Page 53 of The Knights of Gaia

Eris went fishing in the big trash bag again. This time, she pulled out a backpack and a paintball gun. She handed them both to Dutch.

Next came Kylie. “Navigator,” she read, sounding a bit uncertain. “I guess that’s why I got the map!”

Eris handed Asher his card and a backpack. It was smaller than Dutch’s.

“Wizard?” Asher’s brows drew together in confusion as he slipped the backpack over his shoulders. “But I can’t do any spells yet.”

“Being a wizard isn’t just about casting spells,” Bronte told him. “It’s about being wise and clever.”

“Wise and clever, you say?” Asher grinned, and the crinkle between his eyes smoothed out. “Yeah, I get that. Iamthe smart one here.”

Kylie rolled her eyes at him.

“That just leaves Savannah.” Eris handed me the final card.

I flipped it over. And then my stomach dropped through the floor. “Bait?” I croaked. “I’mbait?”

CHAPTER6

BAIT

“What kind of messed up Quest is this?” I demanded. “They all get cool, important-sounding roles, and I getbait?”

Dutch snorted.

“Trust the system,” Eris said in a calm, soothing voice.

“Yeah, so I don’t have any faith in a system that believes the only impact I will ever have on this world is as bait,” I told her.

“Well, you do cause mayhem and attract trouble wherever you go,” Dutch said, as though he were being helpful.

Bronte nudged him away with her shoulder. “Don’t listen to him, Savannah. It’s just a game, you know.”

“No, it’s a statement.” I dug my toe into the pretty green grass. “The Knights think I’m not worth anything.”

“We did not create this scenario. And we did not select the roles,” Eris told me.

“Then who did?” I asked. “Wait, don’t tell me. I think I already know.”

It was the General. He’d had it out for me since the day he’d met me. He never wanted me to be a Knight, and now he was making sure I never would be. I knew his play. He was going to give me a bunch of worthless roles that didn’t earn me any Merit points. And then he’d kicked me out of the Program, claiming I never proved myself worthy of being a Knight.

Well, I’d show him. I was going to be someone, whether he liked it or not.

“You’re notjustthe bait,” Eris said. “You have another really important role: the courier for the treasure.” She handed me a leather messenger bag.

I peeked inside and found a small metal box, flat and rectangular.

“Try not to drop it, Winters,” Asher teased me.

“Indeed,” Dutch added, but he wasn’t teasing. He was dead-on serious.

I lifted the bag over my head, looping the strap across my chest.

“Ok, Apprentices,” Eris said cheerfully. “Now follow me to your starting point on the map.”

She led us out of the Hex, through one of the castles. The floors were covered in wood planks, like the deck of a ship. The hall curved around beds of flowers and trees that decorated the interior like pieces of furniture.

This castle had to belong to the Nymphs.

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