We beat the boat to the dock.

  It wasn’t hard to do since the large cargo ship had to wait for a tugboat to go get it and bring it to the dock. Once the ship was tied off, the front of the ship opened up and a ramp lowered down to the dock.

  “Drive up inside the ship.” Trent pointed at the opening.

  “Okay…” Aelin beamed as she navigated the large vehicle over to the dock, then drove up on the ramp.

  The inside of the ship reminded me of the bunker back in Gar. Cheap crystal lights illuminated the dark interior with multiple shipping containers stacked inside the ship. A golden woman that looked very familiar motioned for us to drive all the way to the back of the ship, then she pointed at an empty place where we could park.

  While the woman was a generation older and had white hair, it was easy to see the resemblance between her and Bridget. While Bridget had blonde hair, they both swayed their hips the same way when they walked and had the same piercing blue eyes. With a mother like that, it was no wonder that Bridget had grown up to be so seductive.

  “Trent Vowler!” Bethy Numor walked over to the side of the RV as my father got out. “It’s been too long!”

  My father wrapped the woman in a hug, which was an unusual thing for him to do.

  “She was in the same class as Celia.” Ether whispered in my ear.

  I could hear the worry in her voice. “How do you know that?” I kept my voice low.

  “The winners of the Adventurer’s Games are public record.” Ether nodded in the woman’s direction. “She was the Tank on his team with Celia Taray.”

  I looked at the other names on the list. “Grodray Mojo, Saffron Treegur, Kattor Abek, and Lawroy Krisa.”

  “Kattor is a Publian now.” Justia commented from over my shoulder.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  I jumped. “Don’t do that!”

  “Sorry.” The green woman smiled. “Thought you’d want to know that.”

  “So she’s…” I motioned with my hands.

  “She married my cousin on my dad’s side. They work in the clinic in Mive.” Justia looked at the list. “Why are you looking at a winner’s announcement from an old Adventurer’s Game?”

  “Bethy Numor is one of Trent’s former students.” Ether let the implication hang in the air.

  “You’re letting what Bridget said get to you?” I remembered the comment that Bridget had made in the cafe about how in a different life she would have been the one on Trent’s team.

  “Don’t worry about it!” Aelin came up behind us. The bubbly blonde wrapped both Justia and Ether in a hug. “You’re on our team and that’s not going to change!”

  “Yes, but…” Ether looked out at where Bethy was chatting with Trent. Her mother had moved to the other side of the ship captain and was adding random bits into the lively conversation.

  “But nothing.” I put my arm around Ether. “We both know the reason that you ended up on my team.” I smiled as I guided my wife out of the RV.

  “This must be your boy!” Bethy grabbed my shoulders and pulled me away from Ether so she could look at me. “I can see the family resemblance!” She winked at me. “You know, I was this close.” She pinched her fingers. “To having Bridget in the year that your dad was teaching, but the stubborn little thing decided to be late!” She laughed. “I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard that he’d switched years, but…” Her gaze moved over to Ether. “Looks like Bri was late again!”

  “Because I was taking over for Hayz, I had to take a lower team number.” Trent cleared his throat. “But I do believe that your daughter did arrange to be traded to my secondary team at a later date.”

  “She did?” The golden woman spun on her heels. “What’s this I hear about there being two teams per teacher?”

  “It’s something that the Nobles have been trying to push through for a while.” Trent shrugged. “It managed to pass this year, so all of the main teachers had to find an aide and put together a new class outside of the selection.”

  “Well, that’s just the weirdest thing!” Bethy laughed. “But if it eventually gets my little girl on my favorite teacher’s team, I’m for it!” She clapped her hands. “Now, I’d love to stand around and catch up, but I’ve got to make sure the right containers get offloaded, then once we get filled back up, we’ll get you on your way.” She motioned at an elevator in the back corner. “You can take that up to the main deck.” She patted my cheek. “Loved meeting you, sugar.”

  I blinked as she strutted away.

  “She’s… intense.” Ether grabbed my arm.

  “She’s always had energy to spare.” Trent agreed. “Let’s get on the deck and we can watch them load everything from there.”

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