Page 134 of The Tribes of Magic
“Hasn’t anyone ever told you that doctors make the worst patients?” He winked at me.
“Yeah,” I laughed. “I think I’ve heard something like that.”
“Why don’t you want to go down to the dining hall?” He sat down on the cot beside me, like we were just two friends chatting.
“The dining hall isn’t just where everyone in the Castle gathers to eat. It’s where they all gather to gossip,” I replied. “And the news of the day will undoubtedly be the incident with the phantom and the Cursed Ones. Maybe I’ll go back to the dining hall tomorrow—butonlyif someone does something even more scandalous, something so big that everyone’s forgotten all about me.”
Killjoy glanced up from his phone screen. “You don’t have to wait until tomorrow, Savannah. Something more scandalous hasalreadyhappened. Apparently, the Cursed Ones’ attack was no accident. The General sent them here.”
I blinked. “Wait, what? Really? Why would he do that?”
“It was a test of the Castle’s defenses and the Knights’ response to an immediate, serious threat.”
“That’s insane.” I jumped down from the cot. “Ok, I guess I’m going to lunch after all. I need to know what’s going on.”
CHAPTER 4
TRUTH
The dining hall was buzzing with whispers. Everyone was talking about the Cursed Ones’ attack on the Castle—and how the General had sent them. The General didn’t care at all. He was here, sitting alone at the head table that had been set up in his honor. A pair of Watchers in full black body armor stood on either side of him, each one as still as a statue.
The General’s cynical eyes swept the hall, searching for threats he hadn’t invented yet. His gaze snapped to me the moment I stepped through the door. “Miss Winters.” His voice called out like a foghorn. “A word.”
I went over to the head table, stopping in front of him. I waited for the inevitable. I wasn’t kept waiting for long.
“You summoned a malevolent Phantom to the Castle.” He waited. He watched.
I lost my temper. “Andyousent truckloads of Cursed Ones to the Castle.”
I was barely keeping my voice simmering below a bellow. I probably should have exercised more restraint when speaking to the General, but it was hard to think about restraint when he’dendangered all our lives by unleashing a horde of monsters on the Castle.
“A training exercise.”
“A training exercise?” I growled. “You risked all our lives so you could put us through a training exercise?”
“The life of every person on this planet is at risk for as long as the Curse remains. The purpose of the Knights is to defeat the Cursed Ones. How can you possibly know how to do that if you never practice fighting them?”
His argument made sense in the same way that setting a building on fire so you could test if it was fireproof made sense.
“Do you remember the Brotherhood of Earth?” I asked him.
“This has nothing to do with those traitors.”
“They also made a practice of unleashing Cursed Ones on innocent people.”
“Treacherous as they were, the Brotherhood taught us one thing: the Knights need to be more effective against the Cursed Ones. And they can only do that by practicing. You need to think about practicing your magic too, Miss Winters. The next time it goes wild, you might not be so lucky. Someone could die.” The General flicked his hand, dismissing me.
I turned and walked away. “How is this suddenly all my fault?” I grumbled under my breath. “I wasn’t the one who brought the Cursed Ones here.”
The General had. All today had proven was he would do anything, risk anyone, to achieve his goals. In order to reclaim this world, he would risk destroying it.
The General didn’t care about the Knights. They were just tools to him, one of many weapons in his arsenal. He didn’t mind sacrificing them for the greater good.Hisgreater good. Maybe Conner was right about him. Maybe the General was working with the Order of Kings, selling them Apprentices. Afterseeing what he’d just done, I didn’t think there was anything he wouldn’t do.
I joined my friends at our usual table. “What’s the latest?”
Bronte frowned like she didn’t understand my question. “Everyone was nearly mauled by Cursed Ones. You know that, Savannah. You were right there.”
“I know. I was just wondering what people are saying about the General’s part in it.”
