The wait at the shimmering fountain didn't last long. A second carriage, slightly smaller but just as elegant as Soltheia's, trundled through the palace gates. The Solaris guards bowed respectfully as the doors hurled open. A girl with silver blue hair stepped out from the carriage. She wore a white dress trimmed with silver thread. Her posture was calm, and her eyes held a focused glow that set her different from her cheerful sister.
This was Catherine Sylphyros.
Soltheia smiled, waving her hands happily. Catherine offered a calm, polite smile before her gaze drifted over the battered group of boys.
"I heard there was a festival," Catherine said, her voice smooth and crisp, "but looking at you all, I could say that you spent the last week falling down a rocky mountain. Soltheia, is this the famed Zephyros heir you promised to marry? He looks like a ghost."
