Page 64 of The Last Syphon

“Can any royal do that? I mean, why bother with the Shielder Trials if you can just pick your own Shielder?” Inara wondered.

They exchanged another look.

Okay, now Inara was sure they were hiding something.

Lucky for them, another knock on the door saved them from any further scrutiny.

A man popped his head into the doorway. “The High Council has returned with their verdict.”

“Thank you, Nolan,” Princess Phaedra said, inclining her head.

He nodded back once before disappearing.

A sudden burst of nerves flooded Inara’s system. She wasn’t sure why. In her opinion, she had done a pretty good job.

But did Larissa do better?

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“Don’t be nervous,” Princess Phaedra said as they walked down the darkened hall. They were still in the underground caverns, each footstep echoing in the air around them. Luminaires hung on the walls, spaced out evenly and casting the space in a bright orange-yellow light.

“Why would she be nervous?” Felix strode at her side, his back straight with the hint of a swagger in his footsteps. “We fucking killed it.”

“We?” Inara sang, arching an eyebrow.

“Yes, we.” Her best friend jogged forward so he was in front of her and turned, walking backwards. “Or did you forget you couldn’t have done it without me?” He winked.

Princess Phaedra nodded. “That is true, I suppose. You would be ineligible to compete without a willing Charge to compete with you.”

Felix’s eyebrows pumped up and down before he returned to her side.

That wasn’t what he meant, and Inara knew that. He was going to be intolerable now that the secret was out between the two of them.

“Now, do not be offended that my brother will not give you a perfect score, even though, in my opinion, you deserve nothing less after that display. He seldom does,” she continued. Stationed at regular distances were guards on either side of the tunnel. They bowed their heads as the princess walked past.

“He never does.” Kronan corrected with his usual grunt.

“Why not?” Inara asked curiously.

“No one has lived up to his expectations of a perfect score. Walder expects perfection not only from himself, but those around him. The highest score he has graded was a six, and it was to Larissa.” She said the woman’s name with an icy venom that spoke volumes.

Inara wasn’t expecting a perfect score. Even now, as she ran the events back in her mind, she couldn’t help but question her choices. Whether she should have done some things differently.

Their group turned a corner. Then another. Then another. It all looked exactly the same to Inara, but the princess seemed to know exactly where she was going as if she had travelled that same path many times before.

“Why don’t you like her? Larissa? I mean, I can take a guess based on the very limited interaction I’ve had with her so far, but I don’t like to draw conclusions.”

Felix snorted.

The princess picked up the edges of her dress robes and ascended the staircase leading up to a set of tall, double doors. “We have a long and sordid history. It would take many days and nights to tell. Here we are.”

Inara found that little bit of information only made her more curious.

Princess Phaedra stopped and turned to face them. Her smile was wide and encouraging. “Good luck. Not that you need it.” She winked.

The doors opened. Bright, blinding light greeted her, as well as the roar of an adoring crowd. Inara blew out a puff of air. Despite the sliver of unease shooting through her body, she straightened her spine and put out an aura of confidence as she strode behind the princess and Kronan.

They were in an arena of some kind. The ground beneath her feet was full of harsh, dense sand. It was grand in its design, much like everything else she had come across since arriving in Arelia. The seating was the same as what it had been in the chambers during the trials, except this time, there was a long podium up in the stands where the seven High Council members sat.