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Your dear aunt requests the pleasure of your coardens at two thirty

Vallaena had arrived

Chapter 24

I followed a route recoardens It took ymnasiu carpets, and out the east side of the castle where a stone path led toward one of the exquisitely ardens I’d noticed from the bluff where the shuttles landed

Flowers of all colors and sizes blooiant ht froe and gazed at the bubbling brook of chocolate beneath, I wondered if it would actually be safe to eat anything here If so, I ih school

A wide, stone path between the garden and the castle coe stadiu, like the low thunder of an earthquake Checking the time, I saw I still had fifteen minutes to meet Vallaena, so I detoured toward the stadius imprinted with the names of chauarded an entrance designed to ad several feet off the ground, so I walked beneath it just as the ground shook beneath rassy field

My jaw dropped the antuan creatures lu out of my wildest nerd fantasies One of the three-story creatures looked cobbled together from stone The other looked like anis, and other natural debris Even though their forms bore a humanoid resemblance, they had no faces Two Arcanes whooped froole up earth with their olem made another turn, and ran back toward the Arcanes, every luh the earth It suddenly froze inThe creature sla everywhere The shrapnel bounced harmlessly off a shield around the inner perimeter of the track

"No!" shouted the two men

One of theole like a huolems they used for the Grand Melee, there was no way in the world I wanted to miss it

I could have stared at the spectacle all day, but duty called I jogged back to the candy gardens and found Vallaena sitting on a stone bench Behind her, the statue of a fe red liquid My aunt wore a dark blue dress, knee-length, withto detract froht narrow nose, full lips, the graceful curves of her body In fact, the deht just how hot she was

Gross, dude, she’s your aunt!

I felt a flush creep upsweetly as a gentle breeze picked at her blonde locks

Resolving to be as nice as possible despite the lack of trust I felt toward this woman, I put on a smile of my own "Hello, Vallaena" I sat next to her "What’s up?"

Her blue eyes looked rown since I last saw you"

"Puberty," I said

She shook her head "No, it’s so more than that" She peered into er the confused boy I firstman A leader Your father would be proud"

I stiffened at the h I see you aren’t yet ready to accept sohs heavily on your father, Justinius Do not hate him for the choices henot to acknowledge her stateuilty "What do I need to learn first?"

"Protocol It is extre a lock of blonde hair from her face as a breeze ruffled it "Once I feel you are adequately versed, you will learn su"

"Like hellhounds and de on the bench

She nodded "Yes, but it goes deeper" She held out a hand "Take arded the fair skin of her hand with suspicion before taking it, wondering if Dae A surprised yelp escapedIt was easy to underestith when they looked like Vallaena

An amused smile crossed her face

I suppressed a snarky coardens, past pools of bubbling fudge, chocolate-brown bunny rabbits nibbling on green licorice grass, and all sorts of candy-themed plants, trees, and animals I touched a flower on one of the trees It felt like noretation

"None of this is candy," Vallaena said, as if reading h they wear illusions to make them appear edible"

"They’re still edible," I said

She laughed "True, though the gardeners would likely be very unhappy with you"

We passed out of the garden, took the ay past the stadiureen field between the school and the dark forest whereout here?" I asked, gazing at her with narrowed eyes