Chapter 362 – Choices Part (part 2)

Chapter 362 – Choices (Part 2)

Crystals from the chandelier cast a warm glow across the restaurant. Kai slowed his pace, steadying his slight panting. The scent of seared meat, buttered bread, and spices made his mouth water and eased his tension.

Got here in time.

A girl laughed at a corner table. Her smile lit her face, auburn hair cascading over one ear. The partitions muffling the patrons’ conversations also hid her companions from view.

Kai loosened the collar of his uniform. The shirt inside clung to sweat-damp skin for the run from the highest floor of the Aula Ordinis, the ache in his body a dull reminder of his recent wounds. Ignoring the waiter’s displeasure at his brusque entrance, he slipped toward the corner and crossed the sound wards.

“Hi… you’re all… still here…” He said, catching his breath.

Five faces spun on him—Valela smiled alone. “Mat! You’ve made it. We were starting to worry. Are you alright?”

“I—”

“You’re late,” Rain informed him with a weak wave. His head rested on his arm, leaning on the ivory tablecloth, with a forlorn gaze on his empty plate.

Kai scratched his neck under their combined scrutiny. “You waited for… me?” He blinked, noticing the polished glasses and cutlery.

“Who else could let us starve for nearly an hour?” Flynn shook his head, hand raised to his face and lips pursed like a disapproving parent. “I wrote you down the time. You promised to be punctual today.”

“You’re more than fashionably late.” Lys waved off the server, moving to remove the interloping students importuning their patrons.

Rena nodded her silent agreement, putting a book away to greet him.

“I’m truly sorry,” Kai said. “You didn’t need to wait for me. I got—”

“Got lost wandering in your thoughts and preparing reckless schemes?” Flynn asked with a grin.

“Napping?” Rain provided.

“You should start noting your appointments.” Lys rang the golden bell beside a slender vase filled with baby blue lilies and trailing vines. “We did order already. Hope you don’t mind. We did get you a few appetizers.”

“Really, he should offer us dinner,” Flynn said. His back straightened to gaze at the waiters already carrying steaming plates toward their table.

“I’m sorry, I’ll—”

“Enough tormenting him.” Valela threw them a dirty look. “It’s okay, Mat. Take a seat. It was no big deal. We knew you’d be running late.”

“You… knew?” Kai asked. Guilty smiles and laughs bloomed around the table at his dumbfounded look.

“We received word,” Lys said. “And look there. An empty chair right beside Val. What a coinciden—” Her words cut off as the plates clattered from a knee hitting the underside of the table.

Glances and chuckles crossed the table, too swift to read—likely an inside joke to mess with him for running so late. Kai ignored it and sank into his seat with all the grace of a hungry teen.

“You could have given me a few more seconds.” Flynn folded his arms with a disappointed sulk at Valela. “I almost had him.” His indignation vanished as the waiter served the food. He spoke between mouthfuls. “Sorry, I’m starving… You… imperious roommate. Alden… I met him coming here. He told me. I invited him to join, but he said he’d already eaten.”

That was nice of him.

“Alden’s not much for public places,” Kai said, picking up the menu bound in deep red leather. Cursive golden letters adorned the cover, and within, twenty-one pages of dishes with names he could scarcely pronounce.

More choices. Though I can choose as many as I want. Just don’t look at the prices.

“Where… were you…though?” Flynn punctuated with his fork. “Alden was vague on details… Said to ask you.”

Food had taken the attention of the table. Rain sampled three plates arranged with a dozen different dishes, Rena cut into a steak with a crust and glaze of herbs, and Lys nibbled on a pastry stuffed with cheese and sweet peppers.

“Well…” Kai leaned back in his chair as a young waitress set a plate of dainty appetizers before him. “Thank you,” he said, receiving a coy smile in response before she flitted away. Spiced tarts, smoked fish slices, and artistically cut veggies shaped like squirrels ringed the porcelain plate—his friends’ touch couldn’t have been more apparent.

Guess it’s the thought that counts.

“You… saying?” Flynn watched him and took a glass to wash down the food. “What was worth letting your dear and wonderful friends nearly starve to death? Or are you looking to replace us?” He gave him a side eye.

“No, of course not everyone. Just you.” Kai popped one of the tarts into his mouth. Spices seared across his tongue like fire and honey. His mouth remained shut, throat clenched to suppress a cough and deny the satisfaction of a reaction. “That was… great.”

“Drink something. You didn’t need to eat that,” Valela said. “But really, where were you?”

Lys narrowed her golden eyes. “Were you with a someone?”

“Uhm… well, yes. The dean summoned me.”

The clatter of cutlery abruptly halted. Even Rain stopped poking his food to watch him closely.

“You mean, Dean Cassian Astares?” Lys dabbed her mouth with a napkin, voice lowered despite the wards. “The only Fifth Circle High Mage in the academy? He summoned you?”

“Is there another?” Kai gave a shrug, leafing through the menu to find a better fancy dish to order. “I got summoned on my way here. I was coming early, actually.”

