Chapter 143: Rest Assured If I Do, It Won’t Kill You

Another knight was guarding the door to the owner’s suite, where Axton was staying with the two princes. Sir Dobchek stopped at the door and knocked.

“Enter.” Piers called through the door and Sir Dobchek used a crystal key fob to unlock the door. He held it open for Tori.

“Your Highness, Countess Guevera has arrived.” He bowed his head in the direction of the sofas just past the foyer. Piers was seated at the far end of one sofa and rose to his feet as Tori entered. Gideon was seated in the center of the same sofa and wiped at his eyes as he quietly stood up, as well.

“Your Highnesses.” Tori stopped a few paces away and bowed her head. Sir Dobchek slipped out of the suite, closing the door behind him. She waited to hear it shut before speaking. “I heard about the dismissal.”

Piers gave her a solemn nod and then motioned for her to take a seat. She rounded the sofa and sat across from the brothers. Gideon sat back down, but Piers remained standing.

“Father called us and told us that Sir von Dorn had come to confirm his dismissal. The paperwork regarding his dismissal is all signed and he will move out of the imperial palace tomorrow morning,” Piers told her.

Tori drew her lips inward and nodded. “Have the backup arrangements been discussed with Prince Gideon?”

“That is why I called for you,” Piers said. He frowned. “Father has left the explanation to me.”

She was just as annoyed as Piers. This was an arrangement the Emperor made; he should’ve been the one to properly discuss it with Gideon, not Piers. The weight of the Emperor’s words should’ve been heavier than Piers’. Tori had hoped that it would give her at least some appearance of authority in Gideon’s eyes.

If he didn’t acknowledge any authority, Gideon would be difficult to manage, even if her new job was only to watch him during school hours.

She took a deep breath. “Have you told him?”

Piers shook his head. From the other sofa, Gideon lifted his head. His red, somewhat puffy eyes looked at Piers with uncertainty. “What’s going on? Why did you call for Guevera?”

Tori had imagined this moment multiple times, but still wasn’t sure how Gideon would react.

“Has Father made you aware of the protocol should a personal knight leave your side, for whatever reason, during your time at Lycée?” Piers asked his brother. He didn’t sound irritated, but simply wanted to confirm what Gideon knew before he proceeded.

His brother shook his head. “Only that there would be more escort knights assigned to me.”

“Escort knights cannot enter Lycée grounds. Only students are allowed in, except for the Spring Festival, when guests are allowed entry,” Piers replied. “In the case that a personal knight leaves an immediate imperial family member, additional escort knights will be assigned outside of Lycée. Within Lycée, another student will be selected as a secondary guard responsible for another layer of protection and observation.”

Gideon wasn’t as stupid as Tori thought in some cases. He perked up when ‘another student’ was mentioned and his eyes seemed to automatically drift towards her. His lips tightened into a line and his eyes narrowed.

“What are the requirements of such a student?”

“Proficient in defense, both with weapons and empty handed, and loyalty to the imperial family,” Piers replied. “Those are the basic requirements; they should be trusted to defend you.”

Gideon shook his head as he looked at Piers with disbelief. “You can’t be serious. She’s a girl!”

Piers raised a brow and Tori scoffed. “She is a girl who beat your personal knight twice.”

“No, I mean, not because she’s a girl, but....” Gideon nearly tugged at his hair. He pointed at Tori. “How is she going to protect me if she can’t enter my dorm floor, let alone my room? Won’t that leave me vulnerable?”

“You would not be the first to be guarded by a female student,” Piers told him. “When Chamberlain Thorpson went to La Garda, Father was guarded by Madam Biancci, Tori’s paternal aunt. At the time, her title was Lady Guevera and she ranked first amongst the swordsmen of Lycée during her first year, when she became Father’s guard. She also was prohibited access to Father’s dorm.”

Gideon’s twisted face couldn’t seem to wrap around the idea. “How can she guard him if she isn’t present?”

