*COMPLETE* "People don't believe in us anymore. They don't believe that in the end we will do what is right. We can't let them down. We can't let Ben win."
Decisions made on top of the lonely, wind-swept cliff of Lethinor reverberate around the five...
It is three days later and seven remain. In the privacy of personal rooms and dark twilight Ruben, Allayria, and Lei have argued back and forth, finally dwindling down to the other five sitting with them now, all still unaware of what will happen next.
The plan had been only to accept four, but Allayria had insisted.
The others look around curiously, settling restlessly in their gray uniforms; they know, of course, that they have gotten this far, but after everything they are still suspicious there might be more. There is, of course, but not in the way they expect.
There's much more wariness in their expressions now when Ruben stands before them, and Allayria can see how they measure and weigh his words as he tells them to enter the adjacent room one at a time for one last interview. One final evaluation in which they will meet the team leader and be debriefed on the mission.
He calls Allayria first and she rises up, walking through the door. Inside the room is a small table and two chairs, just as she had asked—the one facing her, across the table, is for the team leader; the other, for the recruit.
Allayria unbuttons the gray jacket, folding it over an arm, and adjusts the collar of the black one that had been hidden underneath. She slides into the hard, wooden chair on the opposite side, her hands resting on the armrests, and looks to the door.
She waits for the first one to enter.
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Fae Urilong's brows knit together when she sees Allayria.
"Did he leave?" she asks, looking around to the exit door. "Did I come in too early?"
"No one left," Allayria answers, and she gestures to the chair. "Please sit."
Fae takes the seat slowly, and Allayria watches how she looks around the room, a vague suspicion forming in her mind, but an equal amount of denial rebuffing it.
"I am the team leader," Allayria tells her. "You'll be doing this interview with me."
Fae doesn't respond; she is, Allayria realizes, hedging her bets. On one hand, this could be a ploy, a final test of cleverness meant to dupe her. On the other, it could be real, and Allayria could see a verbal questioning as an insult.
"Why did you sign up for this?"
Fae hesitates, and then: "To help stop the Jarles. To protect my family."
Allayria nods, tapping a finger on the desk. She watches carefully now.
"And what if I told you our mission wasn't to stop the Jarles," Allayria says. "What if I told you our mission was to verify that the Paragon is dead—and if they are not, kill them. Would you still want to be on this team?"
Fae's lips pull into a frown, brow furrowing as she asks: "Why would we want to kill the Paragon?"
"They were seen in the company of dangerous extremists," Allayria tells her. "We can't risk them indoctrinating the masses."
