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“Thanks, Savannah,” she called out to me before they ducked into the shop. “You’ve made a friend today. If you ever need anything, I’ll be there for you.”

And with that sorted, I hurried over to the conference center. Bronte arrived just as I did.

“Where’s Kylie?” she asked me.

“Taking care of a few final things back at the florist,” I lied.

Bronte didn’t seem to notice. She only nodded.

“How did it go with the caterer?” I asked.

“All sorted. He went on at length about how his way was the only way, but he sang a different tune as soon as I mentioned the General, who is a very regular customer of his. He can’t afford to lose all those expensive Government catering contracts.”

“Well-played,” I said, thoroughly impressed.

She smiled. “It’s all in the research, Savannah.”

“Yikes, remind me never to get on your bad side.”

Bronte’s sweet demeanor was in stark contrast with her icy words. “That goes without saying.”

CHAPTER7

THE FINAL TALLY

Just before sunset, all thirty-one Knight Apprentices gathered at the Castle to await our fate. Our Merit points had been tallied up, but the big, black Scoreboard behind the General remained blank.

“In a moment, you will all know which Apprentices have proven themselves worthy of continuing the Program,” the General said, his gaze sliding across the crowd, “and who has fallen short.” His attention snapped to me.

I gulped back my rising panic.

“After the first five days, this is the ranking of Apprentices.”

The Scoreboard flashed, and a list of thirty-one names appeared. Bronte’s name was there, right at the top. As expected. Dante was second. Nevada was sixth. Kylie, Asher, Dutch. My teammates had all made the cut. My eyes panned down the list, searching for my own name.

I gasped when I found it right there, in twenty-fifth place with sixty hundred and fifty Merit points. Not only had I made it, I wasn’t even in last place anymore!

But how? Where had all those points come from?

“I knew that creating a minimum competency bar would push you all to rise to the challenge,” the General said. “This all worked outexactlyas I planned. I am pleased to announce that all Apprentices will continue in the Program.”

Pleased? No way. There was no way the General had intended for me to make the cut.

I got proof of that after the ceremony, when Governor Meyer came over to speak to me.

“Yes, the General was ready to throw you out,” she confirmed. “He had a whole speech prepared about how the weak must be separated from the strong for the good of everyone.”

Yeah, that sounded exactly like the General.

“So what happened?” I asked.

“Kato happened,” Governor Meyer told me. “He awarded you a Medal of Distinction.”

The Medal of Distinction—an award for bravery and valor and other knightly traits—was an honor typically reserved solely for the Knights of Gaia. In fact, I’d never heard of anyone but a Knight receiving one.

“Kato’s move made it impossible for the General to remove you from the Program without losing face,” she continued. “After all, what kind of man would kick out an Apprentice who’d earned such a high honor? His only choice was to award you a significant number of points in recognition of your superior moral character.” She chuckled like she enjoyed the irony of the situation.

I was still reeling from this happy, unexpected surprise.