-8-
“Tell me about Queen Coronis’s selective breeding program,” I said as soon as I was seated across Master Rahm in the library.
“What do you want to know?”
“Was it an epic failure?”
His lips twitched. “I wouldn’t call it that. We had three generations of powerful Primes.”
“Three? I was told two.”
“Before Coronis Isle was destroyed, we had a group of promising kids at Azazel Institute. We called them the Specials.”
A feeling of déjà vu washed over me. I’d heard that word.
“Unlike the rest of us, whose powers appear when we are in our teens, theirs came early. Some right after birth.”
“What do you think of arranged marriages?”
Master Rahm chuckled. “You are very direct.”
“It’s the only way to get answers around here, and I want to know everything the archangel took from me, including our laws and how we can change them.”
He pushed his glasses in place. “Don’t you mean how you can avoid them or bend them?”
I grinned. I liked this guy already. “That, too.”
“I think that arranging marriages to create powerful Primes is a terrible tradition. People should choose who they love.”
“Then why can’t people demand change?”
“Change takes time. Your father is different from Queen Coronis. He doesn’t do selective breeding, and people are allowed to choose their mates here on the island.”
“Except me,” I mumbled.
“I’m sure you will find a way around that. I’ve only just met you and I can already see you are an industrious young lady. Can we start?”
“One last question. Why aren’t there books on the Kris Dagger in the library?”
He stared at me, his cat eyes slitting. “That’s because the knowledge is passed down from wielder to wielder. There are no recordings or books.”
“So the previous wielder teaches the new one?”
He chuckled. “No. You hold the dagger and link with it. All its powers and the knowledge from past wielders are passed down to the new one.”
Why the heck had Green Eyes’s ancestor written it down? I’d hidden it upstairs in my panties drawer and I knew it had better be there. Since I hadn’t found the CC Lord Gavyn had given me, I was scared of losing something again. “I’m ready now.”
Master Rahm produced a crystal, activated it, and a math problem projected in the air. “No pencil and workbook?”
“No. When I taught at a Hermonite Academy in Los Angeles,” Master Rahm said, leaning back against his chair, “we had to warn students to be careful when using crystals, in case humans noticed. It’s nice to be on the island among our people. We don’t have to hide our powers or who we are here, thanks to your father.” His cat eyes gleamed. “Look at the questions and work them in your head.” He placed a different crystal by my right hand. “Put your hand on this, so your thoughts can flow into it.”
So, that was how the recording was done.
“You have an hour, Princess. When you are done, we’ll discuss the problems.”
The afternoon went by fast. Master Rahm was not afraid to speak his mind, and his progressive way of thinking meant he and I would get along perfectly.
“So, you think a king should mingle freely with his subjects?” I asked him just before we finished.
“Absolutely. The people don’t want a king in an ivory tower. They want one willing to listen to their problems. Visit them in their homes, see what they need to make their lives easier, and make it happen.”
I made up my mind to ignore everything Lady Nemea had said about Katia and Lottius. Whether or not I was the future leader of our people, I refused to give up my friends.
“Is it true you beat the crap out of Master Kenta?” Lottius asked when she, Katia, Skylar, and Ravan arrived at the castle that evening. I didn’t know the fifth guy, but Katia had told me they would bring a friend. I was thrilled that they wanted to hang out on a school night.
My eyes went to the guards at their station. Had they heard her? Lottius often spoke her mind and didn’t care who overheard her. I waved at the guards. I’d already told them we weren’t going anywhere, except downstairs to my father’s quarters. The other two left, leaving behind Ruby and Callum.
“I’d hardly call it beating the crap out of him,” I said.
Lottius made a sound as though annoyed and dropped onto the nearest couch.
“That’s her way of saying she hates Master Kenta and would have loved to hear that you humiliated him,” Katia explained. “He trains us at the Academy, too.”
“I don’t hate him. I dislike him,” Lottius corrected, and sank lower in the seat. “He’s a phony, just like every teacher at school. Nothing exciting happens around here, yet we can’t leave the island.”
