The Schism (The Broken Prism Book 4) Read Online Free PDF Page A

dinner,” he answered carefully, taking a seat across from her and beside Lorn, wondering if sarcasm was still allowed.
    At least she can’t reach me easily from over there.
    “It won’t, but staging it right after a meal is the sort of thing they might do to throw you off balance. If you’re embarrassed or flustered you will be easier to beat, and I don’t yet know how Calahan will play things during your trial, so we must prepare for everything.”
    A servant in blue entered the room and placed a bowl of thin soup in front of each of them before departing.
    “The spoon on your far right is for the soup. You’ll note that it is shorter and deeper than the others,” Mrs. Trout continued effortlessly, while Hayden examined the spoon in his hand and tried to commit it to memory. “It’s important not to begin eating until everyone has been served and the staff have left the room. It’s considered to be in poor taste to consume the entirety of any one course, though it’s not an unforgivable offense and is sometimes done. Still, when eating the soup, you should stop before you can see the bottom of the bowl, as a general rule. You should also pace yourself with the other diners at the table, so as not to finish too rapidly or too slowly, which also serves to moderate the amount of talking any one person at the table can do before they’re forced to shut up and eat.”
    Hayden had no idea that there was so much effort involved in eating a bowl of soup, and tried to be mindful of everything he was told while darting glances at Oliver and Lorn for cues. Mrs. Trout eventually had to take her own advice and stop lecturing long enough to finish her soup—though of course, she left a little at the bottom of the bowl so as to be proper.
    “Pat your mouth with your napkin,” she informed him upon finishing.
    “But I didn’t get any soup on my face,” Hayden pointed out cautiously.
    “That doesn’t really matter, it’s considered polite.”
    What have I gotten myself into?
    The bread course followed the soup, during which Hayden learned the function of the butter knife, the drizzling spoon, and the aptly-named bread fork. Next there was a fish stew, which involved some of the already-used plates and cutlery being removed from the table while new ones of different sizes and functionality were put down. It felt like a giant game of shuffle, but with dishes, all played to the tune of Mrs. Trout explaining the rules behind using each and every one of them.
    By the end of dinner, Hayden was fairly certain his brain was going to explode if he had to retain another ounce of new knowledge tonight. He rose when Lorn did, and was preparing to head back to his room to rest when Magdalene informed him that she would send along his reading assignment for the night.
    I’ve got homework?!
    He was utterly exhausted from continuous nightmares and the strange day he’d had, and all he wanted to do was collapse into bed and pray for dreamless sleep.
    Instead, when she knocked on his door fifteen minutes later carrying a six-hundred page tome about estate law and informed him that she wanted him to read the first four chapters tonight, he said, “Thank you for the opportunity to increase my knowledge.”
    She smirked and said, “Not quite convincing in the sincerity department, but at least you’re a quick learner.”
    And she left him to his reading.
     
    It was quite possibly the most tedious, boring book Hayden had ever tried to sift through in his entire life. He yawned widely and struggled to stay awake, only two chapters into the material in the same number of hours. Bonk was rolling around on top of the bed sheets, clearly enjoying the luxurious fabrics, while Hayden sat cross-legged in bed and re-read the same paragraph about a law that was established three-hundred years ago and the case it was based on for the fourth time.
    He blinked and must have fallen asleep, because when he snapped awake it was much later at night,