Keeper of The Lost Cities: Book 9: Showdown

Chapter 45 - Sophie's POV

After Foxfire, I head straight for Councilor Bronte's castle. I'm not going to Oralie's, not after what happened the last time I went there. I'll just see a pink overload and think about how Biana should be here and not me, and that'll make me remember that she really isn't here, and I need to hurry up and get myself together so she can slap some sense into me over Keefe.

Also, I'd rather not be reminded about what happened the last time I was there.

Councilor Bronte is, of course, utterly shocked when he sees me, and we sort of stare at each other for a little before he lets me into his sitting room.

"Out of your two Council contacts," he begins, showing me to a (surprisingly cozy) chair, "I was not meant to be the approachable one."

I nod. "I know, I just... I wasn't in the mood for a pink avalanche."

Bronte cocks an eyebrow and sits across from me. "Is that so." it's not a question.

I nod, very unconvincingly, and Bronte sighs. "Okay. Why are you here again?"

I suppress the urge to roll my eyes. "You said we needed to look at and get familiar with the tech systems we'll be using."

He nods at me. "We'll have to go to Tribunal Hall for that," he says, getting back up to stand. "It should have been in Lumenaria but... we didn't want to take any risks."

I nod (it seems we're doing a lot of that) and stand up with him. "Are you still keeping prisoners there?"

Bronte looks around, once, twice, as if checking if someone is listening. "I'm not supposed to tell you."

I don't really care enough to press, although I should. Bronte leads to his Leapmaster and calls down the crystal for Tribunal Hall, and just a few short minutes later, I'm standing in some vast chambers below the room I had my own hearings in.

Apparently, Stina had the same idea as me, and is gearing up in what appears to me as assassin's garb, with Councilor Zarina assisting her (read:watching her)

Stina looks up when she sees me. "I look savage in this."

I snort. "Not with that poofy hair, you don't." I do a quick survey of what she's wearing - some sort of fitted full-length bodysuit, with knee-length boots that are littered with hidden pockets that aren't very hidden if you know how to look. Holsters around her upper arms and upper thighs, within easy reach of her hands. Something reminiscent of an assassin's cloak covering her upper body, stopping just above her knees. The whole thing shimmers just slightly with some shiny blue, which Bronte explains to me is a thin layer of some sort of frost, so Juline doesn't have to individually wrap us in ice, just maintain it. . All Stina needs to do is pull her hair back into a severe braid, and she'll be the single most shadiest person I've ever seen, like an assassin fresh out of a book.

Bronte pulls open a door into a changing room, and my own attire is waiting for me there. One of the more noticeable things on Stina's is the subtle pink embroidery. One mine, the dark red is harder to see.

Getting into the bodysuit was by far the most challenging thing to do, partially because I didn't realize there was a zipper I could use to get in and out. But what surprised me more was that it was so easy to move in. If there was an inch of athleticism in me, I would probably be able to stretch my leg in a nearly vertical line without any restriction issues. I step out of the changing room, pulling the cloak over my shoulders just in time to watch Stina swipe several throwing stars from one of the holsters on her thigh, and throw them in immediate succession at a target. A gnome stands waiting for me with my pair of boots, holsters, and several (a lot, actually) weapons.