“You know why,” Katia said. “It’s safer here.”
“So say our parents and the powers-that-be.” Lottius glanced at me as though to say your father.
“You can leave with me,” the new guy said. “I’ll protect you.”
“Why would I want to do that?” Lottius retorted.
The guy laughed and said, “Because you love me.”
She made a face and the others laughed. They hadn’t bothered to change from their school uniforms. The girls wore pleated blue plaid skirts, gray knee-high socks, light blue shirts, and navy-blue blazers with the school logo. The red-and-blue-striped silk ties were loose around their necks. The logo on their blazers was a shield with a raven perched on top of a mountain, inside an outer yellow circle with Mount Hermon Academy sewn on it. A ribbon with the words Commitment, Attitude, Performance curled at the bottom of the circle.
I focused on the new guy, who didn’t wear a uniform. He was dressed casually in jeans and a T-shirt. With his golden-blond hair and blue eyes, he looked like someone who spent most of his time outdoors. He caught me studying him and cocked an eyebrow.
“I’m Lil. And please, don’t bow or call me princess,” I added.
He cocked his eyebrows. “Lil?”
I frowned, surprised I had shortened my name like Green Eyes often did. “Lilith.”
“I like Lil. It’s less princessy. I’m Gusphon, but everyone calls me Gus. I’m a P1, Earth”—he glanced at Lottius and winked—“and Lottie’s mate.”
“Friend,” she corrected him with a glare.
“Whatever you want to call me, sweetheart.” He bumped her knee, which earned him another glare, and sat next to her. “You and I are mated.”
“I was tricked.” She elbowed him and scooted away, but he scooted closer.
“Are they really mated?” I asked Katia.
“Yep.” She sat by me while Ravan and Skylar took the loveseat.
“Did your parents arrange it?” I asked, glancing at Lottius, who was now leaning against Gus.
“Yes,” Lottius said.
“We fell in love,” Gus said at the same time.
“So they say,” Lottius mumbled, though she didn’t look so torn up about it.
Gus kissed her temple. “I’m going to spend centuries proving to you that there’s no conspiracy.”
Intrigued, I leaned forward. “Conspiracy?”
“To turn us into model citizens by feeding us false information about the past,” Katia piped in. “She’s always looking for evidence.”
“Where do you look?” Skylar asked. She hadn’t spoken since they arrived. “I can’t remember anything that happened before the Great Battle.”
“Pictures. Our parents said we would remember,” Lottius said, and rolled her eyes. “They lied.”
“Eventually would remember,” Katia corrected her.
“Mine act like they don’t know anything, yet I know they weren’t in the Great Battle,” Skylar added.
Lottius’s mother had tried to tell me something the night of my party, but had suddenly developed amnesia. Maybe Lottius was onto something. I caught the tail end of Skylar’s words.
“…lived in New York City. None of my sisters and brothers survived the Great Battle.”
I hadn’t really thought about where I’d lived with the Guardians.
Lottius and Katia had lived in Beverly Hills, while Gus was from Malibu, where he spent hours on the beach when not taking classes at a nearby human college.
“Coronis Isle, born and raised, then Chicago,” Ravan said softly. “Mom loves to talk about our life on the island. According to her, it was perfect. When the Guardians attacked, they destroyed everything and left us with nothing. Overnight, we had no home. No queen. No community. Nothing.”
Silence settled in the room. Skylar squeezed Ravan’s hand and hugged his arm. It was obvious she’d heard the story before. Gus massaged Lottius’s sock-covered feet absentmindedly. Katia’s chin trembled.
“Living on Coronis Isle didn’t prepare us for living among humans,” Ravan continued. “On the island, we had everything we needed. Food. Clothing. Shelter. We didn’t have to worry about paying for anything. Coronis provided for us. Out here, money talks. Those of us with relatives in the human world were lucky. My family went to Chicago to live with my uncle, who owns a construction company. Others weren’t so lucky. They disappeared into the underbelly of big cities, took to crime and gang activities.” He stopped talking and buried his face in Skylar’s hair.
