Chapter Twelve
The Measure of a Leader
The children scattered through the Citadel gardens like leaves caught on a spring breeze.
"Don't go too far!" Aveline called after them.
Five little voices answered with cheerful agreement that sounded suspiciously unlike agreement at all.
She couldn't help smiling.
She had expected a lesson.
Instead...
She had been handed chaos.
Alpha Celeste watched from the shade of an old oak, arms folded across her chest.
Doctor Whitmore joined her carrying two cups of tea.
"How long before she realizes?"
Celeste accepted one.
"About three minutes."
"That specific?"
"I've run this exercise for fifteen years."
Whitmore laughed.
"And?"
"They always begin by trying to control the children."
She nodded toward Aveline.
"She won't."
Aveline knelt b
