Page 82 of Ruthless Legacy

“I mean, I refused to repeat their little oath after every lesson, and I told the interviewer to kiss my ass when he offered to move me to the next phase if I sucked his dick.”

“Your interview is Saturday. So I’ll ask again, why are you here, instead of sequestered with the rest of the selectees?”

“You’re not listening to me, Holden. I’m back, because they held interviews this morning. They moved up the timeline. Said something about needing to be flexible and adaptable.”

He whips his phone out. “Don’t call your buddies over here. I’m not in the mood to watch Pax gloat or whatever. Not that I care what he thinks. I’m happy they booted me, instead of me having to decline. Again. This time it’s all on them.”

“I’m not calling Finn and Pax. I’m checking to see if anyone else is back yet.”

“There were five of us on the bus this morning, but I don’t know about anyone else.”

I open my door and stoop down, picking up the envelope off the floor. This has to be my official rejection letter. Damn, they work fast.

I tear open the seal and scan the note card. “You have got to be kidding me.”

I turn to him and shove the offending document against his chest. “Why would they do this? I sat right there and listened to the guy tell them I was a no. I did everything wrong. There’s no way they want me, so why did they do this?”

He looks from me to the notecard in his hand. Instead of a rejection, the message reads,

Welcome to Selectee Class 152

Theona LaReaux

Chapter36

Thea

Iwas hoping it was a joke, but it’s not. They selected me to move on to the next phase of the process for joining The League of the Daggered Raven. Joshua is the one who delivered that unsettling bit of news. It turns out my application had one of the highest scores. They graded us based on our academic transcripts, our course work during pre-select training, and our responses in the interview.

The girls who came back with tears in their eyes received official rejections. They folded like wet tissue in their interview and spilled a bunch of family secrets. That’s why the fathers were there, too. To answer any follow-up questions. I wonder what Joshua’s interview was like since I had nothing to share in mine.

For the next two weeks, from five pm to midnight, I’m supposed to show up to the home of a league historian for training on the history of The League. There’s a lot of information to digest and an end of course essay.

That’s in addition to my regular coursework. I have a paper to write for one of my classes too. I’ve already cancelled on LJ twice. I gave her some lame excuse about research and will probably miss Austin’s Valentine’s party.

I send LJ a quick text to meet me in The Circle, as I’m leaving my last class. I have an hour before I have to leave for league history, but I want to see her before I go. She shows up ten minutes after I do. “Hey, Thea.”

“Hey you.”

“How’s the paper coming along?”

“It’s harder to write than I thought it would be, but I’m used to cramming words in before the deadline.”

“You wanna head to The Rock to grab a bite?”

“I can’t. I’m actually on my way to run an errand.”

“Great. I have some things I need to grab out in town. I’ll come with you.”

“You can’t. I have to do it alone.”

“Alone?” She chuckles. “What kind of errand is it? Buying sex toys?”

“I can’t tell you.”

Her smile slips. “Thea, what’s going on? Where were you for four days? I know you said you were okay, but you never actually said where you went and what you were doing.”

I drag her away from the group behind us. “Look, I know I’m being cagey.”

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