“I was told that Auntie arranged for her swordsmen peers to stay in the Emperor’s floor, surrounding him and reporting directly to her,” Tori said. “In addition, she was supplemented by a few crystals used for defense provided by our march.”

Gideon narrowed his eyes and glared at her. “You’re going to leave my life in the hands of crystals?”

“Your father is leaving your life in the hands of crystals in my hands,” Tori said with an air of arrogance. “Aside from my swordsmanship and proficiency in dagger, I also have moderate skill in charms and crystals.”

Piers chuckled. “Moderate?” He looked at her with a glint of pride. “You are modest.”

Tori gave a noncommittal shrug. She looked back at Gideon. “I understand your hesitation to accept this arrangement. I also resisted the request when the Emperor summoned me.”

Gideon looked even more displeased. “If you didn’t want to become my guard, why did you agree?”

“Money.”

Gideon slammed his hands on either side of him. “You come from one of the wealthiest families in the empire! How can you be in need of money?”

“I am in the midst of numerous investments including the establishment of a county,” Tori said in a sharp voice. “Do you think it’s cheap? Also, it is my family that is wealthy. Not me, personally. I can’t drain my family’s wealth for my personal endeavors. They have already given me so much to fund my Lycée project.”

“If you’re low on money, why are you still spending it?” Gideon demanded as his face reddened.

“Because it is unfortunate that it takes money to make money, and I need to make money to support my county.” And petty revenge. Tori huffed and glanced at his brothers. “Piers, does he have a choice in the matter of who guards him?”

“No.” Piers replied at once and Gideon’s face fell.

“Why not? She doesn’t want to guard me! She’s only doing it for the money.”

“She needs the money. If she is paid, we can rest assured that she will take her responsibility seriously,” Piers told him.

“But what if someone bribes her to turn against me?”

“I doubt anyone will be able to bribe me more than your father,” Tori said with sneer. “And even if someone did, you are sorely underestimating my loyalty to your family. I gave your father my word.” And signed a contract of employment. I have standards.

Gideon scowled. “I don’t trust you. We’ve never gotten along, Guevera. You don’t like me, and I don’t like you.”

“My personal feelings towards you are irrelevant. I have accepted a duty.”

“Gideon, I trust Tori with my life,” Piers said in a matter-of-fact voice. He took a seat beside her. “If I trust her with my life, you can trust her with yours.”

“Yes, but she likes you!” Gideon looked as if he were on the verge of a tantrum. “It’s not the same! She doesn’t like me. How can I be assured that she won’t act against me in small matters? Everyone knows she’s petty!”

“That’s true.” Tori nodded, conceding to that statement.

Piers frowned. “She will not put personal grudges above the importance of her duty.”

Gideon huffed and slumped back against the sofa, crossing his arms over his chest, stubborn. “I’m not convinced.”

Piers narrowed his eyes. “Gideon-”

“You should be convinced. Even if I don’t like you, I have a duty. After all, I’m bound,” Tori said suddenly as she crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against the chair, mirroring his position as her own act of defiance.

“Bound?” Gideon gave her a confused and doubtful look. “What are you talking about?”

The corner of Tori’s lips lowered. “Your father isn’t blind. He and everyone else knows that we don’t get along. He would be insane if he ordered me to guard you knowing that we have been at odds with each other multiple times without fully understanding the overall situation. What he is trusting isn’t necessarily me, but the fact that I am a Guevera. I am the daughter of a march; our loyalty is firm.”

“There have been exceptions.” Gideon met her eyes. “I know there have been records of march members who wanted or tried to rebel against the imperial family.”

“Yes, and they’re all dead,” Tori replied. “Every single one of them was killed by the march for breaching loyalty. And, if I let something injure you on purpose, that’s still far from rebellion.” She didn’t know how he made the jump to rebellion so quickly. In the original game plot, Victoria didn’t rebel.

Her brothers did, and only after she was tortured and killed.

“So, you would allow me to get hurt!”

Oh my God.... Tori turned her head towards Piers, her eyes wide and expectant as she made a small motion of her head towards Gideon.

