Chapter 23 #2
Romival sighed, finally setting Holly back on her feet, giving her a regretful look. “One moment, vi Vakara. I must deal with this.”
“What’s going on?” She asked, hurriedly fixing her skirt and hair so she didn’t look like she was just pseudo-fucked against a public wall.
“Any of my council of scholars are allowed to challenge me for my position at any time. If they fail, they must wait a full tenday before they challenge me again. It has apparently been a tenday, so Ryna is trying again.”
Holly frowned. “Wait, what?”
She didn’t get any further explanation as Romival stepped from the alleyway, facing Ryna who stood there, her arms crossed over her chest, glaring at him like he personally offended her.
“I already have a console set up. Shall we?”
Romival grunted once in agreement, then checked on Holly to make sure she was still there before following after Ryna.
The Second Scholar had her nose high in the air as she led the way to a pair of consoles set up awkwardly and obviously out of place near what appeared to be an empty stage.
The two computers were wide and flat with their holo screens placed back-to-back, stools sat down in front of them. There was already a crowd gathered.
Holly frowned as she stopped at the edge of the ring of observers. They were placing bets, talking about what was happening like it was normal. But it sounded to Holly like Ryna was trying to take Romival’s job – like when Atem had gone through his Hortii Kristivar.
Romival sat on one stool and, across from him, Ryna plopped down onto hers. She was glaring at him, but his expression was carefully blank as the two placed their combots into the console. It scanned them, then logged them in.
“Second Scholar Ryna, claiming right of challenge against First Scholar Romival.”
“First Scholar Romival, I accept the challenge,” he replied evenly.
The screens blinked, then booted up to a screen that, over Romival’s shoulder, Holly read:
First Scholar Challenge: Question set loading…
Holly bit her lip, wanting to ask again what was happening.
But she also didn’t want to disturb Romival as the screens were both counting down.
She could see through Romival’s screen to the ghost of Ryna’s, and they could see each other.
Her hands were up on the console, poised, twitching and ready.
He was much more relaxed, though similarly positioned.
More writing appeared on the screen.
Question number: 150
Time limit: None
It began counting down and the crowd cheered as Holly whimpered. Surely, something like this wasn’t official. Right? It couldn’t be.
But the screen counted down from three, hit zero, then flashed to the first question.
Romival and Ryna were moving at the same time before Holly even had a chance to read the question written across the top. She got as far as ‘Write the equation for…’ before Romival and Ryna were both writing, their movements mirror images of each other.
Their questions changed at the same moment. This time, she was able to read ‘List all twenty-seven permutations of subspace…’ and they were both writing again.
The questions weren’t multiple choice. Nor were they simple. She saw a bunch of words that she had no idea what they meant. Sometimes, the question would flash, and it was just an equation, no question at all, but both of them would immediately start solving it.
Holly was wringing her hands together nervously, watching Romival work. He and Ryna were moving at the same pace. He wasn’t answering the questions faster. She had no idea what they were writing, but it seemed to be the same thing for both of them.
Was this challenge an actual threat? Was Ryna actually close to unseating Romival as First Scholar? It couldn’t happen just like that, could it?
But then, she actually looked at them. Ryna’s teeth were clenched, her fangs bared, her hands moving quickly over her console, sweat beading at her temples.
Whereas Romival was perfectly calm. His fingers were moving just as fast as hers, but Holly saw him pause occasionally. Not by much, but just enough for her to realize that he was pacing himself. Making sure he never got ahead of Ryna.
One hundred-fifty questions sounded like so many, but they were ten minutes in and both of them were passing the fiftieth question – both of them writing in ancient Domtri, answering a question that had also been written in ancient Domtri.
Then, a couple questions later, she had no idea what happened – she was barely capable of following this – but a bunch of the gawking students gasped. Ryna cried – “No!” – as her screen flashed. Romival didn’t react at all.
She got a question wrong, Holly realized. And Romival, keeping up the pace she had set, got a single question ahead of her.
It happened again around the seventieth question. Ryna cried out in rage through her teeth as Romival, once again, got a question right over her and continued on.
