“Change.” That word came from a dweller to my right, and it was soon echoed by another, and then another. Until the entire dweller side was chanting it over and over.
A figure stepped out then, from the sol side, moving forward so that they were separated from the main group. It was a male: tall and thin, with a full head of slicked-back grey hair, a small thatch of grey beard on his chin, and a set of long silver robes. He looked old. He looked powerful. And he wore no expression on his face, but the moment the sols saw him standing in front of them, they fell silent and stopped using their gifts.
The chants from the dweller side died off too, and I leaned toward Atti. “Who’s that?” I murmured, not wanting to break this weird silence.
He swallowed hard, before blinking a few times like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “That’s Chancellor Crown, he’s the head of Blesswood. I half-thought he was a myth, even though they make us bow to his portrait in the main hall every sun-cycle.
I hadn’t done any bowing.
“That’s because you’re too busy looking at the ground as though it offends you,” Siret whispered in my ear. “As though it’s purposely tripping you up all the time.”
I grumbled out a curse but otherwise turned my head to ignore Siret. “Why did you think he was a myth?” I asked Atti.
Atti shook his head. “He hasn’t been seen for twenty life-cycles.”
Wow.
So this was the sol who ruled over the top academy in Minatsol. He must be powerful and wise. And possibly insane. Or horribly deformed. Although he didn’t look horribly deformed … maybe it was a sol-gift. Or maybe his sol-gift was severe introversion.
Aros chuckled. “I doubt it’s either of those things, sweetheart.”
Nineteen
A warm hand glided along the side of my face. I tilted my head back to see Rome, towering over the entire dweller population, staring down at me. I couldn’t read his expression, but that wasn’t unusual. He usually wore the same, bored expression all the time … unless he was pissed.
“You had some spike-leaf on the side of your face,” he explained, before abruptly dropping his hand and turning away.
Ah, that must have been what hit me earlier. Spike-leaf sounded like the sort of weapon I’d like to use, even though I had absolutely no idea what it was. It had to have been a sol-related thing, because there hadn’t been any spike-leaves back in the seventh ring.
My attention was back on the Chancellor now—he was moving forward again, both of his hands tucked into the seemingly deep pockets on the sides of his simple silver robes. When he paused again, he lifted his hands free, and waved them out in a circle shape, keeping them wide and welcoming.
“Send your dweller representative across.” His words were deep and powerful. He didn’t shout or look angry, but I had no problem hearing everything he said. “It seems we have important matters to discuss.”
Emmy and Atti straightened, and I felt everything inside my body tighten. I did not want her going over there to talk to him, no matter how calm and silvery he was. I didn’t trust any sol. Especially not one powerful enough to run Blesswood, and mysterious enough to not be seen for many life-cycles.
“I’ll come too,” I said firmly, halting my best friend.
I could spot Evie, the bushy-haired dweller with the light-blue eyes; she was already approaching the Chancellor. Emmy turned back to me and I recognised the look on her face, so I wasn’t at all surprised when she briefly gripped my hand before gently refusing me.
“It’s better if we go alone,” she said. “Too many ‘representatives’ is confusing, and well, you’re probably not the best representative either way.” She jerked her head up as she eyed off the Abcurses, who were standing behind me. “It’s already a bit much, with those guys and you, and everything that goes on with you six. It might just be a little less confusing if we keep you out of it for now.”
I understood her point, I really did. The unheard-of relationship I had with the Abcurses; my natural clumsiness; the chaos that seemed to shadow my every step—it was possible that I wouldn’t exactly be helpful in this sort of situation.
“Okay, but be careful,” I warned, stepping back and letting her cross with Atti.
The dweller stood close to her side, angling himself so he was between her and the Chancellor. They stopped right before him, and the silver sol let a small smile actually grace his lips.
“I’m glad you have met me halfway in this matter,” he began. “I know none of us would like to see this sort of senseless violence and divisiveness continue at Blesswood.”
There was a subtle dig there, like the dwellers were misbehaving little children who didn’t know how lucky they were to live in such a place. That attitude made me uneasy and I found myself drifting closer to him, only stopping when Siret wrapped an arm around my shoulder, keeping me from moving forward.
Emmy was speaking now, and I strained to hear her. She didn’t have that awesome voice projection power going on. “We do not want divisiveness. There was already too much of that in Blesswood. What we want are some fundamental rights for dwellers. We deserve to be heard. We serve dutifully, and we would like some appreciation for that.”
Evie added her own piece, but I couldn’t hear what she was saying at all. The Chancellor listened to it all with the same neutral-looking expression, but the slight narrowing of his eyes worried me. He didn’t seem very happy.
“We clothe and feed you, keep a safe and comfortable roof over your heads,” he replied, his voice still projected. The sols all shouted out their agreement. “We only ask in return for you to keep our academy running.”
Emmy lifted her head, her chin jutting proudly, and this time I had no problem hearing her. “My sister, another dweller here, was kidnapped by a god. I asked for help to get her back and was laughed out of the building. That does not sound like a safe roof to me.”
His eyes narrowed fully now, and even though his hands were back in his pockets, I sensed that they were probably clenched into fists. “We all serve the gods. It is not our place to interfere in their personal matters. Without them, we would have nothing.”
Atti spoke up for the first time. “The gods care no more for sols than they do dwellers. We should all be banding together to try and fight them. We should be demanding rights from them, or ask that they stay in Topia. We don’t need them in Minatsol.”