“How was he?” Lys leaned across the table. “Does he truly look younger than most professors? Is he handsome? Is it true he keeps an ancient truth-telling artifact on his desk?”

Valela brushed his shoulder before pulling back. “Are you alright?”

“What did he want?” Flynn asked.

“I—yes. Everything was fine,” Kai said lightly, wearing a reassuring smile, looking at the list of overpriced drinks. “He just wanted to talk with me.” His vague answer only seemed to feed the hungry stares. He enjoyed a few seconds of squirming curiosity before continuing. “It was about the Mid-Term Trials. I told you mine were quite eventful. Apparently, the academy had issues with the scrying wards, and the dean wanted to confirm the details in person.”

“Your Trials must have been more than eventful,” Flynn said, his eyes narrowed in obvious suspicion. “Did you get in trouble again? You were with Alden, right?”

“Is everything truly alright?” Valela asked.

Really, no faith at all.

“I’m really fine.” Kai raised his arm to ward off their stares and called a waiter to order his food. “My Trials were nothing too special. Solved some puzzles, crossed a couple of mazes and killed a few bloodthirsty beasts. Then some more. It turned out fine in the end,” he said, then added almost as an afterthought. “Guess the dean also wanted to congratulate me for ranking first.”

“Huh?” Flynn choked on a glass of water, coughing and beating his chest—the fact he’d been drinking when Kai spoke was purely coincidental.

“You’re lying!” Lys sounded scandalized and delighted, hand raised to cover her mouth. “Come on, Mat. Don’t skimp on details. You mean first among all courses of studies and intakes?”

“Yup.” Kai casually picked up a vegetable squirrel, feigning ignorance to his friends’ thrumming bewilderment, though he couldn’t entirely stop his smirk. “The official rankings should come out soon.”

“Congratulations! That’s amazing.” Valela beamed at him. “How did you do it? You must have gone through a lot.”

“Uhm, thank you. It wasn’t too bad,” Kai said, still feeling hot from the run. “We got very lucky, then very unlucky. Both earned us a lot of points.”

“Why am I even surprised?” Flynn gave a rueful shake of his head, drying his face with a napkin to reclaim some dignity. “Congrats, man. I thought we did well, but not first-place well. I should have bet more on you. I can’t wait to see those smug fancypants’ faces when your name shows up at the top. I’ll get to brag I knew you first! Hey, think we can sell your autographs?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Kai rolled his eyes. “It’s just the Mid-Term Trials. They’ll say I got lucky and forget about it in a week. I don’t need the attention anyway.”

“Well… bud. I love your optimism.” Flynn reached over to pat his shoulder, a pitying look on his face. “But that ship’s already sailed and sunk. I know you don’t care much for social gatherings and haven’t talked with many students. They won’t forget.”

“I’m afraid your tall friend is right,” Lys said, not looking particularly sad. “The high achievers from Fall Intake are quite competitive. It’s a matter of prestige for their Houses.”

“Come on, let’s make a toast first.” Flynn raised a glass. “To the first ranked!”

“Please don’t,” Kai said, praying the wards would muffle their voices. His protests fell on deaf ears as the whole table joined in, encouraged to shower him with compliments and congratulations by his visible embarrassment.

All he could do was endure it with a stoic face and order his food for a distraction, ignoring the prices. Eventually, he caved in to his friends’ enthusiasm and recounted parts of his Trials as they ate. “It wasn’t much different from yours. Just more of it.”

Plus a crawling horror.

“You truly missed the supplies,” Valela said. “How did you manage to clear so many chambers?”

“I wanted to get out.”

Rain echoed the cheer as he sampled a meat pie. “It was fun going underground. We met soon. Did you also find those hidden riddles?”

“A few.” Glancing at the plate of appetizers, Kai noticed the smoked fish was gone.

Whoever could that have been? If only anyone had an idea?

Stolen novel; please report.

A whiff of innocent confusion brushed his mind before it slipped away.

You could have just asked, you know? And no, I don’t need proof. Or do you know someone else who leaves behind such lustrous silver hairs? Ah! Caught you! There were no hairs.

Kai chuckled as Hobbes snapped the connection with an indignant harrumph. Turning back to his friends, he fended off their questions with a touch of smugness and listened to their accounts of the Trials.

Most of them had traveled in larger groups. Having found stores of food, weapons, and miscellaneous supplies early on, their experience had been quite different.

Guess they had the intended experience.

The academy brought Rain and Flynn inside together. From the siren’s description, one might mistake the Trials for an evening stroll, with the challenges providing games and entertainment. Probably not the most serious participant. Babysitting the tagalongs stalking after them sounded like their hardest challenge.

Valela had a rougher start with her initial group, too many squabbles over teams and command. Things went more smoothly once she joined with Lys and Rena, then bumped into Flynn and Rain with six hours to spare to reach the exit.

That sounds so much more relaxing, though I’m glad we avoided the large groups’ drama. Skipping the supplies did let us move much faster.