Page 59 of Faerie Marked

Why did I have the worst luck with these things? Two vials for a whole month, which would be stretching it. Then I’d have to make the trek back to see the witch and sign the rest of my life away on whatever unnamed favor she’d demand from me.

Before anyone had a chance to come into the dorm and see the mess, I searched for a broom to clean up the broken glass, shuddering at the thought of having to pledge more debt to Barbara the bitch witch.

I didn’t have a choice. I was so close to being safe—I couldn’t lose my courage now.

It took me a good half hour to clean up the mess and put everything back to rights. I grabbed a new set of sheets from the laundry room, making up the mattress in a way that didn’t show the exposed patches where the knife had ripped the fabric open. No way I could explain the damage to the higher-ups.

Besides, no one else needed to be involved in my mess.

I’d do whatever I had to do in order to stay. And no matter who tried to cut me down—whoever had broken into my dorm and tossed my things—would have to deal with me. I wasn’t about to lose now, not after having come so far.

* * *

Friday, a few days before Thanksgiving, the first-years assembled in the auditorium once again for the second round of purging, although the staff thought to brighten up the culling process by calling it a lottery. Alotterymade the students think they were winning their place here instead of clawing it out through hard work and natural aptitude.

I wasn’t fooled. Neither were the girls around me, although I also wasn’t as nervous as I had been the first time around. Book work might not be my forte, and I surely didn’t have a natural aptitude for divination, but I’d done well in my other classes. Well enough I wasn’t too worried about making it through to next semester.

Okay, sure, I hadn’t made any friends besides Melia, and she’d already survived her first semester lottery, which left me on my own. But otherwise, I’d fallen into a comfortable groove and almost forgot about the dead students.

Almost.

The upperclassmen were required to attend the assembly as a show of moral support but they sat in a separate area of the auditorium. An audience to our mortification if we didn’t make it through. Or maybe an example of what we had to look forward to once the lottery ended.

I chose an empty seat near the back row just as Headmaster Leaves cleared his throat, already standing at the podium. The lottery began the same way as every other assembly held at the school, with his magically amplified voice echoing across the space.

“Welcome, students.” Insert fake smile here. “Thank you for joining us here today for our first-year lottery! This is our last major purge before winter break, and I know you are all anxious to get through it and hear the results of the rankings. There have been a few updates since fall break and your last examinations, and firstly I want to congratulate those of you who made it through.” His phony smile grew wider and fuller. “There have been many unexpected stressors this year and you have handled them with decorum and ease. I am very proud of you all.”

He gripped the sides of the podium, pointed ears poking through his artfully slicked-back hair. He looked like a political candidate who needed to win our votes to make it through to the election and he’d do whatever it took to win. I rolled my eyes at his phony enthusiasm.

“The full updated list will be posted outside the door by the end of the assembly today. Of course, I have spoken to our staff and after many agonizing hours, we came to the order and ranking you will soon see. Now on to our top five students! I must say, I have never been prouder of a first-year class. At number five, we have Persephone Glaski. Everyone please give her a round of applause.”

I watched Persephone stand from the third row, demurely nodding her head toward her adoring public. She’d risen higher. Expectedly so, if one listened to the way she boasted.

“Number four is our very own Chase Timmons.”

We paused for the perfunctory applause and I leaned forward in my seat, anxious to hear the last few names. The ones with the targets potentially painted on their backs should the killer strike again.

“At number three, we have Cain Andrews. At number two, Aurelia Rose. And at number one, a big round of applause to our dark horse, Tavi Alderidge. I’m sure no one expected this twist!” Leaves finished the exclamation with a wink and a laugh.

If I’d been in my right mind, I might have been insulted, but I didn’t hear a thing through the roaring in my ears.

Applause broke out around me and I sat frozen, my neighbors clapping me on the shoulder in congratulations.

“What…? How…?”

I remember mouthing the words, but no sound came out. I stared at the stage and the headmaster, his gaze unerringly finding me through the crowd.

Me…number one.Number one?

No, absolutely not. It wasn’t possible.

At some point Melia found me in the midst of the jabbering crowd, grabbing me in a hug and swinging me around in a circle. “I am so proud of you!” she gushed. “I knew you could do it. How did you manage to turn things around? What kind of secrets are you hiding from me? Girl, yes! You’re moving on to the next semester! Those late-night study sessions must be the ticket.”

I didn’t know what to tell her because I didn’t have any secrets. Not those kinds. Not the kinds she wanted to hear.

I should have failed divination after refusing to do the crystal ball lesson. Professor Marsh had made it painfully clear every time I walked into the classroom. She was disappointed in me.

So how thehellhad I managed to reach the top spot in spite of it?

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