Page 34

Chapter 10

Earwig tightens her grip on my arm and shoves me toward the woods. They’re even more ominous at night. “You’re not scared of the forest, are you?”

I straighten my back. “I’ve seen worse on land.”

“Good. Wouldn’t want you scared.”

Cove and Vanya giggle. One of them pinches me.

Despite how frightening the woods are, I’m far more worried about what these three are going to do to me. They think my dad’s a murderer and that I stole the suite from them. Not only that, Earwig thinks I could usurp her popularity.

She yanks me toward the deep darkness. I hold back a gasp. Should I offer them the room back again? That could be all they want. Or maybe it wouldn’t matter. It might be better if I give her the impression that I’m not concerned, then she could back down after this. Yeah, that’s the angle I’m going to go with. It’s not like they’re going to kill me. This is just an initiation. Once it’s over, I can carry on.

No big deal. They’re probably taking me somewhere the upper-years took all the first-years. In fact, it’s probably been going on for ages. My parents never mentioned an initiation, but maybe they’ve gone through what I’m about to. A rite of passage. And once I get through with my head held high, everyone might show me respect.

I can hope, right?

The darkness makes it so I can’t see anything, not even the plants I keep brushing up against. My eyes aren’t adjusting fast enough. It’s almost comforting having Earwig and her crew with me—at least I’m not alone.

“How are you holding up?” Cove asks, her high voice grating on my nerves.

“Couldn’t be better.”

The three of them snicker. Earwig’s grasp on my arm tightens. I’m going to bruise. Hopefully, I have some long-sleeved uniform shirts in my closet. Not sure underwater makeup will do the trick. Or it might. How would I know?

We keep going and going. The academy has to be miles away by now. Sharp plants scratch my arms. My eyes aren’t adjusting yet. Not much, anyway. All the plants are probably making it worse, blocking whatever helps my eyes in the dark water.

Something hits my side. Or I hit it. Feels like a tree. An underwater tree? Anything’s possible, especially given how little I actually remember from my early years. We’ve stopped moving.

“Are you ready, killer?” Earwig shoves me against the tree, or whatever it is.

I want to attack her, but I clench my fists. Want to tell her to stop calling me that, but I bite my tongue. “Lay it on me.”

“Have you heard about the Royal Initiation?”

“Maybe.”

Cove and Vanya snicker.

Earwig squeezes my arm, this time digging her nails into my skin. “Whatever you’ve heard, this isn’t it.”

Her tone sends a shiver down my spine. I do my best to hide it. “How’s that?”

She pushes me into the tree. “Because it’s not every day we get the daughter of a murderer coming in and taking our suite from us.”

So that is what this is about. “So, what you’re saying is that you want it back?”

“No. It’s contaminated now.”

My mind races. “What do you want, then?”

“Payback. You’ve embarrassed me in front of the whole school. Every royal knows I’ve been displaced by a first-year. One who grew up on land and whose father is a murderer.”

“Shut up! He is not!” I whip her with my tail. It’s nowhere near as effective as if I had my legs.

She shrieks.

“Are you okay, Earwyn?” Vanya asks.