She hesitated a moment, pulling her thoughts together. "I'm just surprised Sydney's here."

I pulled her to a stop. She hadn't seemed bothered before, but maybe I'd read her acceptance of Sydney's presence wrong. We were far enough from the competitors not to be heard. "Do you not want her here?"

She shook her head. "No. I don't care that she's here. Her presence was just unexpected. They hadn't gone easy on her."

"True," I acknowledged, unsure where she was going with this. But she spoke the truth. Sydney's punishment had been significant.

A little shudder ran down Hycinth's spine as she admitted, "It was bad enough when you spanked...