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Merletta glanced at the other trainees. “Still no sign of Jacobi coming back,” she commented. “Do you think he’ll apply directly to the guards, see if he can join Ileana?”
“Oh, of course,” Sage exclaimed, “you were already in your test this morning, so you wouldn’t have heard. He did apply, and he was rejected.”
“Really?” Merletta sat up straighter, her interest caught.
Sage nodded. “Instructor Ibsen told us this morning that Jacobi had received a public reprimand for something, and was barred from holding any office in the Center.” She dropped her voice. “The rumor is that his family are just about furious enough to disown him.”
Merletta could only stare in astonishment. “What was he reprimanded for?”
Sage shrugged. “I don’t know. Ibsen didn’t say.”
“Not much of a public reprimand, then, is it?” Merletta said dryly.
Sage just smiled. “All I know is that the complaint that led to his reprimand was made by Emil. Instructor Ibsen wouldn’t say more.”
“Emil?” Merletta repeated, startled. What in the ocean would Emil have been complaining about Jacobi for? She sat in silence for a couple of minutes, mulling it over.
“Oysters?” Sage’s cheerful voice broke her reverie.
She was holding out a turtle-shell bowl, and Merletta reached for it recklessly. Why not? This was the time to celebrate, after all. She’d passed her test, and at least one of her two enemies wasn’t going to be around next year. She downed one in a single gulp, her eyes widening. “That’s delicious!”
Sage laughed. “Don’t tell me this is your first time trying an oyster!”
Merletta nodded, grabbing another one to her friend’s continued chuckles. “I suppose I’ll have to stay here during my break,” she mused, thinking aloud. “But I wonder if it’s safe.”
“What do you mean?” Sage frowned. “Of course it’s safe.”
Merletta hesitated, then lowered her voice. “Something happened a few days ago. Something I didn’t want to tell you about at the time.” With a glance around to make sure no one was in hearing, she quickly described the attack she had sustained when returning from her visit to the home.
Sage’s eyes grew wider as she spoke, until they were as round as pearls. “But there must be a mistake,” she said at last, her voice a little too loud for Merletta’s liking.
Merletta gestured for her to be quieter, and Sage glanced around self-consciously. Following her gaze, Merletta noticed Ileana watching them from across the room. She drew her gaze away, back to Sage.
“There was no mistake.”
“But surely no one from the Center would dare to attack a trainee,” said Sage, more quietly. “It must have been thieves, who’d stolen the weapon from Center guards.”
Merletta gave her friend a look. “You think common thieves overpowered Center guards and took their weapons, and we’ve heard nothing about it?”
Sage nibbled her lip, her forehead creased. “It does seem unlikely.”
“Highly unlikely,” Merletta agreed dryly. “I’m almost certain they were Center guards. I know I got one of them, and I’ve been looking for an injured guard ever since, but whoever it was must be out of sight somewhere.”
“But…” Sage hesitated. “Who would want you gone so desperately they were willing to have you killed?”
Before Merletta could respond, her eye was caught by a junior scribe entering the dining hall at that moment. His eyes scanned the crowd, latching on to her. He bustled over importantly.
“Trainee Merletta?” he asked, and she nodded. “I have a message for you from Instructor Ibsen. He wishes to speak with you tomorrow, at noon. Please present yourself to his office.”
Without waiting for a reply, the scribe turned, swimming smoothly for the door. Merletta turned to her friend. “Well, that sounds…sinister.”
“Probably he just wants to congratulate you on your test result,” said Sage, without much conviction.
Merletta raised an eyebrow. “Did he call you to his office to congratulate you on yours?”
Sage shook her head, and Merletta nodded.
“That’s what I thought.” She frowned, thinking it over. “I guess I have to go. But I’d better take my spear.”
