Page 81 of The Ninth Element

Darian grinds his teeth but remains silent. He runs a frustrated hand through his hair, then takes a step back, his face betraying his anger.

I feel a pang of guilt. Maybe I shouldn’t have dismissed his concerns so quickly. Even though I don’t appreciate his sudden worry after ignoring me for days, it’s clear he cares deeply about my survival.

As I ponder my conflicted feelings, the Martyshyar finishes reading the names. No one is eliminated from the trials this time, as an even number of contenders remain in the game, forming nine pairs of two.

“You must return with your partner and nine coins combined before dawn,” Martyshyar Kamran calls out.

As always, he doesn’t wait for questions or reactions. He turns on his heel and marches away, leaving us to stew in our confusion.

“How many coins do you have?” I ask Zanyar as I pull my two out of my pouch.

“Five,” he responds.

Five! Heavens be good. I remember Lila describing how he fought four Jamshahis. He must have defeated them all. It means we only need two more. He doesn’t bother to show me his coins. I assume being at the top all his life means he doesn’t need to prove anything to anyone.

I look around at our surroundings. Darian and Faelas are standing beside me, along with Lila, whom Bahador chose as a partner. Darian and Faelas have six coins combined, while Bahador and Lila have five. I look at Kameel and Maleed, holding four coins, standing beside Zanyar. Pippin is paired with Roshana, while the other Aramisi man is paired with Syriad, the last southern Myran standing in the game.

The Izadeonians and Ahiras look like an unlikely alliance, standing beside each other only because Zanyar and I are a pair. Everyone is giving each other the side-eye. There is not a snowball’s chance in the nine hells that these factions can find a common cause, which means Zanyar and I haveto choose a group to work with.

While I weigh the merits and perils of each alliance, Zanyar, ever the leader, doesn’t wait for me to decide. “We’ll head to the stables now,” he orders the Ahiras.

I glance over at Darian and the Izadeonians, who are huddled together as they plot their strategy. Darian catches my gaze and gives me a reassuring nod. As always, his expression makes me feel both happy and flustered. Forcing myself to ignore the feeling he elicits, I turn back to my new alliance.

Kameel and Maleed look at me like they just swallowed a bad egg. Pippin is his usual nervous self. And the two Aramisis seem to distrust me even more than the Firelanders. Meanwhile, Syriad is eyeing me as though he wishes for nothing more than to give me a bone-crushing punch to avenge his Myran friends for what I did in the arena.

Zanyar begins outlining his plan, and I sigh, trying to tune out the alarms in my head. This is going to be a long day.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Kameel leans over the map, tracing the lines with a finger. “The granaries are up north. If you look to the east, that’s where the slums are. The market is located in the center, and residential areas extend to the south. The West, that’s where the nobles and the Martysh ranks live.” There’s a familiarity in his tone as if he’s been a stray cat in Shemiran in his past life.

We are gathered around him in front of the same stables where we left our horses during my last visit to Shemiran with the Izadeonians. This time, however, the experience is far less enjoyable.

I am surrounded by a crowd of people who are supposed to be my allies, but they feel more like foes. And I can’t help but wonder how we are supposed to locate those small coins in Shemiran’s endless maze of streets and buildings.

Zanyar designates each pair a specific area to search, and I am assigned to search the market with Sir Sunshine and Rainbows himself. Meanwhile, Roshana is shooting daggers at me with her eyes as if I somehow rigged the trial’s rules andwantedto spend the next few hours with theheir they never had.

“Don’t waste your time searching for the coins themselves or rummaging through buildings. Focus on finding clues or any signs that might lead us to where the coins could be hidden. We will meet back here at sundown.”

Everyone nods and heads off to their assigned areas. As we stroll throughthe busy main square toward the market, I point to the red eight-pointed stars embedded in some of the cobblestones. “The stars on the ground. I noticed them last time. Some streets have them, and some don’t.”

“Those are markers leading to the main Temple of the Nine. Follow them, and you’ll find your way to the temple no matter where you are in town. They are in every major city.”

I was feeling a little smug about finding a clue, just to remember that I had been living under a rock up until two moons ago, so I shut my mouth. However, Zanyar surprises me with his next words. “I assume you haven’t visited another city. I recall you never joined the summer trips to Firetown with the other students.”

I frown at him, but his gaze is too distracted by surveying his surroundings to notice. He recalls… that? Ummm… How? I was four years younger than him, and we were in totally different circles. He was surrounded by nobles and admirers, while my circle was, well,me.

“It wasn’t exactly a choice. The coin for the carriage and lodgings was far beyond my reach,” I mutter, trying to hide my surprise as I catch up to him.

“I always thought it was unfair that the students had to pay for the trip,” Zanyar says. “I asked Ahira Emmengar to cover the cost for everyone, but he said it wasn’t important enough to discuss with the council.”

Were there other students who couldn’t afford it? I thought I was the only one struggling. Even though sorcerers came from all walks of life, even the youths from dirt-poor families usually had a few coins to rub together for essentials like a quick trip to Firetown, especially since Firelands supported sorcerers’s families. They didn’t want any sorcerers to leave Firelands due to concerns about their family’s well-being. For many poor families, having a sorcerer child is a golden ticket—a way out of poverty, thanks to Firelands’s generous offerings.

“I didn’t know there were others who couldn’t afford the trip. It’s hilarious when you think about it. We were learning to bend the elements and control the world around us, but some of us didn’t have enough control to scrape together coins for a short trip.”

“Why didn’t you go after school was over? You got paid during youralchemy days.”

“I was too petty. I wanted to save every coin I could for my journey to Jahanwatch.”

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