Sapient Salvation 1: The Selection (Sapient Salvation Series) Read Online Free Page A

bursting out after a day of rain. “Of course.” He glanced at my sister. “I’d be glad to escort both of you, that is if Lana isn’t already taken.”
    I elbowed my sister. “She always refuses escort.”
    Lana turned a soft smile toward Rand. “I just didn’t want to get attached before my final Selection Ceremony. It always seemed bad luck . . .” she trailed off with a guilty grimace, realizing what she’d said.
    An awkward silence grew between the three of us.
    I heaved a deep sigh. “Lana, you’ve always been the smarter of the two of us. From now on, you are in charge of all of my important decisions.” There was no bitterness in my voice, but a pinprick of pain pierced my heart and I couldn’t help a glance at Court.
    Lana’s tinkling laugh broke the tension. “I’m just cautious. You’re far more courageous than I am.”
    I tipped my head toward hers until our temples touched, and squeezed her arm. I couldn’t imagine how anyone could survive without a twin.
    As the slope of the road steepened, the purples and blues of the evening sky colored the hills. The alabaster ceremony pavilion—a circular structure with tiered seating surrounded by tall columns—stood out starkly against the darker backdrop of the foothills.
    A hush seemed to descend over the thick line of people moving up the road.
    My thoughts turned to Belinda, the Obligate who would be offered to the Selection from our clan. She’d been born during the same half-year as me and Lana, and though I didn’t know her well I could picture her heart-shaped face, pale blonde curls, and delicate hands.
    This would have been Belinda’s last Selection ceremony before she was free to marry and build a life of her own. Instead, she would be entering the competition in the overlords’ city of Calisto. If she survived the competition, she would be rewarded with a slave position on some other world—not much of a reward, but certainly better than death during one of the competition’s challenges. If she emerged the overall victor, she would join Lord Toric’s harem and live out the rest of her life in luxury and service to the Lord. But no matter what the outcome, she would never return home.
    I sent up a prayer to the overlords and the stars above, asking that Belinda be filled with strength and courage. And another prayer for her family, for making such a profound sacrifice.
    There were many bowed heads around me, and I guessed that others were silently reciting similar prayers.
    As if those battling far overhead had sensed our prayers, a silent explosion lit high in the sky. I stiffened as I watched fiery debris streak through the atmosphere.
    My heart jolted at the sight of the flames streaking toward land, even though I knew any debris that didn’t burn up would hit the protective shield and bounce away or slide to the ground outside the protected zones.
    The invocation went up around the crowd. “Praise the overlords, praise Lord Toric.”
    I joined in, repeating the phrase three times.
    If not for the protection of the overlords, we on Earthenfell would have perished many hundreds of years ago as alien races fought to claim our planet. The battles in the skies have raged for centuries, but the overlords have kept us safe, fighting our enemies so we could live in peace.
    We had no deep love for the overlords and did not worship them, but we knew that without them we’d all be dead. And so we always praised them.
    I shivered, imagining how vast and terrifying it must be up there beyond the shield. I sent up another prayer, one of protection for the overlord fighters who tirelessly fended off our enemies.
    When we passed under the arch to enter the pavilion, I scanned the section our clan was assigned until I spotted my mother sitting in the third row.
    “I see Mother,” I said to Lana. I looked up at Rand. “Thank you again for allowing her to ride with your family. I’m not sure she could have come otherwise.”
    “Of course,