Free Chasing Xaris by Samantha Bennett Page B

Delphina said.
    Prytanis and Helena shared a glance and nodded.
    Prytanis raised his hand. “Those in favor of the death of Chandler Bloom?” he asked.

Chapter 9
     
    I
    N the crowd only a handful of people lifted their hands. Each of them had gray hair and weary eyes. They murmured and gestured toward me.
    “You may lower your hands,” Prytanis said.
    “And those in favor of the life of Chandler Bloom?” Helena asked, raising her spear.
    Ari’s hand flew into the air. Everyone on the platform, besides Prytanis, followed Ari’s lead. Nearly every hand in the crowd rose, too.
    I exhaled slowly and realized I’d been holding my breath.
    “You may lower your hands,” Helena said. She sighed deeply. “She lives.”
    The crowd erupted in murmurs and a few cheers.
    “A grave mistake,” Prytanis said, staring at his son.
    Delphina turned fully to me and, with a flick of her eyes, assessed me from head to toe. “Come with me. I will give you a room in my suite.”
    As I followed her down the stairs, I glanced over my shoulder at Ari. He was actually looking at me, but his expression was as stony as ever.
    I considered calling out to him. But Ari had kept our history a secret for some reason, and I felt a sense of loyalty to him.
    Delphina’s firm hand led me through the loud hall and into the tiled corridor.
    “How long can I stay here?” I asked. I couldn’t leave until I had talked with Ari.
    “Indefinitely,” she said, without slowing her pace. “Foreigners can’t return to their old lives once they’re here—they might reveal our secret.”
    “Wait, what?”
    She looked over her shoulder and scowled. “This is your home now,” she said.
    “But…” I already had a home. At least I did. Once.
    Thoughts of packing my old room flashed across my mind. Each time I had dropped something into a box, I had felt like I was leaving another hundred somethings behind. I couldn’t pack the yellow walls Dad had painted or the scratch on the door from Mom’s hammer.
    For a moment, I let myself imagine a life on Aletheia Island. Away from the familiar streets, restaurants, beaches, and everything else I had shared with my parents. But that wouldn’t work. No, the ache in my chest wouldn’t go away until I had finished this thing.
    Once Ari spilled the truth—all of it—I’d to return to Fort Lauderdale, to Jordan and Winnie, to Grandpa and Gran. They were the only sort-of home I had right now.
    Gran.
    I hadn’t even thought about her until now. What if she’d tried to text me? She’d get worried when I didn’t respond. And then more and more worried.
    I had to get home before she completely lost it. Which meant I had to get my hands on some xaris and make it to the shield. Maybe Ari would help me escape. Judging from his chilly greeting, he’d be thrilled to get rid of me. The only person who was angrier than him about my presence here was his oh-so-delightful father.
    “Why did Prytanis want to kill me?” I asked. “He must seriously hate foreigners.”
    “Most of us have foreigners somewhere in our family line, even Prytanis,” Delphina replied, “Prytanis’s grandmother was actually a foreigner.”
    She led us to a giant wooden staircase with shiny banisters. This must have been the main staircase—it wasn’t hidden at the back of the mansion like the stairs we’d taken earlier that day.
    “So why the whole ‘death to Chandler’ obsession?” I asked as we climbed.
    Delphina slowed her pace and lowered her voice. “Prytanis feels responsible for the wars. So does my father. When our people settled on this island they chose to act as a democracy—the way of our ancestors.
    “But then the Chronis and Galanis families each wanted to rule as a monarchy. For nearly fifty years our island was divided in two, each family ruling half the island. Our people knew nothing but bloodshed.” Her voice wavered, and I knew she’d lost someone in the wars. Her father? A sibling? I hadn’t seen