Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 121924 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121924 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
“Ah,” said Jelani with a nod of understanding. “Yeah, I can see how some resentment might build.”
If only it were that simple.
In the food hall, I followed behind Jelani as he headed to where our group sat. The sound of deep laughter coming from a particular officiate made my lips curve, because I knew why he was so happy. His power had surfaced last night.
It had happened at the tavern. His body had shook. His chest had heaved with labored breaths. His eyes had glimmered with pain. Then his skin had rippled … and he’d shifted into a wolf right there. He couldn’t yet properly control the shifting process, but officiates were giving him guidance just as they were to other candidates in his position.
I peered over at another group. They were quieter than usual. Subdued. One of their friends had also come into his power. But the guy hadn’t made it. His skin had rippled as though he might shift shape, but then his entire body had arched as he choked on a scream. Mere moments later, he’d crumpled to the ground, dead.
And so forty-two candidates now remained.
Honestly, I worried for Lear’s friend. The female Lykaon often muttered to herself, her eyelids flickering, her head twitching. She seemed wildly paranoid and didn’t appear to tolerate the company of anyone other than her boyfriend.
As I finally reached our group, Khalida urged me to sit beside her. Before I even got the chance to load food onto my pewter, she leaned into me and whispered, “So, how did your morning interactions with Talon go?”
I slid her a sideways glance. “Don’t think I don’t know that you sent Jelani to the stables hoping it would bug Talon in some way.”
She gave an unapologetic shrug. “Desperate times call for desperate measures.”
I frowned. “Nothing about the situation is desperate. Have you always been so dramatic?”
She pursed her lips. “Yes. It’s a flaw, but I like it.”
“Well, so long as you like it.”
Her amused snort was a little weak.
I felt my brows dip. “Is something wrong?”
She hesitated, chewing on the inside of her mouth. “I don’t know yet. We’ve all been trying to work out what’s happening, but we aren’t sure. It doesn’t make sense.”
Unease gripped my gut. “What doesn’t?”
“I’m sure you’ve heard of the glorious garden located beside the fortress.”
I nodded. “The Garden of the Gods. Only the Sovereigns and landscapers are permitted to go there.”
“Right. But Talon and the Marshalls have their fingers on the pulse of everything that goes on here. They somehow learned something seriously weird. I’m sure they meant to keep it to themselves, but two officiates overheard them speaking of it … and it wasn’t long before the entire Order then became aware of it.”
“Of what?” I prodded.
“You know the golden apples?”
“Yeah.” There was really no way to forget them.
“Well, they’re not so golden right now.”
I felt my brow dent. “What do you mean?”
“I mean the apples dangling from the trees aren’t fully coated in ichor. There’s only patches of it on them.”
My nape tingled. “So, the fruit has somehow been poisoned?”
“Maybe. Or …”
“Or, what?”
She bit down on her lower lip. “Or maybe what some officiates believe is right: that the cracks in the fortress and the state of the apples are both signs that the Sovereigns are weakening.”
I straightened in my seat, frowning. “What could cause that?”
“We don’t know—there doesn’t seem to be anything that could do such a thing, which is why the theory is only a ‘maybe.’ The Sovereigns haven’t made the apple issue public, so either they’re not concerned or they’re intent on hiding it.”
I lifted my shoulders. “It could just be that the problem is with the tree itself. Or the soil, even.”
“There might be an environmental cause,” she agreed. “It’s the most likely explanation. But it’s never happened before, and the problem didn’t appear until very recently. Some think that maybe Theseus managed to do something to the land here, but I don’t know if that’s possible either. We’re all just stumped. Quillen tried asking Ajax for some elaboration, but he was shut down fast. It’s a need-to-know topic, apparently.”
“If there’s a chance the Sovereigns are weakening, I personally feel it’s something we all need to know.”
“Couldn’t agree more. But—at least for now—they’re being closemouthed about it. So maybe they just don’t have answers either but don’t want to admit it.”
I sighed. “There are too many maybes.”
“Again, couldn’t agree more. All we can do is wait until they choose to raise the subject. No amount of questioning them would achieve anything.” She pulled a face. “I don’t like to wait.”
“It’s not my favorite pastime either.”
She pointed at my pewter. “For now, forget the apple stuff and get some food in you. You won’t exactly be fed well when out in the Pines, so fill your belly while you can.”