Resenting the Hero Read Online Free PDF Page A

Triple S academies were held in that city, which meant the effects of natural events were kept to such a minimum as to be practically nonexistent. So the Horse’s Head was constructed without a thought for possible earthquakes or floods. It was several stories high with huge windows.
    Our arrival had been anticipated by the proprietor, who rushed up to greet us as soon as we passed through the entrance. “Welcome!” she crowed, shaking each of our hands. “Let me be among the first to congratulate you on this special occasion. My name is Mala Nadare, and I am here to make sure your every wish is catered to tonight. Come, come.”
    I barely had a chance to glance at all the regulars sprinkled throughout the room before we were swept through a door into another room. An appealing room, with a peaked ceiling, solid long tables, and dozens upon dozens of thick candles. No windows at all, though, and no second entrance. If a fire ever started in there, I thought, we were cooked.
    Food was being placed on one of the tables, dishes piled with sliced meats, cheeses, and juicy fresh fruits. Decanters of various sizes, some of glass and others of metal, were standing in trays of ice. Wines and ales, I assumed. I had no reason to complain of the food I’d been given at the academy, but never had I seen such an array, and I had to admit that, despite my disappointment of the evening, my appetite was tempted.
    After all, I did have my priorities.
    So did his lordship, apparently. “My dear woman,” he drawled. “No chocolate? I’m devastated.” And his expression, I thought, was a shade away from a pout.
    I would not roll my eyes I would not roll my eyes I would not roll my eyes . . .
    â€œOh aye,” said the landlady, smirking. “Which one are you, then?”
    I opened my mouth to introduce him, chagrined by my lapse so early in my new profession.
    He beat me to it. “Source Shintaro Karish.” He caught one of her free hands, bowing over it briefly. “And it is my very great honor to meet you.” The smile that curved his lips invited her to think them the warmest of acquaintances.
    Nadare’s smirk softened into a smile of her own. “Ah, it is an honor. I’ve heard a great deal of you.” And she looked at me with more interest than she’d demonstrated before, then asked Karish, “Solid or beverage, my lord?”
    â€œSolid, if you have it. But if not, I’ll take anything. It’s been a day of much import.”
    â€œRight away, my lord.”
    Pampered prat.
    There were three musicians getting settled in the corner of the room. A pipe, a lyre, and a drum. The sight was exciting and intimidating at the same time. Music was carefully regulated at the academy, except for tests and lessons when we were deliberately exposed to arousing music, to gauge our vulnerability. I’d been taught that all musicians were warned, as part of their training, to have a care when playing before Shields. But musicians were like all other professionals. Some were better than others, some were more conscientious than others.
    This was the Horse’s Head. They had newly minted Shields in there after every Match. They knew what they were dealing with.
    Good thing, too. Karish, as my Source, was supposed to guard me through music, make sure I didn’t start a fight or start a fire or sleep with someone I shouldn’t. And while I had heard nothing to indicate he wasn’t a brilliant channeler, there were no rumors floating around out there about him being particularly good at taking care of other people.
    And I was embarrassingly sensitive to music. Some of my professors claimed they’d never seen anyone worse in their however many decades of experience in the academy. With my excessive vulnerability, and the unlikelihood of Karish being solicitous to the needs of anyone else, I had to wonder what quirk of nature could think the two of us were