Page 24 of Feathers of Ash and Hope

She picked the wrong target this time.I suppress a smile.

“Actually,darling, I do mind.” I pluck her fingers off my skin and point at the end of the line. “The end of the line is back there.”

We have more than one pair of eyes trained on us by now.

She pouts. “You really want me to walk over there? Instead of staying right next to you?”

“Yes, please.” I try not to laugh at the indignation on her face. The candidates around us snicker while a flush creeps up her neck, and her eyes turn hard. She doesn’t like to be told no, it seems.

“Do you know who I am?” Sounds like someone’s family is mighty important around here. I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t help but poke a little.

“My, my, that must have been quite a hit you took.” I give her my best innocent smile. “Don’t worry, being confused can happen after severe head trauma.” She rears back as if I had hit her.

“You think I have a head injury?” she screeches, looking insulted. I have an inkling she took what I said as an insult to her looks, which hadn’t been my intention.

Laughter ignites around us. Her face turns red before she huffs out a breath and storms off, heading to the end of the line.

I may have made my first enemy before the first year even started.

Maybe backing down would have been wise, I contemplate as Calix walks up to me.

“What was that about?” Calix looks at the blond girl’s retreating back.

“Apparently, I should have known who she was and fallen to her feet.” I shrug. Calix chuckles and looks over at the girl. She now stands at the end of the line, sending me a death glare. He winks at her, and she looks ready for murder.

“Not one for charming the ladies, eh?” Calix bumps my shoulder.

I hide my laugh by coughing. “No, can’t say that I am.”

About an hour later, we reach the front of the queue. My palms are clammy, and I force myself to take deep, even breaths to calm my racing heart.

My hands graze the dagger on my belt, but I stop myself before checking the slim knife hidden in my boot. I’m always armed and not only to defend myself. Any trace of magic vanishes when a person dies. I swallow, and my mouth is suddenly dry. Not that it will change the outcome for me, but at least my family would be safe.

“Hey, you’re next.” The rider’s voice jolts me out of my thoughts.

I take another deep breath and open the door in front of me.

I’m startled when I find myself in another hallway.

“Room four,” a voice says right next to me, and I whip around. A girl a few years younger than me smiles up at me, sitting behind a small desk. “Undergarments only, you can undress behind the screen and leave your things there as well. A healer will be with you shortly.”

I nod and walk over to the wooden door with a small four on eye level.

The room is a warm yellow, its window overlooking the atrium below. A wooden desk sits right beneath the window, and a dark leather-coated bed occupies the other side of the room, right next to the screen the girl talked about.

I’m just placing my clothes on the stool behind the screen when the door opens.

“Are you ready in here, or should I start with someone else?” a cheery voice asks.

“I’m ready,” I say, stepping out from behind the screen while the healer places a thick, leather-bound book on the desk with an audible thump. The middle-aged woman is dressed in the typical dark red color most healers favor. With laugh lines around her eyes, she doesn’t look the least bit intimidating, but I’m terrified.

She walks around me, inspecting my skin, while I concentrate on anything but the fact that her fingers and her healing magic are too close for comfort and that only a little dried blood covers my secret. This is it. This is the moment I dread.

I take a deep breath, fighting the urge to run.

“Quite a few scratches you’ve got there.” She eyes my right arm. I squish the urge to hide it behind my back.

Calm and collected, no fidgeting.

---