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“This is insane,” Akemi squeaks. “How did you guys do it?”
I lean in. “Well it was my idea, and then—”
“You went to me for help!” Kauri joins the group. Her tall, lanky stature seems to be a little more relaxed as she tips back a drink into her mouth. “Come on, Leaf, admit it! You couldn’t have pulled this off with your own magic. That’d be way too much to siphon on a consistent basis.”
I highly doubt it, I want to counter, but don’t want to ruin Kauri’s mood. We worked so hard, after all, to make this night as diabolically fun as possible. And… she was helpful.
“Me too, man,” Gryphon adds, unhelpfully. “I was able to send out the invite to everyone through my various different channels.”
“You mean fan club,” Kauri says.
Akemi stops guzzling her drink. “What do you mean fan club?”
Kauri laughs. “Oh, Akemi, I have so much to catch you up on. The Summit made stars of us all, I fear. Gryphon is one of the favorites.”
I bristle at the thought. “Probably doesn’t get as much fan mail as I do.” Ramona slaps my arm. “Ouch!”
Kauri continues, leaning in to whisper to Akemi, “Besides you, Gryphon was one of the most popular contestants in the Summit.”
Akemi spits out the ale she was drinking. I tuck Ramona under my arm. Would hate for her to get wet. She bats my arm away.
“What do you mean, besides me?” Akemi looks genuinely flustered.
Oh shit. I grab her arm and pull her aside.
“Hey, Kem, remember how you won the Summit last year?”
“Yeah, so?”
“Well that’s kind of legendary of you, first off. But secondly, the Summit winners are always… popular afterward.”
“But I’m not a usual winner; surely they wouldn’t care about someone like me winning.”
“On the contrary,” I say, putting my hand on her shoulder. Gods, this poor woman has no idea, does she? “Because of your unique background as a Teller—”
“Prentice Teller.”
“—Prentice Teller, you have attracted quite the… fan club.”
“Oh no, no, no!” Akemi squeezes the bridge of her nose. “I want to, no, need to fly under the radar this year!”
I grit my teeth. Really, I’m starting to feel bad. “And there’s more.”
“What do you mean, there’s more?”
“Well,” I look to Ramona for some support, but the little spitfire suddenly decides now is the time to keep her quick retorts contained. I turn back to Akemi. “There is the matter of your Starwatcher powers.”
“Yes, well—”
“Then there is the matter that you were taken to the Jord.”
Akemi flinches.
I pull her into a hug. “Come here.”
She mumbles something against my chest, but I continue. Someone has to tell her, and if that’s me, then so be it. “All of that together makes for a hell of a story. People want to know more.”
Akemi pushes away and promptly begins pacing, muttering about the “Greats” and “Telling” and “Why did this need to be so overt? Can’t I just be a hero discreetly?”
