Page 64 of A Monarch's Fall

“Who are you looking for?” Kat asked beside me.

“My friend Ana,” I said.

“Is she Flores?” Kat asked.

“No Syngeneia,” I answered.

“She’ll be staying on the main base then, only those of Flores heritage stay within Witching Command,” she said.

“Why?” I asked.

Kat leaned down to me to speak nearer my ear, like she didn’t want to be overheard.

“We’re grateful for all our allies, that our cause has attracted so many, but when it comes to Flores' business, we only trust Flores,” she said.

If they weren’t relying on Arvid’s generosity, I would have accused them of paranoia. Maybe Arvid didn’t know as much as he claimed to. Why else would he need me?

I ate my food, a plain pasta dish, and tried to make it less obvious that I was looking for someone.

I wondered what Selene was doing. Was she looking for me? I hoped she was. I hoped she’d come for me. I looked across the hall at the entrance and remembered what it was like to see her enter the café at Sanguis, the way she demanded attention, everyone consciously or not glancing in her direction, how her eyes would always find me across the room, no matter where I sat.

“You have an admirer,” Talia said with a smirk across from me.

I looked up at her.

“Who?” I asked and moved her head in the direction diagonally behind me.

I twisted in my chair and turned to see Idonea glaring at me from across the room.

“You’re getting along great with all your cousins, I see,” Kat said.

“Cousin?” I asked.

“You didn’t know?” she asked, “Shit, sorry, yeah, she’s Ploutos’ daughter, that’s your uncle,” Kat explained, and I remembered the name from Lady Flores’ photobook.

“She made a terrible first impression,” I said.

“Probably because she has her eye on — Oww! What was that for?” Melina asked Rea who had elbowed her in the side as she spoke.

“It’s not your place to gossip,” Rea warned, and Melina had a look of recognition before quietly agreeing.

“Anyway,” Kat interrupted, drawing my attention to her, “Tomorrow you and I are going to begin your combat training,” she said excitedly.

“Combat?” I asked.

“Don’t get too excited, what Kat means is she’s going to have you running laps,” Talia laughed,

“Physical conditioning is crucial for all aspects of combat,” Kat replied.

“So is being able to hit your mark,” Talia said, laughing, and Rea and Melina joined in.

“Ha ha, so very funny. What does it take to get any sort of respect from my own squad?” Kat complained.

“Maybe some more time on target practice,” Talia suggested.

“I’ll make you my target practice if you’re not careful,” Kat growled playfully, and Talia’s face grew a deep shade of red.

“Okay, okay, leave the poor girl alone,” Rea said, nudging Kat with her shoulder.