Page 5 - My FlipBook

THE RED LABYRINTH

knock over all the pins and win prizes. Excitement brims in
their eyes. The only emotion I can muster is indifference.
My half-sister, Chantry, patrols the next aisle with a fellow
guard. Their silver uniforms parade their authority to everyone
in Trinnea. They just started their cycles of mandatory guard
duty all Skilled must complete. That’s something I’ll never get
to do. Not that people with zero Skills would be very useful
guarding anything. Chantry whispers something to the other
guard with her—her friend Nina, who’s a total jerk. I duck lower,

trying to stay out of their view.
“They’re not talking about you,” Ma whispers in my ear.
Usually her super-hearing Skill is obnoxious, but sometimes
it helps. “Chantry asked her friend about some attractive guy
they met at the Tap Room. Don’t worry.”
“Thanks.” I’m sure she’s lying. Chantry isn’t interested in
guys, attractive or not.
I scan the crowd, searching for Landon. He’s got to be
here somewhere—he wouldn’t leave me alone for this. Plus, I
doubt his admirers would let him miss this festival even if he
legally could. I shoot him a message on my comm: Just got to
the festival. You here?
I rotate the device in my hands, my heart fluttering like

hummingbird wings. But the screen stays black and quiet.
Ma shoots me a knowing smile. “Is Landon here?”
“I don’t know.”
A yellow banner stretches across the aisle above our heads,
proclaiming Happy Waterday: Celebrating 178 Years—Praise the
Leader! I follow Ma, snaking between people, all the way to
the front of the Square by the giant wooden stage. The stage

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