Piers looked back at his brother. “Father has already agreed to Tori guarding you at Lycée. She will keep watch over you and provide charms and crystals to you and your escort knights.”

“Piers!” Gideon protested, but Piers lifted his hand to silence him.

“This is not negotiable. I did not call Tori here to ask you, but to inform you. If you feel threatened or face difficulty, you are to contact Tori while at Lycée.”

Gideon snorted. “And what if she’s the one threatening me or causing me difficulty.”

“Rest assured if I do, it won’t kill you.”

“Tori.” Piers gave her a knowing look and she rolled her eyes.

“All right, fine.” Tori sat up straight and leaned forward, towards Gideon. “When I say I am bound, it means I am literally bound. A several thousand-year-old empire still has its original families leading it, from the imperial family to the four marches from the warrior class that swore to protect them. Why do you think such a balance has remained after so long? It is a bit difficult to believe that there would be no one who disagreed and would rebel for more power.

“And they have, but they never succeeded. This is because the marches are bound to the imperial family. Horizon was built over an energy vein, though not nearly as strong as Viclya’s. Blood oaths were sworn over crystals on the vein; if a warrior class member betrayed the chief’s family, they would die. The crystals would activate and slowly drain the energy from the traitor, weakening them severely. That is death to a warrior, do you understand? If I purposely cause you harm, I risk my own life.”

Her eyes fixed on Gideon’s, who narrowed his eyes and shook his head. “I don’t believe you.”

“You’ve seen what crystals can do,” Tori said. “I was able to track Guthry with them. The crystals around an island in the delta can turn ships away. Carved crystals can heighten an individual’s senses, reflexes, and even strength and speed during battle. Do you really think such a thing as a crystal blood oath is impossible?”

Gideon swallowed hard. “Instructor Ignatius did say that the strength of crystals was more powerful in ancient times.”

“Precisely,” Tori said with an approving nod. “If you can’t trust me, then trust a several thousand-year-old blood oath that has proven to work as a fail-safe.”

Gideon lowered his eyes. He mulled over the situation in silence and Tori leaned back against the sofa with confidence. Piers watched his brother carefully.

“Are you going to arrange swordsmen around my dorm room?” Gideon asked, sounding almost hesitant to ask.

Hehe, got him. “No,” Tori said. She sat up straight once more. “I will provide several crystals for placement around your dorm. It will take me some time to carve them with the correct Old Sulfae, so in the meantime, I will give you temporary charms to use. There will be a crystal for your door and window; both of which will block entry even if they’re open to anyone but you. This will require you to personally charge each crystal or charm. No one other than you will be able to enter your room.

“I will also be providing safety talismans to you and your escort knights. Your talisman will include a crystal to contact me directly, as comcry are banned in class. From you, I will need to have your comcry registered to mine and will need to confirm your schedule daily to ensure that I am aware of where to find you should something happen.”

“Give him some silence charms and some defensive charms,” Piers told her. Tori furrowed her brows and looked at him.

“What defensive charms?”

“The one that freezes things, the one that lights up, and the one that detects poison in the air,” Piers said.

Gideon’s head snapped towards Tori. She could feel his curious, intense eyes boring into the side of her head with suspicion. He had heard about her use of charms, but didn’t know what exactly she could do with them.

“Fine, I’ll put some together,” Tori said. “They’re one time use, so I’ll need to make a few.”

Piers nodded, appearing satisfied by this. He looked back at Gideon. “You must work with Tori for your safety. Listen to her.”

Gideon drew his head back and clearly didn’t want to agree.

“I’m not going to follow you around,” Tori told him firmly. “Nor will I keep track of you while you’re outside of Lycée. My job is to guard you when we are on Lycée grounds. Once you leave the campus, your escort knights will resume their duties.”

“Is that all my father asked you to do?”

“There was one more thing, but it’s a confidential matter. It also deals with your safety, however, it’s more observational with little action. You don’t need to do anything,” Tori said with a dismissive wave.

Gideon looked at her critically for a moment longer. He turned towards Piers. His hands clenched at his sides, and he gave a single nod of agreement.

