Thankfully, Lyria didn’t have to decide if she would forgive, or trust, Haribelle. After her confession, Navaill knocked on her door, summoning them all back to the theatre for the results.
“I really expected the calculations to take longer,” Ravelina said in an undertone as they joined the stream of contestants and attendants headed down the hall toward the stairs.
Lyria just laughed. “Clearly you haven’t spent a lot of time with scholars, then,” she said.
“Oh, and you have?” laughed Ravelina, “I thought you were little Lady Isolated?”
“Fine, no, I haven’t spent much time around scholars,” giggled Lyria. “But I’ve read about them! And I’m guessing that the King’s scholars must have the Gift. Some of them, at least.”
Behind them, Haribelle walked a step behind, clearly unsure if she s
