Page 41 of The Last Syphon

She nodded respectfully. “I would be delighted to. Come. This way.” She turned and began to walk back out the way she had come, her protector falling into step right behind her.

Inara and Felix followed. Fraener looked at the High Council one by one, his gold-and-black eyes narrowed, and then huffed out a bellow of smoke from his nostrils that was filled with nothing but derision. He leapt to Inara’s side and easily matched her stride.

“Are you new to the palace?” Princess Phaedra asked as she manoeuvred through the gilded halls with an ease that could only come from someone who had lived there their entire life.

“Yes,” Inara answered.

“It can be daunting, I know. Where are you from?”

“The Borderlands.”

She stopped and glanced over her shoulder. “The Borderlands? Wow. You’re far from home.”

“A lot further than I would like,” she easily admitted.

The princess laughed. “I take it you are not here of your own accord, then?”

Inara shrugged. “A little bit of both. I was told being a Chosen came with coin.”

“Ah.” She continued on. “Yes. Well, that is true. Chosen are paid very well here.”

Princess Phaedra led them through the building and back outside. They crossed over a bridge connecting to another palace. Once they stepped inside, it was easy to see the difference between the two. While this one was still gorgeous and dripping with wealth, it wasn’t as ostentatious as the one before it.

They walked straight into a giant hall of some kind. Inara looked up. Wow. There were stairs on the left and on the right, both leading up to another floor, and then another, then another. The palace went up and up for as far as the eye could see, almost never-ending.

It was abuzz with activity. People walked to and from, some accompanied by their own Guardian in miniature form.

Fraener stomped at her side, his gold-and-black eyes studying everyone suspiciously. Whispers surrounded her, and Inara wondered if the fact that she could hear them was because of her dragons extraordinary gifts he’d passed onto her.

“Who is that?”

“What is she wearing?”

“The Guardian Fraener has emerged from hibernation!”

“I thought Line Enko was next to attempt the soul-link with him? Shouldn’t he be paired with Lord Villani’s son, Lord Soren?”

Okay. Just how fucking famous was Fraener?

Their stares were anything but friendly. Inara could feel their animosity from a mile away. Her fingers itched to call forth her axes, but she refrained.

Barely.

Princess Phaedra moved to the staircase on the left. She picked up the edges of her robe and began her ascent. “This is the Chosen wing. It is where all Chosen and their Guardians reside. The ceiling is a magical illusion and is not actually there. Guardians are able to fly in and out at will. It provides easier access should a Guardian wish to enter.”

Reallyyy? Inara was intrigued by that. She gazed upwards again. It looked like any other ceiling. No indication it was an illusion at all, which just went to show how skilled the person who had conjured it was. Inara never would have guessed there was anything different about it. That it was shrouded in power.

The ceiling suddenly shimmered, and a yellow dragon entered, flying right through. Her mouth dropped open.

“Holy fucking shit,” Felix breathed out, his gaze just as bewildered as hers.

Inara leant over the bannister, watching as the yellow dragon changed form in midair, shrinking smaller and smaller as it descended until it landed on a woman’s shoulder who was standing on the bottom floor. The woman smiled lovingly, running a finger over the top of the Guardian’s head before walking away.

“Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are provided in the main hall,” Princess Phaedra continued. “At the beginning of each week, you are to report to the High Council for your assignment.”

“Assignment?” Inara questioned, continuing to follow.

“Each Chosen will have a job they are required to do. Sometimes, it doesn’t change. Sometimes, it does. It all depends on what the High Council requires from you and your abilities. A lot of the Chosen man the perimeter to ensure Arelia is safe. Others may be called upon for missions or to accompany a delegation into another kingdom. It really all depends.” The princess continued going up and up, going past several floors until she finally stopped and turned left, walking down a long hall.