Traitor Savant (Second Seal of the Duelists) Read Online Free Page B

presence more quickly.”
    Bayan nodded, seeing the emperor’s wisdom. “Are all these waves of newniks going to be so perfectly balanced, with a dozen each of the Raqtaaq, Bantayan, and mix of Waarden, Dunfarroghan, and Akrestoi?”
    “Until the balance can’t be maintained, yes.”
    Bayan blew out a big breath. “This’ll be something to see, won’t it? Good luck; you’ll have your hands more than full.”
    “Actually, I had hoped to ask for your help, especially with the first wave.”
    “ My help?”
    “I’m Raqtaaq, appointed by the emperor. You’re Bantayan and a hero of the empire. You have a holiday and everything. The two of us together can present a united and accepting front to all of the… newniks, is it?” Kipri stumbled over the unfamiliar term. “The more work we put in with this first wave, the less effort we’ll need to expend on later arrivals. And I really want to get this right.”
    Bayan could guess that Kipri had hal f a dozen reasons for wanting his job to go smoothly. “I’ll be there. Just let me know when your first meeting is.”
    Kipri gave him a broad, relieved smile. “I will. It really is good to see you again, Bayan.”
    As they parted ways outside the meeting hall, though, doubt crept in. Yes, all the students on campus knew of Bayan’s role in saving the emperor’s life. But he had no idea how a group of young Bantayan teenagers would perceive him. Had they even heard of him back home?
    As he headed back to the barracks to tell Eward and Calder about Kipri’s arrival and the imminent flood of newniks, Bayan found himself briefly wishing for the obscurity he’d labored under when he first arrived on campus a year and a half ago. Life’s much simpler when no one expects anything from you.

The Lost Secret
     
    In the afternoon light, the mansion on the rise overlooking the crystal waters of Wisnuk Bay seemed part of an idyllic Akrestan painting. The gardens, grounds, and outbuildings were arranged as if by a meticulous artist seeking the best visual layout.
    Kiwani t’Eshkin , pack on her shoulders, walked through the market center of the port town of Tetbese and breathed in the scents of her childhood. Though the rattles and clashes of wagons and crates and the raucous cacophony of hawkers’ cries could be found in any large town in the empire, only those on the coast brought with them the smells of the sea and the fishing trade, and only those near Wisnuk Bay were softened by the peculiar but welcome citrus scent of waskukone’yen, which was the crop of choice on numerous farms in the area. It had been Lord Eshkin’s idea to produce the flowers en masse and market them to as much of the empire as they could reach before their signature scent faded. To Kiwani, the smell of the waskukone’yen was the smell of success.
    Or it had been, until she learned that the couple who had raised her had purchased her from her real parents, and the price had been their freedom from indenturement. As Kiwani began the uphill walk to the outer gates of the Eshkin estate, she felt her teeth grinding. Relaxing her jaw with a few stretches, she tried to focus on the future. Tomorrow, she’d seek out her birth mother. Tomorrow, she’d finally find the closure that Sint Esme had promised her, and then she could return to campus and once more perform her magic safely and in massive quantities. One day, she would be the empire’s best-known duelist, and her name would be spoken for centuries to come. It was her life’s goal. She’d hated the sight of Bayan merely because she feared his smaller magical ability would hold her hex back. Now, she pinned all her hopes on his ability to teach her how to force Savantism, so that her skills—her entire reason for being—would never be questioned.
    The gate guards were surprised to see her—and on foot, no less—but they let her pass with a murmured greeting and a bow. On the way to her old room, Kiwani passed the doormaid, the seneschal,