“Since this is my father’s order, I can’t reject it,” he said. “I have no choice but to depend on you, Guevera.”

Tori gave him a nod. “I will have the charms ready for you at the start of the school day this coming week. I will also need you to set aside some time this week so I can meet your escort knights and discuss what is to be expected. The sooner the better.”

Gideon gritted his teeth and nodded. “Name the time and place.”

“Cafe Fortuna, after classes on the last day of school this week. I should at least have your safety talisman prepared by then,” Tori told him.

“I will arrange it.” Gideon shot to his feet. He still looked resistant to the idea of her as a guard, but still extended his hand. “I am trusting you, Guevera.”

Tori lazily stood up and grasped his hand. “And I am trusting you to trust me.” She squeezed his hand tight and gave him an intense stare. “If your trust falters, I can’t save you.”

Gideon jerked his head back and almost snatched his hand away from hers. “You said you’ll die if you betray me. You should know what you’re risking.” He pulled his hand away from hers and stepped back. He looked at Piers. “I’m going to go downstairs.”

Piers gave him a small nod and watched as Gideon marched out of the room. The door slammed shut behind him.

“You didn’t tell him about Hart.”

“He doesn’t need to know about Hart,” Tori said. “It would only upset him further. As of right now, he’s separated himself from them and is following your parents’ orders. I suspect that he may avoid von Dorn for a while and von Dorn may follow Hart. This should put some distance between them.”

“What if Hart approaches my brother?”

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“I’ll deal with that when the time comes,” Tori replied. She let out a heavy breath. “I’ll need to tell the others about this.”

“Are you going to announce it?”

“No, but Ilyana and the others should know if I have another responsibility to deal with. I can also use their extra eyes and ears.” She turned to Piers and extended her hands towards him. He reached up and grabbed hold, then pulled himself up. “I will depend on you, too. Your brother still has his doubts.”

Piers nodded. “I understand.”

Tori let go of his hands and headed towards the door. “This still went better than expected. I was worried he’d put up more of a fight.” She reached out to open the door but was stopped by Piers.

“Tori, about what you said to my brother about the oaths over crystals. I have never heard of it,” Piers said, appearing genuinely confused.

“I know.”

He furrowed his brows and met her eyes for a moment. “Is it a march secret?”

Tori shook her head. “No. It’s a lie,” she said, unabashed. “Your brother’s just an idiot.”

Like many people in Soleil, Tori’s belief in the gods of the world wasn’t so much blind faith, but an acknowledgement of an entity or energy that existed beyond her. Soleil’s ‘gods’ were a sort of physical name and representation of something. At its core was energy that influenced the world.

She wasn’t sure how to explain it more than that, but she knew one thing: she was going to give alms in the name of Amea, goddess of friendship, with her next allowance.

Truly, I have been blessed.

She stood at the entrance to Lycée and waved as the SIG One carried Ilyana and Henrik away. Lions Gate’s release party was tomorrow and while all the major parts had been prepared, there were still the fine details to go over. Ilyana and Henrik oversaw it, with Ilyana being especially determined to do more work now that Tori was acting as Gideon’s Lycée guard.

When she told her friends, she had mixed reactions. Some were surprised, some were annoyed. Ilyana had complained that she was doing too much and was putting too much stress on herself. Tori had agreed, but she had already made her decision. There was no going back now.

“Countess Guevera,” an imperial knight said from her left and bowed as she turned towards him. “His Highness invites you to take the carriage.”

Tori raised a brow. She glanced at the imperial carriage a few paces away and then turned in the direction of Cafe Fortuna, which was a block away. She took a deep breath and adjusted the heavy satchel around her body.

“All right.” She followed the imperial knight to the carriage, and he opened the door for her. Gideon was already seated inside. He sat furthest away from the door and had his elbow resting on the windowsill. He glanced at her and gave her a silent nod.

Tori nodded in return and took a seat diagonal from him. She slipped her hand into her pocket and took out a silence charm, activated it, and then slapped it against the side of the carriage.

