I saw Daphne and Levi grin at me as I left.
“Catch you this evening?” Daphne asked.
“I’ll see you after practice,” I said.
Daphne had an exceptionally smart mind, but she struggled with some of the finer points of using magic. I had offered to tutor her in using her Air magic.
“I’ll go with you,” Levi said, standing quickly. He had suffered Edell’s advances when he had been younger, and I knew he didn’t want to spend any more time in her company.
I turned away as Edell continued to tug on the blade and went to leave, but the sound of hooting and cheers stopped us. Isaw the Lochagos enter the dining hall, a group of youngsters in front of him. Shit.
Shouts of “Neos!” and “Fresh meat!” and laughter filled the room and I sighed. The soldiers were herding a batch of newly discovered Mageia into the dining hall, all wearing the white sleeveless smocks of the uninitiated.
There were about twenty of them, both male and female. The Legion didn’t care what sex you were, everyone wore the same thing. Most of them were young, maybe eleven or twelve, with one or two older kids thrown in as well. One kid looked to be much older than normal. He had his head down, his hair falling over his face as he knelt to wrap his arms around a couple of the smallest kids and seemed to be trying to reassure them.
All the kids looked terrified, and I didn’t blame them. They’d probably just been uprooted from everything they knew and loved, had their budding powers Suppressed for the first time, and been tossed around with little explanation before being dumped here. The same thing had happened to all of us.
“Legion, attention!” the Lochagos bellowed, and the room fell silent.
He and the other Elusians sorted the kids by age. Hoplites gathered around. I dropped my tray on the conveyor and moved to leave, hoping to avoid the show, but then I heard Procopios start his spiel.
“Welcome to the Legion,” he yelled. “I am Lochagos Procopios, and I am responsible for you snotlings until you are promoted to Hoplite.”
I could see Procopios through the sea of soldiers as he began walking in front of the children, glaring at each of them in turn.
“When you walked through those gates, you left behind whatever life you had before today. As of now, you are Legionnaires. You have no name except what the Legion givesyou. You have no family except what the Legion gives you. Am I understood?” he yelled.
Most of the new kids were still crying. Procopios grabbed a little girl of maybe twelve who was sobbing and pulled her forward.
“Am I understood?” he screamed in her face. The poor girl was terrified, and only sobbed louder.
Procopios backhanded the girl hard enough to send her flying to the floor. Snickers erupted from some of the Hoplites as she fell. I watched impassively and tried to ignore the twitch in my cheek. We’d all been through it. Better that she learns now what to expect from her new life.
“Am. I. Understood.” Procopios screamed as he loomed over her.
“Leave her alone!” yelled the oldest initiate, stepping between the little girl and the Lochagos. My stomach felt like it dropped to the floor at the sound.
The body wasn’t familiar but fuck. I knew that voice. Luke.
Before I knew it, I began to force my way through the crowd to the inner ring of Hoplites surrounding the initiates, snarling at Hoplites who got in my way. I was only a Cadet, but I’d earned a reputation for being a vicious bastard, so once they realized I was the one pushing, they got out of my way.
“Oh ho! We have a little hero on our hands, Legionnaires!” Procopios yelled to the jeers and cheers of the students. Fuck. He loved it when they fought back, and I knew Luke well enough to know he wouldn’t back down.
The Elusians shoved Luke to the front row where he knelt and lifted the young girl to her feet before he hid her behind his back. He’d grown a lot since I’d last seen him. He was seventeen, and far past the age that he should have first shown Mageian powers. I’d thought—hoped, really— that he was safe from allthis. He’d grown like a weed: he was tall and lanky, probably somewhere around six feet. We’d both inherited our father’s black hair, but while mine was split by a streak of white, his was pure black and fell in waves around his face.
While he was tall, he also looked…soft. Which made sense. He had always preferred reading to swordplay and puzzles to brute force. As a legitimate child, I doubted he’d ever missed a meal in his life.
Procopios would eat him alive.
By the time I made it to the middle ring of Legionnaires, they already had him by the arms.
“What is your name, Hero?” Procopios asked.
I silently urged Luke to keep silent, but telepathy had never been one of my gifts.
“Lucius Alexus the First,” he said, glaring defiantly at the Lochagos.
“Oh ho! Amikros prinkipas!” Procopios announced. Shit. Telling this crowd that Luke was a little prince was like dumping blood in the water.