“Ravan’s mother said there were few schools for our kind,” Skylar continued, stroking Ravan’s hair soothingly, “so they sent their children to human schools. They had to hide their powers and learn to act like humans. The only academy was in L.A., and it was expensive.” She stroked Ravan’s dreadlocks, which he had pulled back into a ponytail. “Want to take over?”
He nodded. “My mother said it was terrible. They were scared all the time. Scared of being discovered, scared of messing up, scared of the Guardians finding us. So, when your father bought this island and turned it into a refuge, our people came from all corners of the world.” He glanced at Lottius. “It might not be perfect here, Lottie, but it’s home.”
The silence this time was different. There was anger and pain. So much pain.
“Do you hate them?” I asked, searching their faces. “The Guardians?”
“I do,” Lottius said. “They still raid our businesses.”
“We are not talking about what’s going on out there, Lottie,” Gus said. He was no longer smiling. “We are talking about here. We are trying to turn this island into a paradise for everyone. Even the Guardians are welcomed.”
“I don’t think so,” Lottius retorted.
“Does that mean minions are supposed to consider this place paradise?” I asked, remembering people’s reaction when I’d treated Seraph’s injury.
Gus nodded. “Unfortunately, we’ve reverted to the way things were on Coronis Island. The most powerful are at the top and the powerless are at the bottom. We plan to change that.”
“One person at a time,” Katia said.
The others nodded, but Lottius rolled her eyes. I decided to ignore her like the others. “How can I help?”
“When you become the leader of our people, you can change things from the top while we do it from the bottom,” Gus said.
“Talk to your father,” Lottius said.
Surprised, I glanced at her. “And tell him what?”
“Everything. How you feel. You don’t like how minions are being treated, right?”
“She can’t do that,” Katia protested. “That’s like saying she doesn’t like the way he’s running things.”
“She doesn’t, or she wouldn’t have asked for help,” Lottius retorted.
“We could tell him tonight during dinner,” I said.
Unease followed my announcement and no one could meet my eyes.
“I thought we were eating with you, not him,” Katia said.
“We’re still wearing our uniforms,” Skylar added.
“No one just sits down with him for dinner without preparation,” Katia said. She glanced at Lottius. “Remember how nervous your parents were before Lilith’s party. They were worried about what to wear, what to say or not to say, how to treat Lilith.”
Gus nodded. “My parents, too.”
“I already told him you guys are coming to dinner,” I said. “But if you guys are uncomfortable, that’s okay.”
“Uncomfortable with what?” Lady Nemea asked, appearing suddenly with several minions. “Put the drinks on the table and the snacks on the counter,” she directed them.
I got to my feet and went to the nearest worker to take the tray. “Thank you.”
“Princess.” She bowed, gracefully balancing the tray, but her grip on it didn’t ease.
“What’s your name?”
“Iris, Princess.” She kept her head low.
I lifted her chin until our eyes met. “Thank you, Iris.”
I took the tray from her hand. The others followed my example, taking the trays from the servers, who didn’t hide their dismay. They asked the minions their names and to join us.
Lady Nemea clapped. “Out!”
“Dinner is served.” Lady Nemea came upstairs to announce hours later.
We arrived at Father’s private dining room to find the table set for eight.
“Where is he?” Katia asked nervously. She and the others had gone back to their dorms and changed. The guys now wore dinner jackets and the girls wore semiformal dresses. I had changed, too, because Lady Nemea insisted that we all change for dinner.
“He’ll be here,” I said.
“Who’s the eighth person?” Skylar asked.
“Probably Solange,” I said.
“I’m so nervous, I’ll probably choke on the first thing I eat,” Skylar whispered.
“Or throw up,” Katia added.
Gus and Ravan tried to act nonchalant, but I could tell they were also nervous, which made me wish I had canceled the dinner. Lottius was the only one who seemed to have it together.