“Has von Dorn contacted you outside of class?” she asked. During homeroom, Gideon had continued to sit in front of her. He’d confirm his schedule with her in the mornings and occasionally accept some of Ilyana’s snacks, but he didn’t go out of his way to talk to them.

Tori had kept a close eye on Fabian. On the first day of the week, he’d tried to speak to Gideon, but Gideon had only repeated what he’d said before: that he understood Fabian’s concern and thanked him for his service, but also that he didn’t wish to burden Fabian further.

It was a polite way of saying that he didn’t want to talk to Fabian.

Fabian had taken the hint and returned to his seat, but he continued to look over his shoulder. More than once did Tori notice that he wanted to speak to Gideon, but had held back.

The split between the two had already spread through the school. Gideon himself had confirmed it, and while he wouldn’t go into detail, only saying that it was time for him to ‘release’ his personal knight, there were ongoing whispers as to why.

Tori wasn’t sure how much the rest of the students knew about personal knights and the like, but it seemed that most students suspected Fabian of wrongdoing despite Gideon once more taking the blame and claiming he made the decision.

Alessa had come by twice to check on Gideon and both times, Tori had interjected to end the conversation. Whether Gideon knew what she was doing or not, he had played along. He had given Alessa a bright, but polite and distant smile before making an excuse to get out of the conversation.

As he was being pleasant about it, Alessa couldn’t do much but pout and walk back to her desk, dejected.

“He’s stopped by my dorm room a few times,” Gideon said, looking out the window as the carriage moved forward. “He says he just wanted to make sure I was all right in a room by myself.”

“Didn’t he move to the other dorm?”

Gideon nodded. “He came and knocked, but the charm you gave me wouldn’t let him in.” He looked at Tori and narrowed her eyes. “It was as if there was an invisible wall.”

Tori nodded. “It contorts the energy and forms a barrier against foreign energies, including people. Unfortunately, it takes a lot of energy. That’s why you must use one per day.”

“He came again today, before I left. He wanted to know if I needed help bringing things back to the palace for the weekend. I rejected him and I told him that you were acting as a guard, so he no longer needed to come by.”

Tori bit her lip to keep from asking how Fabian took it. In their dance class, Fabian had been noticeably distracted the entire week. Since he didn’t confront her with any words of warning, Tori assumed that no one told him that she was made a guard.

It’s going to be an interesting dance class next week. Tori let out a heavy breath and leaned back against the carriage bench. “I think his concern shows that he requested dismissal for your best interest.”

Gideon nodded and looked back at the window. “I know Fabian wouldn’t do anything to hurt me on purpose.”

Tori didn’t reply. She was quiet until they reached Cafe Fortuna. Two of Piers' escort knights in plain clothes were stationed outside, meaning Piers was within. She hadn’t invited him, but was a bit relieved that he would be there as a sort of backing.

“Good afternoon, Countess Guevera.” One of Piers’ knights greeted her as he opened the door to the carriage. The other opened the door to the cafe.

“Good afternoon, Countess. His Highness has secured the cafe for the afternoon,” Sir Lloyd said. “Master Alexander is also present.”

Tori gave them both nods. “Thank you.”

The inside of the cafe was nearly full of knights. All, except for the two imperial knights on either side of Piers, were in uniform. They sat around the various tables, drinking coffee, or eating a small snack as they waited for Tori and Gideon to arrive.

As she entered, Piers, who had been sitting on the overstuffed chair next to the hearth, rose to his feet with Alexander in one arm. The knights all stood up and Tori reached out to pick up her cat.

“Bring me a table,” Tori said as she stood in front of the hearth and draped her cat over her shoulder. Alexander nudged her head and purred. Piers gave two knights a silent look and they quickly rushed to carry over two square tables and placed them in front of Tori. With her cat stretched across both shoulders, Tori put her heavy satchel on the table and waited for Gideon to take a seat in the sofa across from her.

She quietly counted the number of knights in uniform. Piers’ knights were usually in plain clothes when escorting him. There were plenty of vaguely familiar and unfamiliar faces in the cafe.

