Part 14 (1/2)
He stared at me, his cat eyes slitting. ”That's because the knowledge is pa.s.sed 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 pa.s.sed 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 c.r.a.p 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 c.r.a.p 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 s.h.i.+rts, 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 s.h.i.+eld 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, Att.i.tude, 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-s.h.i.+rt. 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 c.o.c.ked an eyebrow.
”I'm Lil. And please, don't bow or call me princess,” I added.
He c.o.c.ked 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 b.u.mped 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 cla.s.ses 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 ma.s.saged Lottius's sock-covered feet absentmindedly. Katia's chin trembled.