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“Oh, please,” she scoffed. “We’ll have plenty of time to kill each other later. I’ll see you tonight, okay? I’ll find you there!”

Ashlani didn’t give me time to respond. She turned on her heel, flipping her light hair over her shoulder, and bounced back through the hallway.

At least one person here wouldn’t actively try to kill me.Yet.But I had to keep my guard up. Someone like Ashlani was hard to read. On the surface, she was kind. Bubbly, even. But nobody was truly happy on the inside.

Too much darkness lingered in this world.

People like Ashlani were only denying their true paths, covering up the shadows with layers of fake light.

I would trust a blatant asshole before I trusted someone like her.

With Ashlani gone and the rest of the hallway empty, I retreated into my room. The Blessing would be tonight, and I needed to prepare.

Like Lord always said, plan to fight and plan to survive. Trust nobody. Death would wait around every corner.

Chapter

Six

Ispent the rest of the day playing many different scenarios in my mind as to what would happen at The Blessing. I envisioned a blood-covered trap, wild animals chasing us through the academy, a fight-to-the-death competition at the dinner table.

Anything butthis.

I followed the voices through the academy until the narrow stone paths opened up to a massive square courtyard. The white and gray flanks of the castle walls still towered above me as my feet moved from the rough stone to the soft grass below.

I wasn’t used to grass. Dirt, maybe, but no grass. I bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself from smiling.

“You’re from Midgrave, right?” The younger male with sunset-red hair pulled my attention away from the courtyard. “I saw you on the train.”

I nodded, keeping my features still. “I am.”

The male eyed me. He was maybe eighteen, barely old enough to qualify for The Golden City. “I thought I recognized you. You and Rummy would come to the bakery every once in a while.”

The mention of Rummy instantly made me feel more relaxed. If he knew her, I had a chance of liking him. A slim chance, but a chance nonetheless. “You worked at the bakery?”

He shrugged. “Sometimes. My father owned the place. I only helped here and there.”

I recalled the way the bakery always made even the darkest days of Midgrave seem less cold. The man who worked there—this male’s father—always wore a smile on his face. I wondered time and time again what someone like that would have to smile about in such a shitty world, but I also envied it.

“And you know Rummy?”

He blushed and looked away. “Not really. I tried speaking to her once or twice, but she can be…”

“Scary as all hells?” I finished.

“Yeah.” He smiled. “Scary as all hells.”

I let my tense shoulders fall, the corners of my mouth twitching upward. “What’s your name?”

“Nathaniel.” His face instantly lit up. He held his hand out for me to shake.

I shook it lightly. “Right. Well, it’s nice to meet you, Nathaniel. It seems we’re the only two people from Midgrave that made it here this year.”

“If I stick by your side, I just might make it through,” he said with a wink. I watched as Nathaniel turned and walked to the other side of the courtyard, where he attempted to mingle with even more of the new students.

He was brave. That, or a total idiot. I watched him until his bright red hair got lost in the sea of people, fading away into the crowd.

I was beginning to like Nathaniel.