“I cannot say I am confident that you will pass, however. Then again, you have repeatedly surprised me thus far,” Minos tacked on, sounding unsure how to feel about it. “Perhaps you will do so once more.” He turned his back on us. “You are both excused.”
I personally wasted no time in pivoting on my heel to make my way out of the audience chamber. The moment I vacated it, my power seeped back to the forefront. It was too weird for words.
On exiting the tower, I gave Talon a sideways glance. “Did you notice the crack in the platform?”
He only spared me a brief look as we walked, seeming not one bit concerned.
“It was right under Minos’ throne, and I’ll bet my life that it wasn’t there before.”
Still no reaction.
“Nobody thinks it’s weird that cracks are appearing in places they shouldn’t?”
Again, nothing.
“Fine, don’t tell me.” Really, I wasn’t sure why I’d thought that he would. I was a candidate, not a Marshall. Hell, not even an officiate. If the cracks were a real issue, it would be a need-to-know thing.
As we strolled back into the garrison, I noticed Khalida stood a few feet away. Ajax called out to Talon from a whole other direction. The Cardinal and I exchanged a brief look before each going our own way.
“I heard that the Sovereigns summoned you,” said Khalida. “I was worried. A little. Don’t read anything into it.”
I snorted. “You were worried I might not come back. Admit it.”
“Never.”
Shaking my head in amusement, I noted, “There’s no one hanging around the apothecary, so I’m guessing that all wounds have been tended to.”
“Most were quick to wash and change so they could scoff down their dinner. There weren’t as many injured as I’d thought there would be, or as many deaths.” She looked to where seven bodies were laid out covered in blankets just beyond the building that housed the wagons. “I think maybe it’s because we had the advantage—we could attack from all angles, including from above. We’re also used to fighting in the fog; used to relying on more than our vision. Our enemies weren’t.”
I gave a nod of agreement, swallowing hard. “Did you hear about Glory?”
Khalida grimaced. “Yeah. Harbin is pretty upset. Jelani is with him—they went for a walk along the battlements.”
That would be good for them both, since … “He knows how Harbin will be feeling.”
“To a degree, yes.” Linking arms with me, she started to lead me toward the food hall. “You can see now why we might avoid heavy relationships.”
“I can see it. Just as I see why Nakoa swears that she and Soule aren’t exclusive—if she tells herself that they’re not serious, she’s not too invested in him and so it’ll hurt a lot less if she loses him.”
“That won’t protect her heart, though. She only thinks it will.” Khalida sighed. “I know it probably seems cold that shortly after losing some of our fellow officiates we can all go eat dinner, but we can’t afford to miss meals when another attack could come any moment. We can’t ever afford to be weak.”
“I don’t think any of you are cold. You all might be used to loss, but you always give each officiate a respectful burial. You always honor their contribution to the Order. It’s more than the Sovereigns do,” I mumbled. They never attended any burials.
“On the subject of the Sovereigns, why did they summon you? What did they want?”
“To chat about how my power surfaced. And while I was there, I clocked something.”
Her brow creased. “What?”
“There’s a crack in the platform of thrones in the audience chamber. The crack is directly beneath Minos’ throne.”
Her brows flew up. “I didn’t hear anything about that.”
“I asked Talon about it, but he ignored my questions. Either nobody finds it a need for concern, or they’reactingas though they aren’t worried so that others won’t be concerned.”
Khalida hummed, considering it. “It could be either scenario.” She pushed open the door to the food hall. Though it was filled with people, the atmosphere was very different from usual. The chatter was quiet. The mood was grim. Several people were picking at their food, and some others were staring into space.
“On a whole other note,” Khalida began, her voice very low, “Soule said that he saw Talon take you to the private barracks earlier.”
