“Watch your step, young mistress.”

Adda Oloya sighed as she felt her manservant’s gentle, guiding touch on her wrist and back. She slapped his gloved hands away with a snap in her voice.

“I have it, Seth. No matter what my parents would have you believe, I don’t need your help walking.”

Adda pursed her lips and looked down at her footing. The airstair had been attached to the exit of the airship in a slightly misaligned manner, resulting in a small, few-inch gap. She could see the black asphalt some feet below through it, but what she couldn’t see was how Seth possibly thought this presented an actual danger to her. Her. After all the training she had endured, and the actual real-life threats to her life she had survived.

There wasn’t even enough space for her foot to slip through.

She gave her helper her best and most sardonic eye-roll as she took an exaggerated step over the gap. Then, while Seth was dazzled by that, she raced down the rest of the steps, light metal framework trembling beneath her feet as she made her way towards this year’s graduate class. Though she couldn’t hear what they were saying over the powerful turbines that were still winding down nearby, it looked like they were almost done boarding the bus.

Before Adda reached the bottom of the airstair, she was stopped by another tap on her shoulder.

It was just a finger. Unobtrusive. Harmless. Inoffensive.

But also utterly unyielding.

She turned, scowling, knowing that she’d find Seth standing there like he always was, with his neat grey hair and that ever-present half-smile of his. Not even looking slightly out of breath from keeping up with her. She glared at him as he dipped his head and extended his gloved hand to the right.

“Miss. We have prepared a car for you.”

A sleek black limousine was parked in the distance, with little flags emblazoned with her family’s crest fluttering obsequiously on its hood. Though it was expected, her heart still sank. She was being separated from the Academy graduates. Again.

She opened her mouth, ready to insist otherwise. She hesitated.

Seth would never directly deny her entrance onto the bus. The word ‘No’ was too garish for her ears. That she wasn’t supposed to sit with the ‘common folk’ was implied. After all, how could she reject the convenience, the extravagance, the safety of the limousine her parents had generously prepared for her? Yet another instance where propriety merely served as a mask for the near-dictatorial control her parents had over her life.

Then again, it was just the two of them right now. And Seth was technically supposed to be under her employ. Adda lifted her chin and eyed her manservant imperiously.

“But I want to ride with the graduates. That’s the point, right? For me to observe the Confirmation first hand? How exactly am I supposed to learn anything in a separate vehicle?”

“There will be plenty to observe, young mistress, as this city will soon be filled with aspiring Challenger candidates, importantly, who are not from the Academy. They are to be the target of your studies, according to guidance provided by your parents.”

Her butler was not thrown off for a second. Adda ground her teeth.

“Seth! Most of those people won’t even make it to the starting line! This year’s graduates are… well, they’re not the best. But they’ll at least reach the Confirmation proper. If I follow them, I’ll be sure to run into the candidates worth observing.”

It was a solid argument, mostly because it was true. Although Adda didn’t really care about learning any more about the Confirmation. She had prepared for it more than enough.

Seth thought about it for a moment, then nodded.

“A good point,” he said, reaching into his jacket pocket to pull out his phone. “I will contact your parents to see if they are willing—“

Adda cursed under her breath furiously. That was a dirty trick, involving her parents. Of course, they’d never agree to a deviation from their plans. Especially one suggested by her. It had taken her everything she had just to get them to let her out on this heavily supervised field trip.

“Fine, Seth! You don’t need to twist my arm! I’ll take the car!”

“As you wish, Miss.”

Seth bowed. With a resigned sigh, Adda let him guide her into the back of the limousine. While she sank sulkily into the luxurious black leather seating, he entered the driver’s seat and started up the engine. It rumbled smoothly as they slowly pulled out of the landing zone, on a private path, away from the graduates from her parents’ school.

She resignedly called out to him through the partition.

“So where do they want me to go first?”

“I believe a binder has been prepared for you. The program’s itinerary should outline everything scheduled for today.”

Adda searched around and found a slim black binder emblazoned with her family’s crest tucked in the car organizer. She flicked it open to the schedule and grimaced. Her whole day was broken down to the minute, and not a single activity looked like fun.

“The central plaza’s next, then?”

“That’s correct, young mistress. For the Director’s welcoming speech. As for the rest, well… we may have to play by ear.”

“Play it by ear?” Adda perked up. That was a rare thing to hear from someone under her family’s employ. “Why?”

As they made a turn off the airport property, the car slowed. The sounds of honking sounded through the bulletproof windows. Seth sighed and met her eyes through the rear-view mirror.

“Frankly, miss, there was a miscalculation on my part. It appears there are a great deal more participants this year than I anticipated. We may have to traverse on foot a great deal more than planned.”

Adda peeked out the window and saw the streets were jammed with cars. When the lights turned green, the traffic moved only a car length or two. It took all of her considerable training to keep her voice still.

“On foot?”

“Apologies, miss. I know you dislike the heat.”

“Right. Yeah. You’d better have brought a parasol.”

Try as she might, Adda couldn’t keep the smile from spreading on her face. She tucked her head away from Seth, staring through the window at the busy streets beyond as the car scooted forward an inch at a time. A nefarious grin began spreading across her lips.

Just her and Seth, walking around in this crowded-as-butt city with no other supervision?

Getting away was never going to be easier.

With the engine running at a red-hot roar, Mrs. Berros’s truck barreled its way along a long arcing road at the base of the nearby mountain range, following a thin river that led to a port city in the distance. A skyline stood etched against the glimmering ocean behind it, bursting with skyscrapers that looked like crystals emerging from a stone. Carnelia leaned out of the passenger window and let out a whoop as fresh salty air blasted her in the face.

Cammec City. The City of Bells. The host city for this year’s Challenger Confirmation.

She had made it.

Everyone had.