Page 114 of Keldori By Daybreak

“Skalterra has college.” She scowled, but then her brow softened. “Just, not in Tulyr.”

“Not in the Second Sentinel either,” Orla sighed. “Unless you dedicate your life to being a scholar like Cade.”

“If college is what you want, it’s definitely an option.” I nodded. “Or you can stay in Keel Watch. Or both. Sabrina drives her car to the next town over to do community college—”

“Drives her car,” Iseult repeated. “What do you mean?”

“Oh.” I sat back in my seat. “It’s like a small, personal steamcart.”

“We really shouldn’t be talking about this.” Iseult smiled, however, and turned to Orla. “What would you study?”

“There are options?” she gawked.

“Tons of them,” I laughed. “My mom studied language arts, and I want to study volcanoes.”

Orla and Iseult both snorted at that, and I blushed.

“It’s a little ironic, you have to admit,” Iseult said.

“Maybe a little.” I grinned in spite of myself and my earth-shattering magick connection to the geology of Skalterra. “Ciarán’s Nightmare, Liam, was studying architecture.”

Iseult furrowed her brow while Orla’s jumped.

“Like buildings?” Iseult clarified. “His Nightmare was in college for buildings?”

“At a really good college, too. Is that surprising?”

“I just didn’t figure him to be so…” Iseult trailed off, looking for the word.

“Artistic?” Orla suggested.

“Artistic,” Iseult agreed, then swore and pulled her headscarf lower over her brow as two men in red guard uniforms approached. They passed us, however, taking their food to the neighboring plaza table.

“We should get moving anyway.” I bowed my head beneath my cloak hood and went to stand just as a third guard hurried to meet them. I fell back in my seat, waiting.

“Lunch is over,” the newcomer barked. “All guardsmen to the northern gate.”

“I just bought this,” a gravelly-voiced guard complained.

“You and I both know you didn’t buy anything, Dirk,” the messenger said.

“Still had to work hard for it. You’d think these people would be more generous considering we protect them.”

“Protect them from what?” the third guard snickered. “No one comes to Willow’s Grave.”

“Today they do,” the messenger said. “An army, about three hundred strong, all gathered outside the northern wall.”

Orla’s hand gripped my knee under the table, and my breathing hitched.

“Did they say where they were from?” Dirk asked.

“The mountains, but I didn’t realize the mountain people had any armies.”

“And their leader?”

“A woman with golden magick,” the messenger answered with a chuckle. “And she’s looking for the Saergrim.”

25. Library Management