.
Barclay turned in time to see Tadg return his brooch.
“Murdock?”Barclay hissed to Ethel and Abel. “Like Conley Murdock? The man who wroteA Traveler’s Log?”
“We thought you knew that!” Abel said. “Tadg is his son. Why do you think everyone around here worships him?”
“I thought they just liked his Mythic class Beast,” Barclay answered. “You know, his Mark does look a lot like the Beast on the cover of the book.”
“That’s Murdock’s Nathermara—he was famous for it,” Ethel said excitedly. “It’s a Mythic class Beast from the Sea, where Murdock is from.”
Before Tadg could respond to Soren, Runa appeared at Soren’s side. “I wouldn’t be so sure of that, Soren. I take honesty into account.” She tore the stack of papers from Soren’s hands. “As aproctor, I mean,” she added curtly.
Soren glared at Runa for a moment, then turned to Tadg. He jerked his head toward the door. “Run along, then.”
Tadg stalked past Barclay, Abel, and Ethel without so much as an insult or a shove. He stormed out into the snow, leaving his usual posse behind him.
Abel snorted. “Probably thinks he’s above all this. He doesn’t need to cheat if he has Soren, does he?”
“What do you mean, ‘has Soren’?” Barclay asked.
“Soren Reiker and Conley Murdock used to be partners—they were writing the sequel to Murdock’s book together before Murdock died,” Abel explained. “So of course Soren will make sure Tadg does well. That’s probably why he tried to steal your Beast, Barclay! You’re the only other student with a Mythic Beast—he must think you’ll hurt Tadg’s chances.”
It was possible, Barclay supposed, though he hadn’t ever told Soren he planned on entering the Exhibition. But it didn’t surprise him that Tadg and Soren could be working together. Unpleasant people always had a way of finding one another.
Abel sighed. “Must be nice to be rich like that. And to travel. I’ve been stuck in the Woods my whole life.” He kicked at the edge of a loose floorboard.
