Page 108 of On Wings of Blood

“You’re right. If she was mine, I’d be taking better care of her,” I snapped. And making sure she didn’t feed on helpless animals, I thought, but I didn’t add that.

He gave me a cool look. “She’s a highblood,” he said, as if that was all that needed to be said.

Then he turned and walked away.

CHAPTER 22 - MEDRA

I pushed at my mashed potatoes, my mind a million miles away from the refectory where I sat with Florence and Naveen.

“You’re sulking, Medra. What’s wrong?” Naveen teased. “Not enough butter on your mashed potatoes?”

I stuck out my tongue at him. “Oh, you know. Just thinking about how ignorant I am.”

“Ignorant?” Florence looked puzzled. “You’re not ignorant. You’re not stupid, Medra.”

“Not stupid, no,” I agreed. “But ignorant, yes.” I looked back and forth between them. “There’s so much that I don’t know. That you two do, just from having grown up here.”

They’d never pushed to find out where I was from. When I’d explained that I’d lost my memories, that had seemed to be enough for them. They’d accepted it. They made a point of never asking me about my past. They didn’t pry. Was that friendship? They were the first friends close to my own age I’d ever really had. I was incredibly grateful for them.

“Well, if you’d been listening instead of murdering your mashed potatoes,” Naveen began. I looked down at my plate and saw that I’d pushed half the potatoes onto the table in my distracted state. “Then you’d have heard us talking about something you might be interested in.”

I perked up. “Oh, really? And what’s that?”

Florence glanced around, then lowered her voice. “The House Leader rite is coming up.”

“What is up with everyone looking around to make sure they’re not overheard lately?” I grumbled, but they’d grabbed my attention. “The House Leader thing? Is it some sort of a secret? I thought it was an open and shut selection. Blake is going to be the new House Leader for Drakharrow at Bloodwing, right?”

“Well, probably,” Florence said slowly. “But there are a few rites throughout the year. Not just the House Leader one.”

“When is the House Leader selection, anyhow?” I asked.

“We don’t know. First Years don’t get told much,” Florence admitted. “It’s always unexpected when it happens.”

“I would have thought your mother would know,” I said, a little surprised.

Florence shook her head. “She’s not allowed to tell me anything about it. Though it’s an open secret among most of the highblood students. They’ll have a better idea than we do.”

“There are two big events throughout the school year,” Naveen explained. “One happens every year. One only happens if a House Leader position is open.”

“I already know about the House Leader selection. What’s the other one?” I asked, curious.

He exchanged a glance with Florence. “It’s a game for the consorts.”

I scrunched up my nose. “A game? Really? And I have to participate?”

“You’re in it whether you want to be or not, Medra,” Florence said quietly. “So is Regan.”

“In fact, we were wondering if anyone had told you about it. A professor? Maybe Rodriguez?” Naveen looked at me inquiringly.

I shook my head. “No. Nothing. No one has mentioned it. Not until now.”

“You must be wondering why we didn’t mention it before,” Florence said. “But non-highblood consorts are so rare... Honestly I keep forgetting that’s why you’re here. It’s such a strange situation.”

“You’re telling me,” I said bitterly. “So what’s involved in this consort game thing exactly?”

“They call it a game but it’s not a childish one. The Consort Games are basically a test to weed out the weak,” Naveen said.

Considering I was the only non-highblood consort, that didn’t sound good.

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