We had barely sat—Katia, Skylar, and Ravan across from me, Lottius and Gus next to me—when Father arrived. The others scrambled to their feet and bowed.
“Sit down.” Lord Valafar nodded at the minion who’d pulled out his chair and took his place at the head of the table. “How’s your grandmother doing, Gus? I heard about her accident.”
Gus was surprised, and for one brief moment he just stared at my father. “A healer took care of her wounds, sire.”
“That’s good. At her age, she needs to be more careful. If it happens again, contact me and I’ll send my personal healer.”
Gus nodded. “Thank you, sire.”
Lord Valafar’s glance shifted to Lottius. “I had a meeting with your parents this afternoon, Lottius, and mentioned tonight’s dinner. They sent their love.”
“Thank you, sire,” Lottius murmured, her earlier bravado gone.
“They also said you’d like to visit them more often?”
Color flooded Lottius’s naturally pale cheeks. “If it is safe to do so, sire.”
“I will talk to Sir Malax about giving you young people more opportunities to visit your parents.” Lord Valafar studied Ravan and Skylar, and I wondered if he recognized them, too. “I hear congratulations are in order for you two. I may have not attended your pactus ceremony, but I was told both your parents approved.”
“Yes, sire,” Ravan and Skylar said at the same time, smiling.
“Good. Life is too precious to spend centuries with someone you don’t love.”
I decided I would have to remember to remind him of that when the topic of my mate came up. Thoughts of mates disappeared from my head when he said to Katia, “We are still trying to find Angelia, Katia. No matter how long it takes, we will not give up.”
Katia nodded, but her chin trembled. Once again, I wondered who Angelia was. Servants appeared with trays of food and drinks. They set bowls of soup in front of us.
“And how was your first lesson, daughter?” Father asked.
“Easy. Two pretests. Math and geography. I aced geography, but math…” I made a face. “I have to work on a few areas.”
“And tomorrow?”
“History.” I shuddered. “One month and I should be ready for the Academy.”
“Don’t be in a hurry to finish,” he said softly and picked up his soup spoon. “There’s so much more Master Rahm can teach you.” His gaze shifted to the door and annoyance crossed his face.
I followed his gaze and bit back a smile. My melodramatic older sister had chopped her hair to a bob cut and added fuchsia streaks. As for her leather pants and top, I didn’t need to see Lady Nemea’s disapproving expression to know that her outfit was inappropriate for dinner.
“Good evening, folks,” Solange said, shrugging off her black duster. One of the minions hurried forward to take it. “Don’t stand on my account,” she told my friends, who’d started to get up. She studied them with a slight smile as she handed her gloves to another minion, then waited for a third to pull out the chair for her. She didn’t look at them or thank them. “When you said we had dinner guests, Father, I assumed you meant lords and their mates.”
“We do have lords and their mates,” I said, glancing at my new friends. They hid smiles. “They’re just young and fun, and my friends.”
“Hey, brat,” she said, sitting down. I didn’t let her bait me this time.
“I’m happy you could join us, Solange.” Lord Valafar tasted a spoonful of the soup and added, “Your sister and I were discussing her lessons.”
Solange winked at me. “If you need help with anything, don’t ping me. I was never a good student. Although I find history very interesting.”
“History bores me,” I mumbled. “Love your hair.”
“I did it at a human salon. Do you want me to take you?” Even though she was asking me, her eyes were on our father.
The frown on his face matched his feelings: he didn’t approve. I couldn’t help teasing, “Should I, Father? You know, crop it short and color it?”
He chuckled. “I don’t think you should, but what do I know of female fashion?”
“Who selected my clothes?”
“Not me. Shopping bores me,” he added, imitating the tone I’d used when describing history. Snickers and giggles came from my friends. “However, I don’t think you are ready for the outside world yet.”
Good. I never wanted to leave the island. Solange’s presence eased my new friends’ nervousness. She kept conversation going while our father watched with an indulgent smile. He occasionally added a comment. He had a dry sense of humor and it showed. If anyone had told me two weeks ago he’d be this nice and all smiley, I would not have believed them.
