The Soulstoy Inheritance by Jane Washington Page B

at his re-appearance.”
    “That makes two of us.”
    My new personal guard came clattering back to the front of the shop then, and Jad took one look at Ashen, went white, and turned straight back the way he had come.
    “Thank you!” I called out to his back.
    “This is your new guard?” Ashen asked, eyebrows arched. “Hell, girl, first you feed from Nareon, and then you choose a few of Leif’s spylings to protect you… do you have a death wish?”
    I slipped a hand beneath where my braid rested against my neck, my fingers brushing the death mark.
    “I’m not so incompetent,” I shot at him.
    His eyes narrowed, so like mine, yet brighter, more obvious. “The games… I knew it was a death ability that killed those men. That was you ?”
    I blinked and dropped my hand. How the hell had he known what I was thinking about ?
    “No,” I lied, my eyes sliding to where Leif still stood sentinel, a quiet shadow. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m a Force-user.”
    “Did you know,” he moved out of the store, until he stood on the road, “one of the only ways to kill a person stronger than you is with a death ability?”
    He didn’t wait for my reply, merely stalked away. I glanced to Leif’s spot, unsurprised to find him also gone, and then finally turned to the others.
    “I can’t believe there’s another Nareon,” I snapped. “One was bad enough.”
    I could tell Sweet hid a grin, but the others managed to keep their faces expressionless.
    “The reason I picked you,” I said as I walked out of the shop, “is because you treated me as an equal, so don’t bother stopping now.”
    “Well then you should probably know,” Teddy said, following after me, “that it’s no use lying to Ashen with Leif around. Leif has a mind ability, and those two are as thick as thieves.”
    “Not to mention just plain thieves,” added Quick.
    I wanted to laugh. “I thought he looked like a pirate.”
    “So that’s the only reason you picked us?” asked Quick. “I was sure it was because we’d seen you in your nightclothes.”
    I really did laugh then. “If you know what’s good for you, you won’t be repeating that.”
    “Oh my, did the little lady queen just make a threat?” Teddy mocked in horror.
    “I just realised. Harbringer isn’t here anymore. I have nothing left to threaten people with.”
    “Grenlow could teach you how to fight,” Sweet offered. “Or assign someone else to it.”
    “I’m going back to the Academy tomorrow. If I’m still allowed to attend Harbringer’s class, that’s exactly what I’ll be learning.”
    “Why wouldn’t you be allowed to attend?”
    “A few reasons I suppose… but the main one is that we got into this together, so Hazen’s advisors might want to keep us apart.”
    “More likely they’ll want to put you together, just to see how you react to each other’s presence.”
    I nodded, finally breaking free of the bustle of the city. “That might happen too.”
    As we neared the castle walls, Grenlow caught up to me again, looking harassed.
    “Tomorrow night,” he said. “It’s all set.”
    “What’s set?”
    “Your Throne Test. You might not make it back to the Academy after tomorrow, so you should warn whoever could be expecting you.”
    “It could take that long?”
    “It’s different every time. Isolde is the one to decide which test to put you through, and the rest of the advisors tweak it, add to it, or remove parts as they please. I wish I could tell you more, but I can’t.”
    “Would it help to have Nareon there?”
    He looked uncomfortable. “They’ve banned you from calling upon him.”
    “Uh oh.”
    “Good luck.” He managed a semblance of a smile, and then moved off again.
     
     

Chapter Eight
     
    Resisting the Resistance
     
       I awoke the next morning to a tapping sound. When I rolled out of bed, it was to find a mechanical bird flapping at my window. I almost tripped over my sheets to reach the window,