I looked at it. It was a rank pin.
“You’re promoting me to Stick?”
“You’ve earned it,” he said. “Now get moving.”
The room Stick Aréla led me to was near the royal wing of the palace. “You’re in there,” she pointed at a door with two guards standing post outside. She turned and headed back the way we came. “Good luck,” she called over her shoulder.
I approached the guards. “Twig—I mean, Stick Mira,” I told them. “I’m supposed to report for debriefing.”
One of the guards nodded. “I’ll check.”
He knocked and went into the room, closing the door behind him. He reappeared a moment later and motioned me inside.
I went in and found Queen Astrina, Neelu, Veeluthun, Veron, and a few other faces I didn’t recognize seated around a table. I noticed the crystal sculpture from Gralbast was on th