There was so much food, and once everyone relaxed, they packed it away. We lingered after Father and Solange left the table.
“I cannot believe how nice and approachable the king was,” Skylar said, and everyone had something good to say about him. I watched them and grinned.
Something about Lottius had been bothering me since we met. I didn’t get a chance to ask her until just before they left. “So, how come you don’t drink blood like your parents?”
Her eyebrows shot up. “That’s why you kept staring at me during dinner.”
I made a face. “I didn’t think you’d notice.”
“You’re as subtle as a wart on a nose. Coronis bred my kind to extinction, so most of us are mixed-breeds. My mother and my uncle are the only pure Nosferatus left. My father is part Neteru, so I inherited quite a bit of his genes. I can tolerate the sun. I also can go without drinking warm blood. It’s still a delicacy, and the effect…” She sighed and smacked her lips. “Better than anything out there, but I don’t have to drink it.” She glanced at Katia.
“I am more Neteru, but my half-sister is more Lazarus,” Katia said, eyes watering. “My stepfather was a Lazarus.”
“Your half-sister? Are you talking about Angelia? The one who’s missing?” I asked.
Katia nodded. “I know she’s out there. I hate that I never really knew her. They were the last group of hybrids and Queen Coronis guarded them like precious jewels. My mother and stepfather were killed during the raid on the island, and I thought Angelia and the children at the institute had died too, until we heard she was seen in L.A. Before we could locate her whereabouts, she’d disappeared again with the others.”
“That’s awful.” She was furiously plucking at her dress. I gripped her hand. “Who could have taken them?”
She glanced at the others and then sighed. “We don’t know for sure, but some people think the Guardians took them.”
“If they did, that’s their first mistake,” Gus said.
I frowned. “Why?”
“The Specials are scary powerful,” Gus explained. “They were taught to work together from when they were little. The Guardians won’t stand a chance if they decide to attack.”
“I don’t think they’ll attack unless it’s in self-defense,” Katia said. “Besides, Lilith has given us hope.”
“Me?” I asked.
Katia nodded. “You are a Special, too. You lived with the Guardians for fourteen years and they didn’t hurt or brainwash you.”
I made a face. “So, how many Specials are missing?”
“We don’t know,” Gus said. “There were about fifty at the institute when the Guardians attacked Coronis Isle. Somehow, they got out and found each other. They tend to gravitate toward each other.”
“That’s because they communicate at some weird level the rest of us can’t hear,” Lottius said
“The worst part is that Queen Coronis had them living at the institute away from their parents, so most weren’t close to their families,” Gus added. “Safety to most of them is being with each other, not their parents.”
“I don’t care,” Katia said. “With my parents gone, Angelia is the only family I have left. Immediate family,” she added, glancing at Lottius.
“Then why aren’t our people out there scouring the world for them?” I asked.
“We are. My hunting team goes out daily to search for them,” Gus said. “The few times we thought we’d located them, we found them gone.”
I went in search of my father after my friends left. He wasn’t in his quarters. Downstairs, Sir Malax met me before I entered the throne room.
“Your father is having a hearing in the council chambers, Princess,” he said, bowing.
“Oh. Okay. Then I’ll see him tomorrow.”
What is it, daughter? Lord Valafar asked.
I just wanted to say goodnight and thank you for being so nice to my friends, I said.
He chuckled. Join us. I need your help with something.
“He says I can go in now,” I said.
“This way, Princess,” Malax said.
I followed him past a room with guards down a short hallway to an inner door, which he pushed open. I’d never entered the room, though my father had pointed it out the day he gave me the tour.
The room was circular with a high ceiling. The walls had etchings of the Principalities standing over people in various states of agony. There were twelve mini-balconies with dukes and duchesses in black ceremonial robes. I recognized a few from my party. Above them were galleries for observers, but they were empty now.
