The People's Champion by Jenna Lincoln

Author:Jenna Lincoln
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: fantasy fiction, epic adventure, new adult romance, a maniacal queen, a realm with dangerous secrets, action and peril, extraordinary sacrifices, they infiltrate the queens military academy, they put everything on the line for their quest, they trust only each other
Publisher: Boroughs Publishing Group

Chapter 23

“The second day the bruises always look worse,” Dalin reassured one of the younger students at the end of his class. This particular girl stayed after with a question or comment most classes, but today he had even less time for a chat. A summons from Dr. Iskindar was something he did not want to delay, especially if she had news about Mara.

The girl scrubbed a towel over her short black curls and threw it in her bag. “Well, it’s not exactly an inspiration when you’re teaching self-defense and show up looking like the losing end of a serious fight.”

Surprised by her tone, Dalin glanced up from packing his gear. “Did you need inspiration?” The student reminded him of Annelise, or how Annelise used to be, with an open face and a kind smile. She was small and curvy with dark, dark skin.

“Tournament starts soon, doesn’t it? ’Course I need inspiration.”

“You…you entered?” Dalin didn’t want to hurt her feelings by expressing doubt, but this student was no killer.

“I’m a second-year,” the girl said. Dalin realized he didn’t know her name, which wasn’t like him. “And word went around that the best way to avoid washing out was to enter the tournament. Might even get a point bonus if we make it to the second round.” She jammed her feet into her boots and looked back up at him. “So yeah, I, we, might need a little inspiration.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Dalin said. But a few steps outside the gym, the conversation was forgotten as he took the shortest route to Dr. Iskindar’s office.

“Enter,” she called in response to his knock. Dalin glanced back at the empty corridor before slipping into the crowded office and pulling the door closed.

It didn’t seem possible and yet more books and papers were piled on the professor’s desk as well as on the other, already full, surfaces. The cloudburst had been brief the previous night, and the Mess was drier, leaving the professor’s office smelling less like books and plaster than it had on his previous visit.

“Thank you for the other day, I wouldn’t have—” Survived.

“I have news,” Dr. Iskindar said without preamble.

Dalin felt compelled to thank her for protecting him and the others from the Queen, but she stood and walked directly to the passage leading to the hub of the King’s Men. Once inside, she activated the central holocell and brought Iloel into focus in three dimensions hovering in front of them. Today she wore an uncharacteristically plain, dark gray sari and only a few bracelets. The somber attire matched her expression.

Like most of the planets in the Commonwealth, terraforming had produced one giant supercontinent on Iloel with only a few minor landmasses in the vast ocean. The professor tapped and shaped the image until several layers were visible. Dalin leaned forward, interested in both the geography and the man-made features coming into sharp relief.

“The force of two hundred landed here.” Dr. Iskindar touched a structure outside a large city. “And they marched to here.

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