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If our lives suddenly decided to turn ideal, Sathrik and Sarad Nukpana both would choke on a chicken bone, preferably at the sa chair and the space behind it for Chigaru and Ta

The elf us Carnades was patient, waiting for the chance tohis chains aroundh together, with both of Tam’s hands on Talon’s shoulders If the kid didn’t like it, he kept his opinion to hi on Mid and reporting to Vegard during a goblin invasion probably looked like sweet duty right about now Mychael kept a hand on Piaras’s shoulder He knew Piaras’s abilities, and that the kid could squelch his ownplenty of those later

It was my turn

I could swear I felt the air pressure drop as everyone took a deep breath and held it Mychael and Taht showing me their expressionless faces They kneell as I did that Sarad Nukpana could have had soic was the only thing they could helpthe next couple of steps without setting off alarhout the city was all up to me

I tried to empty e, and ith the breath-holding thing, too As I stepped through, my heart decided to skip a couple of beats That part wasn’tup a dead person if they noticed anything at all

Nothing

At least nothing I could hear Everyone else was looking up and around like they expected Khrynsani to drop through the ceiling or juh the walls Neither happened, and ain I toldfor a second there, not that I was scared out of my wits

Jash motioned for us to follow hio to the right and left of the opening, running against the city walls We’d followed Jash into the one that went straight--and apparently deeper into the city The rest of the Resistance fighters split into two groups and disappeared down the two tunnels running along the city walls

Nath drew close to Tah to hear him "The others will ed a look with Mychael "And we’re going where?" he asked

Nath gave his brother a genuine, warm smile "Hoht would have tunnels running under their city Though if they got us from here to wherever and whatever Nath referred to as home, I had no proble to do with the tunnels’ condition The floor was co stones or chipped walls to trip on The tunnel looked well maintained and well… used A lot And it stood to reason that they were overn Sathrik Mal’Salin To ination, every new curve and turn in the tunnel was a Khrynsani a every bit as close to ard to be here, but at the sauard My shadoas definitely feeling lonely without Vegard’s solid and reassuring presence to keep it coh right now Fro paladin on Justinius’s procla with a probable dress rehearsal for a goblin invasion Was Vegard’s biggest proble his authority? Had the goblin soldiers stopped streah Carnades’swith any students and hts were good; they were the best, but outnu fro to be fine," Piaras said quietly

I gave hilance "So now you can read s"

"Is Katelyn evacuating with the other students?"

Piaras nodded once "I put her on Phaelan’s ship o, and neither did a lot of the other girls"

Katelyn was Katelyn Valerian, Piaras’s girlfriend--and Justinius Valerian’s granddaughter I’dspells faster and fight better than half of the Guardians’ cadets Ever since their inception when the Isle of Mid was founded over a o, the Guardians had been an all-boys club Since coe, Katelyn had been a thorn in her granddaddy’s side about changing the rules to let girls compete for places in the Guardians’ cadet corps If Ia chat with Justinius on those girls’ behalf They deserved the chance

Piaras was s "And I told Phaelan if he didn’t keep his hands off Katelyn, I’d fix it so he’d turn into a sea slug at every high tide"

"You don’t kno to do that"

"Phaelan doesn’t know that"

"He bought it?"

Piaras flashed a grin "Hook, line, and sinker"

Priceless I’d loved to have seen Phaelan’s face

If , he’d better hope Piaras got to hi

"He’s too quiet," Piaras murmured

I didn’t have to be aabout Phaelan

Carnades hadn’t uttered a word since we’d left the cave Surrounded as he’d been the entire tioblins who kne to use what they carried, even Carnadeshe could do was to keep hishth you’d never know it to look at hilittered, then reverted back to studied neutrality If the elf ner boots, he’d decided he was the only one as going to know about it

Piaras was right A quiet ene, and eventually one way or another, plots bore fruit I knew that Carnades Silvanus was hoping to harvest an entire orchard

A piece of dark peeled away from the shadows just ahead