“Sir Dobchek, please put these on each window,” Tori said as she handed the knight beside Piers a stack of charms. “They’re already charged.”

He nodded and walked to the nearest window. He slapped a charm on and then sucked in a sharp breath as the window tinted. Light still came through and they could see outside, but the window itself grew dark. He turned around to look at Tori and she half expected him to cry out ‘witchcraft’.

“Is this new?” Piers asked.

“If you go outside and look in, you can’t see anything. It’s a tinted reflective finish. Go check for yourself.” Tori smirked and motioned for him to go outside. Piers marched to the door as Sir Dobchek put a charm on each window. Tori could see Piers and a few knights who followed him talking and nodding as they pointed at the windows. Piers moved close to the front window and pressed his hands against the glass and tried to peer in.

He drew his head back and shook his head. Piers came in after confirming her words. “I can’t see anything. It’s as if there is a wall immediately behind the window.”

“My lady, this is amazing!” Sir Atienza said, excited. “Can we use these in carriages?”

Tori nodded. “We’re installing the permanent crystal pieces on the windows of my carriages next weekend as a test. Do you want some charms for temporary use?”

“How long do they last?” Sir Dobchek asked as he tapped against the tinted glass.

“A full day from my tests, but the effect is lost when the charm is removed from the glass or torn,” Tori replied. “I’ll give you some after the meeting.”

“Thank you, Countess!”

She looked back at the ground and let out a small cough. She took out another silence charm and put it on the mantle over the hearth. Piers returned to his seat and Tori handed him Alexander so she could focus.

“All right let’s get this meeting started. For those of you who don’t know, I am Countess Tori Guevera. I am the daughter of Marquis Guevera, the Countess of Cosora, and a student of the same year and homeroom as His Highness Prince Gideon,” Tori said with a wave of her hand towards the seated silver-haired prince. “As of this week, I have taken on the duty of temporary Lycée guard to Prince Gideon. This is a formal meeting to introduce myself and meet all his escort knights. There should be thirty imperial knights who are acting as escort knights to Prince Gideon.”

She took out a piece of paper and called out all the names. Each person was required to be registered in her comcry. Axton arrived in the middle of it and sneaked around the group to get something to drink before joining Piers and sitting on the arm of his chair.

Tori continued her introduction on what her duty was, what was expected of her, and then began to take out all the items in her satchel. There were numerous crystals on simple leather chords.

Axton furrowed his brows. “Do they each get one?”

“Yes,” Piers said.

“Why didn’t she give your knights crystals?” Axton said as he fished out his own safety talisman. His current one was a second-generation safety talisman. He didn’t know what new features Tori had made to the batch she revealed.

“I’ve made one for each knight. When I call your name, please come up and I will help you charge the crystal with your energy signature to activate it. If you are unable to charge, I will need a drop of your blood,” Tori instructed.

Gideon’s knights all exchanged looks and appeared hesitant.

Sir Granger, one of Piers’ knights, snorted and leaned back against the wall. “You should be so lucky to get a protective crystal talisman from the Countess. Very few people have them. Even we don’t.”

Tori tried not to cringe at the envy in Sir Granger’s voice. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to give Piers’ knights safety talismans. It was just that she thought they were capable and didn’t go into direct battle that would require additional protection. These ones she just finished the night before were two sided and wrapped together with wire. They were narrow rectangles about the size of her thumb.

One side was black tourmaline for the usual safety charm. The other side was moonstone programmed as a tracking device. The piece of paper with the names of all of Gideon’s knights had been matched up to a particular talisman and she would be able to use the corresponding tracking tablet to track specific talismans.

Tori had skipped out on sword practice the last week so she and Ilyana could test each one.

The process of charging and assigning the safety talismans took some time. Gideon remained seated, drinking only a small coffee as he watched his knights accept their crystal talismans.

Tori then took out a round, mounted talisman she had Mr. du Monde mount for her. The tracking and communication crystals were hidden behind the gold-plated metal backing. Only the black tourmaline safety charm was visible.

