Page 103 of The Tribes of Magic
His face was solemn, contemplative. I could see why. He’d left the Knights and started the Rebellion because he thought the Government wasn’t doing enough to find the missing Apprentices. And now he’d just learned the reality was so much worse. The Government—or at least someone in the Government—wasinvolvedin the kidnappings.
“I should have done more,” I said. “I should have fought harder. If I had, I might have saved Kylie and Asher.”
“Look at me, Savannah.” He waited until I did. He held my gaze. His hands closed on my shoulders. “You did everything you could—and far more than anyone could ever expect of you. You made a difference. If not for your actions during the heist, more Apprentices would have been taken. The kidnappers never expected the Apprentices to fight back. You did. You saved them.”
I laughed weakly. “I live to defy expectations.”
“And later at the Spirit Tree, once again, you fought to protect the Apprentices.”
“If only it had been enough.”
He set his hands on my cheeks, pressing his forehead to mine. “We will save them. That I promise you.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Practice.” He stepped back and winked at me. “And all-around awesomeness, of course.”
“At least we’re closer to finding the Apprentices than we were an hour ago.” I sighed. “That’s something.”
“It is indeed.”
But so many questions still remained. Who exactly was the Order of Kings? What did they want with the Apprentices? And who in the Government was helping them?
CHAPTER 7
RETURN
Conner and I felt so drained from the big teleportation spell, there was no way we’d be able to pull that off again so soon, not even if we combined magic. That left only one option.
“I guess we’ll just have to walk back,” I said.
I was not looking forward to that. It was hot today. And it was raining. I couldn’t have asked for a better weather combination for our eight-hour trek back home. We made it as far as the main road when a big, black SUV screeched past us, turning to block the whole road.
“Get ready, Seven.”
“Get ready? Ready for what?”
“Get ready to fight.”
The air crackled with magic. Conner drew his bow and aimed an arrow at the vehicle. Ice coated the whole arrow. The ice spread across the road, bathing it in twinkling white light. It looked like a sea of diamonds.
I didn’t have a bow. Or arrows. Or any weapons at all. All I had was my backpack. I swung it off my shoulders, placing it in front of me. Loaded with the Paragons’ spellbook, my bag washeavy. Probably not heavy enough to do damage to an armored soldier, but I was still hoping it didn’t come to a fight.
If I picked a fight with a bunch of Watchers, the General would kick me out of the Program for sure. Actually, just being caught here, out of bounds and in the company of the Rebel leader, was already more than enough to get me thrown out.
The driver-side door opened, and someone jumped out. But it wasn’t a Watcher. It was Kato. I lowered my backpack. This had to be my lucky day.
Or maybe not. Kato was staring at me, and he did not look happy.
“What are you doing here?” I asked quietly.
“I went looking for you when Altair called to say you’d disappeared from training.” Fully armored, Kato strode toward me. The ice hissed and melted beneath his feet. “I tracked you here.”
“Using the necklace?” I clasped the necklace he’d given me, an intricate rose pendant made of metal.
“I don’t need the necklace to track you anymore, Seven.”
Kato’s words were heavy. And the look in his eyes was something I couldn’t interpret.
