A Hint of Hydra by Heidi Lang

Author:Heidi Lang
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aladdin

The entire street was lit up bright as day, with candles in all the windows and large torches set up every few feet to fight off the chill and the night. Lailu and Greg stood on a broad wooden box set behind their table so they could see over the tops of everyone’s heads.

“There’re all the Chef Academy students,” Greg pointed out. “Oh, and look, Master Sanford!”

Lailu cheered and waved as her former classmates marched past, the seniors in front doing fancy knife-tossing tricks. Behind them strode the teachers, led by Lailu’s favorite—a stout, grizzled man in an eye patch. He turned his good eye on Lailu and lifted his knife in a salute as he strode past.

Lailu beamed. “Did you see that? Did you?”

“I saw,” Greg said. “He was totally saluting me.”

Lailu scowled. “He was saluting me.”

“Maybe he was saluting both of us?” Greg suggested. “You’re missing the heroes, you know.”

Lailu turned back to see the heroes marching in formation. At the front strode the younger students, the firelight reflecting off their fancy uniforms. No one in the parade wore a mask, even tonight; this was their chance to be seen by the city, and some of the older students were truly enjoying it, doing flips and spinning their swords in complicated patterns.

Lailu noticed several of the already-graduated heroes marching behind the students, including Vahn. His long blond hair made him impossible to miss, especially when he kept tossing it behind his shoulders and blowing kisses at all the girls.

Lailu frowned. Vahn wasn’t the only one preening out there, but it just seemed kind of . . . tacky. She turned away, catching Greg staring at her. “What?” she asked.

Greg shrugged. “Still think he’s the most amazing ever?”

Lailu sighed. “I don’t know what I think,” she said, watching the scholars follow the heroes, their students marching solemn-faced, like they would much rather be indoors studying than parading through cobblestones and crowds. She couldn’t help remembering the conversation she’d overheard between Vahn and Hannah, and it filled her with a sick, prickly feeling. Embarrassment? Shame? She’d liked him so much, looked up to him, and this whole time, he thought she was just some annoying little kid. “Anyhow, it doesn’t matter. He’s interested in Hannah. I think . . . I think they might be dating already.”

“Really?” Greg’s eyebrows shot up.

“I don’t know. Hannah hasn’t really told me anything,” Lailu admitted, and the thought of actually asking Hannah about it made Lailu feel like she’d just swallowed a griffin whole. Ryon was right: Hannah really was good at keeping secrets. Maybe she thinks I’m just an annoying little kid too, she thought sadly.

“Well, I’m shocked. Here I thought Hannah had taste.”

Lailu scowled, so distracted that she barely noticed the artists bringing up the rear of the Academy parade. But even her bad mood couldn’t hold up when the entertainers jumped in. Jugglers hurled fire into the night sky, masked dancers twirled and spun, and acrobats did flips, tossing each other into the air.

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