“If you need to contact me in an emergency, treat the face of the talisman like you would a comcry. I will receive your message and respond,” Tori said. She looked at the thirty escort knights with Gideon. “Please be sure to keep these safety talismans on you when you are on duty. They are designed to enhance reaction time, counter light fatigue, and will provide additional energy in the heat of battle. Are there any questions?”

“Can our talismans contact you, too?” one of Gideon’s knights asked.

Tori shook her head. “No. Only Prince Gideon’s has that feature, as comcrys are prohibited during class.”

“How long do these last?”

“When I ask you to return them once His Highness graduates, they will still be active,” Tori replied.

A few knights looked at her with surprise and a bit of disappointment. “We have to return them?”

“Yes, they’re expensive.” She heard Axton muffle a snort and turn his head away. “Since you’ve all come this way for today’s meeting, I’ve asked Mama J and her sons to prepare dinner for everyone here - yes, Axton, for you and Piers’ knights, too.”

“I was wondering why there was such a heavy scent of food....” Axton muttered to himself.

The knights present thanked Tori and as they studied their talismans and went to find places to sit, Tori remained standing to answer any questions. The co-heads of Gideon’s escort knights were particularly interested in speaking to her about Gideon’s schedule. They seemed to want to confirm that, while it was not her duty, she would also be informed of his schedule outside of Lycée, such as when he went to the Thirteenth District to oversee his hospital.

“Countess Guevera is there anything we should keep in mind?” the oldest of his knights looked serious as he asked her.

Tori took a deep breath and seemed to think for a moment. “Take note of Fabian von Dorn, Dimitri Guthry, and Alessa Hart, and anyone who may be associated with them. Mr. Guthry associates with Miss Hart often and had an argument with the second Prince a few weeks ago. I am unsure if he is holding a grudge.”

The two knights nodded and gave her a march’s salute before going to take their seats. Tori told Mama J to bring her food upstairs before climbing up the stairs.

She went into the small room and laid out on the daybed. As she stretched out, she took out the crystal tracking tablet and slid her finger over the moonstone plate embedded into the clear quartz. The tablet was rectangular with a grid pattern lined with tiny moonstone flakes. A carved triangle on one side was supposed to point away from the user while the circle opposite it was the location of the tablet itself: the ‘center’ of the radar.

The tiny moonstone flakes illuminated directly around the circle, meaning the knights and their tracking devices were underneath her. Tori tapped on one flake and several names appeared on the moonstone plate beside the triangle. The name of the knight pulled up immediately. The gold light amongst all the white ones was Gideon.

The door opened and Piers and Axton entered.

“Does it work?” Axton asked as he carried an ice coffee to her bedside. Tori nodded.

“Yes, Ilyana and I tested them this week and they’re working fine. I don’t expect any long-term problems, but I’ll check periodically. Master Ramos and I changed the scale of the grid, too. It can be resized depending on which crystal we select from the plates at the top.”

Piers sat on the edge of the bed beside her and looked at the crystal tablet with the glowing dots in her hands. “You’ve worked hard.”

“I spent so long scraping Old Sulfae into each of them, I was going to scream,” Tori muttered with a frown. “At least, this will be of help if we’re trying to track them.”

“How far can it go?” Axton asked.

“We programmed it for the distance of 10 days. From here, we can go well into the marches. The closest distance is about five paces.” Tori adjusted the tablet, and the glowing moonstone became more separated. “Your brother is moving around.”

“What happens if your tablet breaks?” Axton frowned. He traded the drink in his hand for the tablet.

“There is a programmed smokey quartz and agate that connects the tablet to a spare and essentially backs up the information.” The crystal cloud, heh. “Crystals are fragile, and a deep enough crack will break it and render it useless, so it’s important to have a backup. Worse comes to worst, I have a new and improved way of tracking crystals I’ve charged.”

Piers frowned. “Will you get crystal fatigue or shock?”

Tori looked away. “I don’t know yet.” She took a sip of her drink. “Let’s just hope it doesn’t come to that.”

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