Chapter 106

There was a strange energy attached to the two as they bounced over to us. "Bouncing" is not a means of locomotion that I would generally describe either of them as employing. Lauren generally moved with that captivating grace, Katya with a simmering glide. But they interrupted Olaf's thoughts with a strangely energetic entrance. Olaf immediately closed his mouth. Whatever personable moment he had been about to share, whether it had been about to be good or bad, it was gone. He was not about to let these two spectators observe him being vulnerable or bitter.

Katya was first to speak. She said, "So it looks like you will have your chance at winning your suit after all!"

Lauren said, "I'm happy for you, Tiberius. I could never have imagined this when we started The Choosing."

I looked at them, and I could feel a curious smile touching me. I was ecstatic that they had ventured forth, that there truly were no bad feelings from what I had done on the tower. I said, "You two seem excited. Lauren, I know you must be happy to be bringing a Flow back to your family, but, Katya, I don't know what's got you looking so bright."

Katya smiled, broad and full and without the usual shade of mystery. She said, "It's an exciting day, Tiberius! I'm happy for Lauren's prize, and I'm happy for you."

My heart vibrated a little at that. Was she going to resume her assumption that I would marry her if I won the suit? She had been joking, hadn't she? Did I want her to be joking? By the Oracle, she was alluring. But she had joked, or maybe speculated, about our betrothal without ever shaking hands on anything. She watched me curiously as I obviously paused. Lauren smiled too, in a merciful way that I couldn't understand.

Lauren said, "I think I'm just a little swept away by the news."

I said, "The news?"

Lauren said, "You haven't heard?"

Olaf and I shook our heads. There had been enough news in the arena over the last hours that it was hard to imagine there being something of greater excitement that could draw our minds away. Olaf said, "News? You mean about the feasting tomorrow? I'll enjoy it, but I doubt Tiberius will be doing much more than lying in bed and hoping his brain comes right before he faces Lance."

Lauren laughed, "No!" She looked at Katya and said, "They haven't heard!"

Katya's face brimmed with glee. She said, "Maybe we shouldn't tell them, let them find out from the crowd."

I snapped my gaze from one of them to the other and back again. Olaf said, "Oracle's sake! What's the news?"

Katya smiled thinly. Lauren stayed quiet as Katya teased it out. Slowly, seductively, she said, "There's been a new rising."

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I said, "A what? What are you talking about? My brain isn't able for this, my skull is still upside down. Just tell us."

Lauren said, "Tell them, Katya."

Katya continued, reveling in the mystery she held. Slowly, seductively, she said, "A new Tower has risen."

I couldn't find words to respond. Even the relatively impassive Olaf seemed lost for words. After a moment, it was he who spoke, "Wh- wh- where?"

Katya was positively gleeful. She said, "It's said to be on the coast, south of Dallas. They're calling it—it's supposed to be calling itself—the Houston Tower! Think about it, that's the South Coast; this new Tower might become part of the Miami sphere! A new Tower is a vulnerable thing, a weak and growing city—they could benefit greatly from Mother's protection. And Mother would get five new Griidlords to answer her call."

The dreamy way she said this reminded me that her heart still lay in the foreign southerly land. As much as she had come here to compete for a suit, or a suitor, the only reason she wasn't still in Miami was because she was disinterested in the marginal roles available to her there.

I paused for a moment and said, "Would you go there, Katya? There'll be a new Choosing there, five Choosings maybe! Are you thinking about trying to join the city?"

I spoke as though I was calm and rational, but my mind was abuzz. A new Tower! What did it mean? That would bring the total of known Towers to 32; a thirty-second state had just been born. It was madness to think that such a momentous event could be taking place at the other end of the continent while all here remained focused on the comparatively small task of deciding who would be the next to wear a Griid-suit.

As I speculated about Katya's future, I saw her small face crease slightly, as though the suggestion was a new one to her. Lauren, beside her, seemed to grow oddly still as well. Surely Lauren wasn't thinking of forsaking her lands and family to travel to Houston. No, she was in line to lead her house—that would be madness. What could cause her to have such a stunned reaction then?

My thoughts were filled with wonder as I processed this. The Oracle had seen fit to grant humanity a new Tower. It was a blessing and a curse to the land. It meant a new center with control over local Order and Entropy, a new refuge for those who wanted or needed access to Order. It took another part of the barren wilds and turned them into something useful for people. But at the same time, it meant another force competing for Flows during the Falling. It meant a new entity in the politics of our world. It meant five new Griidlords and the potential havoc they could bring on the balances of power that existed in the South, and the wider world.

And most of all, it raised the question of who would control this new city. Would it be a new power from Houston itself, or would a foreign entity like Miami reach in and create a new puppet vassal?

I thought of Father and what opportunities this victory would bring to him and his empire. Then I had a pang as I remembered that his whereabouts were unknown. I felt guilty for forgetting that there was, in fact, a question about his safety. I felt guiltier still for the confused way this question didn’t cause me more pain or concern.

I thought of Harold as well. Had he heard the news? I could share it with him, maybe be the one to tell him. For that matter, where was he? I had returned home each night after the Choosing as part of my Father’s protocol. Father saw everything in my life as a chance for me to prove myself a man, and he wanted me to be strong, independent. He saw no reason why one so finely trained as I should need bodyguards or servants when traveling the city.

But this day was different. I could barely walk. I had assumed Harold was in the crowd watching, would have seen how badly rattled I was after the fight, and that he would meet me after the contest with a carriage to return me home, or possibly to a hospital. But as I looked around, I could find him nowhere. Where the hell was he?