The Spinner Prince by Matt Laney

Author:Matt Laney
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Chapter 12

A friend is someone who helps carry your burdens.

—Sayings of the Ancients

he grassy plain turns rocky. Sea breezes grow stronger. We climb a slope and pause to take in the ocean sparkling in the sun. I comb the horizon for something that might be a military school. But there are no Singa-made structures; nothing except mountainous, jagged rock cliffs plunging into the ocean.

“Where is it?” I murmur to Kaydan.

“Not far,” he says, urging his karkadann onward.

The ground dips to the sea, making the cliffs seem higher with every step. The uneven terrain is peppered with boulders and difficult to traverse. Ravens fly overhead in wide, lazy circles, mocking our cautious plodding.

I’m starting to wonder if something is terribly wrong. This place is deserted. Where could there be a campus teeming with soldiers in training anywhere near here?

My karkadann rounds one last rock formation ten meters from the ocean. Gunari waits by a tidal pool at the base of the cliffs. He cuts an impressive figure against a vast blue background of sky meeting water. The wind fills his mane. Soldiers gather along the edges and stare thoughtfully at the pool.

Kaydan dismounts, and I slide down from my beast to the stony ground. The tidal pool is about three meters wide. Shallow edges reveal rocks beneath the water, but the center is dark and deep. A flat mirrored surface reflects somber soldiers and lacy white clouds.

I look up at Kaydan with a furrowed brow.

“We’re here,” he declares.

Before I can ask where “here” is, Gunari clears his throat. “Lord Leo, by the hunt, you have proven yourself worthy to train at the Royal Academy of War Science. This pool is the entrance. At the bottom you will find a tunnel that leads to a similar pool on the other side of this cliff.” He gestures to a mass of rock stretching high into the sky. “When you emerge from that second pool you will be just a few paces from the Academy. First you must remove all clothing and anything that adorns your body. At the Academy, everyone is equal.”

Kaydan nudges me and I strip down, clutching my winged chest plate to my hips. I’m shivering as much from embarrassment as from the ocean air. All the soldiers respectfully keep their eyes trained on the pool.

“I can take care of that,” Kaydan offers, removing the chest plate from my quivering fingers. “The Kahn will treasure it beyond all else while you are at the Academy, I assure you.”

“Lord Leo, do you want to become a soldier to serve our Kahn and protect our lands?” Gunari asks.

I am a royal, the future Kahn. Serving and protecting are what I was raised for. I straighten my back. “Yes. More than anything.”

“Remember that,” Gunari says sternly, “when you get to the other side.”

I lean in to Kaydan. “Is there anything down there I should know about?”

Kaydan knows I’m stalling. Singas like to keep their fur clean by scrubbing with water, but we despise being submerged in the stuff.

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