Page 90

“The boys are going to be in so much trouble when the General finds out about this,” Kylie laughed.

“Actually, I think the General already has his hands full with public enemy number one,” I said.

Kylie patted me on the back. “He doesn’t think you’re public enemy number one.”

“Then why did he call me in for an inquisition last night during dinner?”

“The General is always like that,” Kylie told me. “He loves to torture the Apprentices. Everyone knows that.”

“This goes beyond all reasonable boundaries of torture,” I replied. “He’s not going to stop until he finds a way to kick me out of the Program.”

“You have magic, Savannah. Gaia needs you. The General knows that.”

I sighed. “I need to figure out a way to deal with the General.”

“Deal with? Like this?” Kylie sliced her hand across her throat.

“No, not like that.” I sighed. “Deal with, as intalkto him in a way that makes him respect me as a person.”

“If you can convince the Iron Wolf to respect a teenager as a person, you will have accomplished a miracle greater than any the world has ever seen,” Kylie said, her voice solemn.

“I’ll be right back, girls!” Bronte said cheerfully.

Something had caught her eye: a man dressed in a festive red-and-white candy cane striped suit, two overstuffed messenger bags crisscrossing his chest. She returned a few moments later, clutching three glossy Tournament Day Guide magazines in her hands.

Each of us dove into our magazine, which claimed to be the ‘100% Total Inside Scoop to this year’s Tournament of Knights’. Those words were printed in big block letters on the cover, right under a dramatic illustration of two clashing Knights in full body armor, magic exploding all around them. It looked like the cover of one of Mom’s old comic books.

And inside there were quizzes, fact sheets, and magical trivia. I eagerly flipped through the pages. Maybe if I looked hard enough, I could reverse engineer a spell or two.

“Savannah.”

I cringed when someone stomped on my foot. My attention snapped to Kylie, whose eyes were as big as twin moons—then to Bronte, whose mouth hung at an awkward slant. I realized she was the one who’d called my name. And stomped on my foot.

I understood why when I pivoted around and focused on the figure in front of me. He was covered head-to-toe in a suit of pristine white armor that sparkled like diamonds in the hot summer sun.

Kato.

“A pleasure to see you again.” He swept into a perfect bow. “Will you come with me?”

Beside me, Kylie sounded like she was hyperventilating. And Bronte was strangely silent, like she was having trouble processing the sight of a Knight in front of us, requesting that I follow him.

I was having trouble processing it too. “Come with you?” I choked out, my pulse thrumming. “Where to?”

“To meet the Knights who will be competing in this year’s Tournament,” Kato replied.

At that, Bronte gasped, Kylie swayed, and I tried not to trip over my own tongue as I replied, “I’d love to.”

CHAPTER2

THE SIX CHAMPIONS

Ifelt very underdressed in my plain black Apprentice uniform, walking next to Kato in his shining white armor. I also felt weird—but that was mostly because everyone we passed gawked and pointed at us.

I hated being the center of attention.

“It’s better if you ignore them.” Through his helmet, Kato’s whisper sounded more like a hiss.

He must have noticed me recoiling under everyone’s gaze. Or maybe he’d just read my mind.