Page 82 of The Last Syphon

Damn. He really was as cold as his ice-breathing dragon.

“Right. Well, I don’t operate that way. I have questions.”

His eyes scanned the scroll in his hand. “I suspect, with your lack of education, you have a lot.”

Inara scowled. “And what makes you think I am uneducated, Prince Pompus Prick?”

His gaze snapped up, and his eyes flashed blue with power. The temperature in the room dropped to an unbearable level. Inara held his gaze. Her body felt compelled to shake, but not because she was afraid. Because it was suddenly so fucking cold in here.

“Cut it out. I’m freezing my butt off.”

Prince Walder held her stare for a moment longer before the magic vanished from his eyes, along with the cold. He returned to his work.

“How do you do that?” she asked curiously.

“Do what?”

“That power belongs to your Guardian, right? How do you just take it like that to use whenever you want?”

“Experience.”

“Care to elaborate?”

“Not particularly.”

Okay. Inara wasn’t deterred. “What’s the training tower?”

He groaned and held the bridge of his nose, leaning back in his chair with exasperation. “It’s where citizens can understand and train their powers with Instructors.”

Nodding, she continued to eat as her mind wandered. “I wonder how much something like that must cost,” she said, more to herself than him.

It surprised her when he responded with, “Nothing.”

“Nothing?” She crossed her legs, her head tilting slightly. “What do you mean, nothing?”

He opened his mouth.

“And don’t you dare give me the damn definition of the word,” she said quickly, pointing a finger.

His mouth snapped shut.

Surely he couldn’t actually mean nothing.

“Magical education is offered to all those who wish to learn more about their powers and their origin. No payment is required.”

Okay. Maybe he did.

“Really?” It suddenly made a lot of sense to Inara. She’d lost track of the number of people who had come through the assembly hall and been referred to the training tower.

“I’m…surprised by that.”

“Why?” he asked, eyes returning to the scroll once more. “Everyone should be entitled to learn about who they are. Rich or poor. Royal or lowborn. The knowledge of the realm belongs to everyone.”

Inara agreed. She couldn’t help but frown in thought. Venerable Cias had said numerous times how evil Arelia was. That it was filled with danger and deceit. But so far, Inara had not come across anything of the sort. Sure, there were a few bad people—Larissa, to name one—but that was true of anywhere.

Inara had found Arelia to be a very giving place. Basic necessities were provided to its citizens. Of course, if one wanted more luxurious items, that required coin, but food, water, clothing, and housing were freely given to everyone who helped provide for the kingdom. Standing there listening to Arelian citizens talk about their problems and the slights they had, she was able to learn quite a lot about their kingdom and how it worked.

The main city was split into regions. Subdivisions were looked after and maintained by representatives who lived within them. They were responsible for distributing the essential roles required to sustain and keep Arelia thriving.