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Lord Emissary?”
    “When you start calling me Nolan.”
    She opened her mouth to object, then closed it. A smiled crept to her face. “So if I call you Nolan, then we’ll talk about what’s happening between us?”
    He stood and shoved things in his bag. He didn’t want to discuss it, especially not with her. “We need to get moving.”
    Kat grabbed his arm. “You sense emotions. You know how I feel.”
    Nolan paused and then nodded once.
    “I don’t have Empathy,” she said, giving his arm a squeeze, “but I know you feel something too.”
    She released him, but not before dragging her fingers down his bare arm as she stepped away. His skin warmed more than it should have with so little clothes on. He hadn’t found a shirt that could fit him, and he only wore the old, tattered breeches.
    She started packing, glancing at him now and then.
    Nolan cleared his throat. “It shouldn’t take us long to get to the castle.”
    She flung the bag over her shoulder and winked. “We’ll just see who gets there first.” And with that, her eyes blazed yellow, and she was gone.
    He kept up with her for a while but soon realized that she ran faster. At one point, she left the trail and went into the forest. Nolan followed, dodging branches and jumping over rocks. He focused his Precision so he wouldn’t slam into a tree. And as the race continued, she eventually lost him.
    Finally, Nolan broke through the tree line next to the clearing in front of Faylinn. He inhaled deep gasps of air and waited for his racing heart to slow. The breeze, which had been blocked by trees, hit his body, cooling the layer of sweat coating his skin. He leaned on his knees as he caught his breath. After resting briefly, he stood, dislodging the fabric sticking to his thighs. He’d been grateful to have something to wear, but he couldn’t wait to get out of these pathetic breeches.
    He turned and found Kat sitting against a tree as if she’d been waiting there all day. She studied him.
    “What are you doing?” he asked.
    “Enjoying the view.”
    “What vie—” Realization smacked him. He gawked at her as his jaw dropped open.
    She stood, and an evil grin spread across her face.
    Nolan turned, his ears warming. The thin garment clung to him, but he wasn’t about to adjust them now, even if they wedged up his backside. He ran a hand over his chin. What am I going to do with this girl?
    His embarrassment slipped away as his eyes drifted to the walls of Faylinn. Normally, soldiers kept watch over the field, standing on the towering walls of Faylinn surrounding the castle and its keep. But the positions where the Perception Rol’dan typically stood were empty. A smattering of birds—a black raven and a few blue and brown tacsso birds—perched on the ledge.
    “That’s odd,” Kat said as she came next to him.
    It was odd. He’d never seen the wall deserted. Even during the reign of Alcandor, when no one dared attack, they never left their posts. Nolan summoned his Perception and focused inside the walls.
    He could hear voices and breathed a sigh of relief.
    “Is everything okay?” Kat asked.
    “I think so. There’s a group at the practice field. Maybe a training exercise …” His words drifted away as he listened harder. It was no exercise. More like an argument. No. Definitely a fight … about boots.
    “I choose not to wear them,” Maska’s low voice answered.
    “And your shirt?” another voice growled.
    “I do not have to—”
    The sound of a fist impacting with bone interrupted him.
    Nolan flared his Speed, and Kat followed at his heels.
    The six manors, one for each power sect, encircled the large green expanse where the Shay Rol’dan trained. A thick air of hatred spewed from their emotions.
    Nolan and Kat skidded to stop, both staring at the soldiers.
    “Oh. It’s just a fight,” Kat said, her tense shoulders relaxing. Apparently, she’d seen her fair share of Rol’dan brawling during her years in their