“Same,” said Zala, crossing her arms and sticking out one hip. “I mean, Jova, you’re not exactly what I’d call talkative, but seriously, you’ve got to tell us what the hell’s going on.”
“Yes,” said Lianshi, stepping back, face becoming concerned. “The treasures Praximar was going to be forced to give you would have healed your Heart, Scorio. I know your distaste for him, but you won. Leaving now feels like doing what Praximar wanted?”
Scorio took a deep breath and looked from one face to the next. “Jova found the passage I was hunting for in her journal. She shared it with me.”
“Oh,” said Lianshi.
Leonis put his hand to his brow. “Oh! I’d forgotten all about that. And?”
Uneasy, Scorio glanced at Zala and Juniper.
“They already know,” said Jova, then blushed. Scorio stared. He’d never have guessed her capable. “I trust them with everything. Just like you guys do.”
“All right,” said Scorio. “I turned down Praximar’s offer for more training at the Academy and endless treasures for the same reason, it turns out, that Jova turned it down all along. We both recognized those rewards for the leashes they were. After all I’ve seen, after the way I’ve been treated, I’ve no illusions about the Academy’s morals or virtues.”
Naomi nodded her head in approval.
“But our decisions were…” He paused, searching for the right word. “They were reinforced by words I wrote down over two centuries ago. I’d unearthed some… theories, I guess you could say. The process of which put me on the Red List. And warned my future self to not trust the Houses, the Imperators, anything of what we’ve been told. I sent a warning through Jova to myself about everything we’ve been told being a lie.”
Leonis frowned. “The story we’ve been told? A lie?”
“How so?” asked Lianshi. “You mean Ettera? The Portal home?”
“I don’t know,” said Scorio. “Writing down more would have drawn the attention of people worse than the Imperator, apparently. But Jova and I are taking the warning seriously. We’re going to leave Bastion and try to learn more.”
“Leave Bastion?” Zala’s eyes widened dramatically. “By yourselves? And go where?”
Scorio glanced at Jova, who was frowning down at the ground. “We’d not gotten that far.”
“Wow.” Leonis stroked his beard. “I definitely want to know more about this warning. Would like to read it, even, when we have a chance. But when do you intend for us to head out?”
“We?” The word almost choked in Scorio’s throat. “I don’t expect you all to sacrifice your—”
“Oh, come off it,” said Lianshi. “You tell us we can’t trust the Houses and Academy, then expect us to stay behind and remain part of that system?”
“I didn’t necessarily assume you’d believe me—”
“He’s very slow,” said Leonis patiently to Juniper and Zala.
Tears pricked at Scorio’s eyes, and a comfortable warmth washed over his face.
“Of course we’re coming,” snapped Naomi. “That was always our plan, in the end, wasn’t it? Escape to the Rascor Plains?”
“Jova?” Zala lowered her head to catch Jova’s downturned gaze. “Are you really doing this?”
Jova pursed her lips, nodded slowly, thoughtfully, then raised her face to meet Zala’s stare full-on. “I am.”
“Bloody chasms,” said Zala. “I mean—” She paused, gave her head a rapid shake. “Well. All right.”
“All right?” asked Leonis.
“If you all will have me, I’ll come, too,” said Zala. “I don’t take Jova’s decisions lightly, and someone needs to come along who can cheer her up. While I don’t understand quite what’s going on, I want to learn more. Whatever this is, I want to be a part of it.”
“Me too,” said Juniper softly. “I feel… called. I can’t explain it. Perhaps it’s my bond with Lianshi. But I can’t tell you what I felt when you both turned down the chancellor’s offer. I felt my soul sing. As if it had lain dormant for generations, and only now been offered a chance to escape its cage.” Her smile became self-conscious. “So if you’ll have me…”
“That makes seven of us,” said Leonis. “And none of us dead weight. Well, maybe Lianshi, but—”
“Hey!” She thwapped him across the arm.
“What?” He assumed an innocent expression. “Which chamber did you die in again?”
“Oh, you’d better watch it,” said Lianshi, glowering at him.
Scorio felt like laughing. His heart felt full, a sensation he’d briefly felt before, but which now seemed to suffuse him. He looked from Naomi to Leonis, to Lianshi to Juniper, considered Zala, then turned to meet Jova’s steadfast gaze.
“Very well,” he said. “We’ll form a fellowship. My goal—our goal, I suppose—is nigh on impossible. I literally don’t see how it can be done. But I must try. There’s so much to learn. I can’t… if my warning is true—risk the chance of us all being bound to a lie. Our lives yoked to some… travesty that makes us little better than ignorant slaves. I aim to learn the truth or die trying.”
Everyone’s expressions grew sober, and one by one they nodded their affirmation.
“There you go,” said Naomi at last, and her smile was crooked, bittersweet.
“What?” asked Scorio.
“I told you once that if you wanted real power, you were going to need a real desire to achieve it.” She curled her dark hair behind one pale ear. “Looks like you’re finally on track.”
Scorio stared at her, suddenly brought back those first brutal days of training, the awe and fear with which he’d regarded her.
Felt like a lifetime ago.
He grinned, and she grinned right back.
“We’d best clear out of the Academy soon,” said Lianshi. “Praximar won’t take this humiliation lightly.”
“Agreed,” said Scorio, coming back to the moment. “And fortunately, I know just where to go.”
Jova frowned at him. “Where’s that?”
“I have a couple of friends in town. Helena and Feiyan. They contacted a group called Manticore. They were going to help get us out.”
“Manticore?” Juniper stirred uneasily. “Didn’t they almost form their own House a decade ago? Am I thinking of the right group? Had an Imperator who disappeared, and then their organization collapsed?”
“They don’t have a good reputation,” said Jova.
“It’s a way out of here,” said Scorio. “We can evaluate our partnership once we’re out on the Rascor Plains. But yes. I agree with Lianshi. We’d best gather our belongings and quit the Academy before Praximar escapes his ceremonial duties and comes for our blood.”
“Well, then,” said Leonis. “How about we all meet at the western gates in twenty minutes?”
“Agreed,” said Zala. “I don’t have much to collect anyway.” Then she stopped, pressed her palm to her temple, and shook her head. “I can’t believe this is all happening so quickly. This is so exciting!”
Juniper laughed and stepped to the archway of her bedroom. “See you all in twenty minutes then.”
Scorio walked with the others to the doorway, then paused to look back to Jova. She stood alone, pensive, her dark hair raked over to fall past one shoulder, her expression grim, resolute.
“Thank you,” he said. “For deciding to trust me.”
“It’s but the first step,” she said. “You’ll have to earn it from here on out.”
“I mean to do so.”
For a moment they stood thus, gazes locked, then she gave him a grudging smile. “Hurry up, Scorio. You won’t make Infernarch by lingering at my door.”
To which he could only laugh. And heart full, he turned and left with his friends, hurrying down the hallways of the Academy.
THE END OF BOOK 1
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