At the front of the room sat my father, his chair larger and more ornate than the elders’ chairs. My focus shifted to half a dozen men and women kneeling on a dais in front of him. They appeared to kneel near the eyes of a giant mural of a raven painted on the floor. From their suits and trench coats, they were not from the island. Their psi energies also indicated they were mid-to upper-level Hermonites.
“Come,” Lord Valafar said, and patted the arm of his chair. I teleported to his balcony.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
He narrowed his eyes at the six men and women below. One of them is guilty of spying for the Guardians. They all claim to be innocent, yet they were known associates of the Guardians and the Outcasts.
According to Lady Nemea, Outcasts were Hermonites who refused to join us in our fight to reclaim the world. Some had human parents or grandparents and were sympathetic to humans.
They know the penalty for spying, Lord Valafar continued.
One woman wailed and fell forward until her head pressed on the marbled floor. “I’m innocent, sire.”
“Silence!” Lord Valafar bellowed. He wasn’t the same man who’d joked with my friends during dinner. The hatred toward the Guardians in the room was palpable and it wasn’t coming from my father alone.
I moved to the edge of the rail of the balcony and studied the six men and women. Why would they spy for our enemies? What’s their punishment?
A decade in the dungeons with their psi energy drained so they cannot attempt an escape. Without looking at me, he added, You are a powerful Psi, Lilith. More powerful than anyone in this room. Get inside their heads and find out the traitors.
“Congratulations, Princess,” Master Kenta said the next morning when I joined him. He handed me a sword. “I heard you fingered some traitors.”
Last night, I was thrilled when my father had asked for my help. Now all I felt was guilt. So the couple had close ties to the Outcasts and met with the Guardians a few times. Was their punishment justified? No one had gotten hurt and I was still here on the island.
“Why would our people spy for them?” I asked.
“Because of you.”
“Me?”
“The Guardians would do anything to have you on their side. Whoever controls the Kris Dagger… I mean, whichever side you are on will run things when you unite our people.”
I frowned. According to my father, I was the only one who could command it. Surely Master Kenta didn’t mean whoever controlled me would run things. Lady Nemea’s words flashed through my head—my father indulged me because he wanted me to choose him. Even though she’d changed it to love, I wondered if she’d really meant it. Why would I choose anyone else but my father?
I’d read enough about the dagger to know that it was not a force to be messed with. It could create worlds or destroy them, depending on the wielder’s will. I would never knowingly hurt anyone with it. On the other hand, until the previous night, I had never thought I’d knowingly send someone to the dungeons, either.
“Lilith?” Master Kenta asked.
I smiled at him so he wouldn’t see how terrible I felt. “Too bad the dagger is completely useless now.”
Master Kenta’s eyes sharpened. “You’ve seen it?”
“Yes, but I felt nothing. It just sat there like a steak knife. I wasn’t impressed.”
Master Kenta frowned. “That’s strange. You and your father retrieved it from a cave on Coronis Isle because you linked with it and commanded it.”
I stared blankly at him. “What? I was on Coronis Isle? When?”
“Your father tracked you down and the two of you went to Coronis Isle to retrieve the dagger.”
“This was before the Great Battle?”
“Yes. Even while under the Guardians, you knew you could trust him. He outsmarted the Guardians and helped you retrieve the dagger.” A gleam entered his eyes as though he derived pleasure from the idea of defeating the Guardians. My hands tightened around the hilt of the sword.
“He hasn’t said anything about it,” I said.
“Your father is a modest man, Lilith. Queen Coronis had hoped to have you by her side, but the Guardians attacked Coronis Isle that very night while you and your father were in the cave, retrieving the dagger. Once you got it, the Guardians ganged up on your father and took you with them. Again.”
Rehashing the past was pointless. It only pissed me off. “Let’s train.”
He stepped back, bowed, and lifted his sword. “Show me what you can do with a real sword.”
I was riding high on pissed-off energy, and it made me vicious. Unstoppable. Like the day before, people stopped to watch us. This time, I didn’t let them distract me or check on Green Eyes, even though I felt his eyes on us.
