Page 33 of Power of Five
River glares at her, but the other three chuckle into their cups. Even Coal turns away with a sudden cough.
“The Citadel, which has a realm to protect, needs to somehow rein in these monsters before they piss on the good rug,” Autumn continues, undeterred. “Teach them how to work together, test their skills—”
“Instill fear of the Citadel into the quint’s souls,” River adds darkly, piling more meat and salad onto my quickly emptying plate. “New quints must pass a series of three Citadel trials to be recognized. When a new quint enters the Citadel training grounds, the Elders Council tattoos three runes on each warrior’s skin—one for each trial to be passed. The runes keep the initiates confined to the training grounds until the trials are completed. Well, thanks to that red-haired idiot, we had five.”
Tye stretches like a cat, spreading his arms wide. “It built character.”
Getting the dynamic of this little gathering, I’m smart enough to turn to Autumn for information. “What did Tye do?” I ask.
“Stole priceless gems from the Blaze palace and attempted to sell them to Flurry.”
“They were Flurry’s to begin with,” Tye protests. “I was just returning them to their rightful owner.”
Autumn somehow manages to look down her nose at the male. “For a price.”
“You want me to work for free?” Tye adjusts his collar primly. “Lilac Girl, wouldn’t you rather know what I can turn into?”
“Of course I would,” I say, catching everyone’s furious headshaking a moment too late.
Tye’s grin widens, and in a flash of light there is an orange tiger swishing its tail at the table. Another flash and Shade’s wolf pounces on the smug feline, the table overturning in the pair’s wake.