And, just like that, the crowd began exchanging the credz of the few who bet on Ryna. Just that easily. She had missed two questions of one hundred-fifty, and they weren’t even done, but everyone already knew that she had lost.
Holly stared back at Romival. Watching him, entranced.
He continued, deliberately not working as fast as he could, keeping to the pace that Ryna had set so she wasn’t left behind.
He wasn’t overconfident, he was just better.
He knew it. He was allowing her this challenge because it was her right, but he wasn’t actually threatened or even put out by suddenly having to take a massive test in the middle of a festival.
He finished the last question first and Ryna, frustrated, slammed her fist against the console – automatically answering the question wrong.
Her console flashed and the results of both tests were displayed.
Right-wrong ratios and time taken to finish.
The time was almost equal – Romival was only two seconds faster, but he had gotten every answer right.
“Damn you!” Ryna snapped, standing and glaring as her console declared her the loser and told her that she now had to wait a tenday before she could challenge Romival again.
“A good challenge, Second Scholar,” Romival said, getting to his feet as well.
She growled, but ground out through her teeth, “A good challenge indeed. You remain undefeated, First Scholar. For now.”
“I look forward to your next challenge,” he saluted her formally before turning back to Holly.
“What just happened?” Holly asked as, reflexively, she reached out for his hand. He pulled her along, away from the crowd who were already dispersing, the show finished. She couldn’t help but look back and watch Ryna as she glared after them.
“She challenged me for my position,” Romival said like he was discussing the rainy weather.
“She can just do that?”
“Of course.” He slowed down, allowing her to catch up and walk at his side.
“If she had done better than you, would she have become First Scholar?”
“Yes.”
Holly sputtered. “You can lose your job just like that? How are you not anxious all the time?”
He gave her an odd look. “If I am not worthy of my position any longer, it is only right that I pass it along to someone who is. I would simply become Second Scholar again. It’s not like I’m unfamiliar with the role. Were you worried I would fail?”
“Well, I mean, not exactly, but yes?”
“That is a contradiction.”
“I mean, anyone can get lucky,” she blew out a long breath. “I know you’re super smart. I mean, I’ve never seen you flaunt it like that before. That was incredible. You really knew all that stuff right off the top of your head?”
“Naturally. Most of those questions were part of my daily working knowledge. The challenge questions aren’t designed to be tricks. They’re always straightforward.”
Holly stared at him.
“What?”
She couldn’t help it, she started laughing. “Romi, you’re crazy.”
It was his turn to stare at her, perplexed by her reaction. He was just so used to being incredible that it was absolutely normal for him.
Chuckling, she walked closer into his side, practically hugging his arm. “You were amazing, Romi. Congrats on your victory.”
“Thank you. She is a worthy opponent.”
“So…” She gave him a teasing look. “How many victories is that for you today? Do you have to reach seven, or is the one enough to be rewarded?”
He looked interested at her tone, scanning her up and down with undisguised attraction. “Any victory is worthy of celebration this day. And that is my second victory for the day.”
“Your second? What was the first?”
He leaned down, whispering in her ear, “Watching you come.”
Holly cheeped in surprised embarrassment, her face immediately flushing. A sight that was swallowed up in the blue light they walked under. He smirked.
“You were asking me something about my den before,” he prompted.
“What? I was? I mean, yeah. I was.”
“Care to elaborate on that?”
Holly nibbled on her lip, shyness choking her. This wasn’t really the heat of the moment anymore. But she had lost count of how many orgasms he had given her without taking a single one for himself in return.
She was past feeling selfish. She was feeling guilty now.
“C-Can we… go back to your place?” She finished on a whisper.
His smirk grew. “I’d be honored to show you my den.”
He called it a den. She only heard Atem refer to his room as a den. It was something only mated males did. It was just a home, a house, a room until an adassi was invited into it.
And Romival was inviting her in.
***
Holly wasn’t exactly sure what she expected from Romival’s house. She knew the two, very different halves, of his office. But both of those were where he worked. They revealed some of his personality, but only in regard to one aspect of his life.
What would his home, his den, be like?