“That’s enough for today,” Master Kenta said an hour later.
He kept rubbing his temple and looked a little frazzled. I glanced around and frowned. The courtyard had cleared, which was unusual. There were always minions and guards around. I dropped the sword, bowed toward Master Kenta, and teleported.
Lil? Green Eyes said as soon as I appeared in my room.
I don’t want to talk right now, I snapped, peeling the sweaty clothes off my skin.
What happened? What did he say?
I sighed, turned on the water in the shower, and let it run over my hand. Who?
The bastard Kenta, Green Eyes practically snarled. Did he say something to piss you off?
The concern in his voice was sweet, but he wouldn’t understand. As a minion, his problems were completely different from mine.
I blew out air, but before I could respond, something brushed my psi energy and the anger drained out of me. I closed my eyes and savored the calm. I’m okay now. I can handle it.
I know, but you still affected everyone nearby earlier.
I frowned. What do you mean?
You are a powerful psi. When angry, you pulse.
Pulse?
Release energy in short bursts. If a ping is a tap, your bursts are like a punch. No one can withstand it for too long. We get headaches. Minions, on the other hand, have no defense against it. Their psi energy could be damaged and they could lose their ability to teleport or telepath.
Could that explain why Master Kenta kept rubbing his temple and the minions had left the yard? How do you know these things? And you said, “We get headaches and minions have no defense…” If you’re not a minion, why are you pretending to be one? And where did you get the book on the Kris Dagger?
Do you want to talk about Kenta or what?
I want to talk about the book and your weird behavior. Tell me who you are and how you know so much about me.
I can’t.
Then we’re done talking.
Lil. He said my name and sighed.
Goodbye. I was surprised when he didn’t push, but the gentle brush against my energy happened again. I liked the feeling accompanying it. It made me feel warm and happy but, at the same time, tingly.
After showering, I changed and went to the family room for lunch. Lady Nemea had already had minions lay out my lunch. I ate under her watchful eyes. I bet she was making sure I used the right fork and spoon.
“You are unusually quiet today,” she said when we started our lessons.
I shrugged. “I’m being a model student.”
And I was. I listened and cooperated so well that I must have scared her, because she kept frowning. Like Master Kenta, she ended our lessons early.
“Do I release energy when angry?” I asked before she left.
She gave me a strange look. “Yes, but it’s nothing most of us can’t handle.”
“What about minions?”
She shrugged. “There’s nothing we can do about that. We told them to head to the city and stay there. The distance and the shield dampen the effect.”
“There’s a shield around the city?”
“And the island.”
As soon as she left, I headed to the library, where Master Rahm waited with the history pre-test. I hated history with a passion, but I didn’t complain. I was all about controlling my emotions.
“You are unhappy,” Master Rahm said, his irises narrowed.
“You’re an empath now?” I asked rudely.
“No.” He studied me. “What’s wrong?”
I made a face. “I did something I shouldn’t have done.”
“What did you do?”
I shook my head. “Last night, I… It doesn’t matter. It was a mistake.”
“You helped find the traitors.”
I cringed. “Everybody knows?”
He nodded. “Our people are very proud of you.”
“Then why am I not proud of me? Why do I feel so awful?”
“Because you don’t like hurting people.” He studied me with knowing eyes. “You know, I knew this woman once, a human, who through no fault of her own picked up a man from a lineup and swore he was the one she’d seen robbing a convenience store. After the man was convicted, she started having doubts about his guilt and tried to do something about it. At first, she tried to visit him, but he was too angry and didn’t want to see her.”
Fascinated, I nodded. “Then?”
“She found a way to have the case reopened and eventually set him free.”
I frowned. “Are you saying I should find a way to set the spies free?”
Master Rahm shook his head. “I’m not saying anything, Princess. Whatever you decide is up to you.”
I wasn’t interested in freeing the spies. Ever. I’d deal with the guilt some other way.