Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 126358 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 632(@200wpm)___ 505(@250wpm)___ 421(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126358 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 632(@200wpm)___ 505(@250wpm)___ 421(@300wpm)
“Really?” Relief flooded me. Surely I must have tested out of the First-year classes. Which meant that I would be assigned to a Second-year room with a single roommate instead of a twenty-person dormitory!
“Really.” Jorn-o nodded solemnly. “You must be really smart.”
“I just had a strict tutor,” I said, shrugging and trying to play it off.
“Nah—it’s the Lysandra blood showing up,” Leaper said, giving me a sharp look. “The cream always rises to the top—that’s what my father says.”
“Well, it’s been nice knowing you,” Toady remarked. “I guess you’ll be put in Second-year classes—maybe even Third-year. So you won’t have to hang around with us peasants any longer.”
I felt a sudden stab of regret. I didn’t want to lose my new friends! I had never been close to anyone but Auren before—it felt nice to have other people who cared about me, even if they were boys.
“Look, I still want to sit with you at Mess Hall,” I said quickly. “And I’m sure we’ll still have some classes together.”
“Maybe.” Jorn-o didn’t sound very sure about it. “Anyway, let’s get some breakfast.”
But just as I was turning to get into line with the rest of them, a heavy hand landed on my shoulder.
“Cadet Lysandra?” a cool voice said in my ear.
Looking up, I saw it was Professor Griven. His face was set in grim lines and as his fingers tightened on my shoulder, I felt my stomach drop.
“Y-yes, Professor?” I asked, my voice shaking.
“I need you to come with me,” he said. “Now.”
13
AURORA
Professor Griven led me away from the Mess Hall and up the long stone steps to the third level of the Academy. We passed by all the classrooms and testing rooms until we came to a section of offices. He paused in front of a door that had Professor G. Griven written in elegant gold script on it. He opened the door and motioned for me to go inside with an “after you” gesture.
I went in and saw a large wooden desk. There was a comfortable looking chair on the far side of it and a gas lamp with a green shade as well. In front of the desk were two hard wooden chairs—I assumed that was where I was supposed to sit.
Sure enough, as soon as Professor Griven got seated on the far side of the desk, he made a motion to me.
“You can take a seat, Lysandra,” he said.
“Thank you, Sir.” I was glad to be seated—my knees were as weak as water, and I was afraid I might fall down if I didn’t sit down first. The collar of my new uniform felt too tight and I had to resist the urge to try and loosen it with my fingers.
“You will, by now, have seen the Rankings for yesterday’s entrance examination,” he said to me.
“Er, actually I was too short to see and too small to get through the crowd,” I admitted. “But my friend, Jorn-o told me I passed.”
“You did more than pass, Cadet—you made the highest score in the past seventy years—you even beat Cadet Skoren, and he beat the previous high score by ten points.” He frowned. “I’m sure he won’t be happy to hear his record was so quickly shattered, but that is neither here nor there.”
I wasn’t sure what to say to this, so I said nothing at all. But I felt hot and cold all over and my palms were clammy. Professor Griven didn’t look like he was giving me good news—in fact, he looked as stern as ever, as though I had done something wrong.
“Cadet Lysandra,” he said, staring hard at me. “Is there something you want to tell me?”
Oh God and Goddess, the way he was looking at me was not good.
He knows! He knows, he knows, he knows! shouted the little voice in my head.
It was on the tip of my tongue to blurt everything out—to admit that I was Aurora Lysandra, not Auren. I was going to confess and beg him to understand. “I had no food in the house, and I was all alone—my brother and father are dead!” I pictured myself saying. “Please, you have to believe me—it was pretend to be my brother or starve to death!”
But when I opened my mouth, all I said was,
“No, Sir.”
His frown deepened and he leaned forward across the desk.
“That’s your final word on the matter?”
“On what matter?” I shook my head dumbly. “I don’t understand.”
“All right,” he said grimly. “We’ll do this the hard way.” Raising his voice, he said loudly, “Larson, step in here if you please.”
My stomach, which was already twisted in knots, flipped slowly forward as Chud Larson came into the office and shut the door behind him.
“Have a seat, Larson,” Griven ordered.
With a poisonous glance at me, the upperclassman lowered himself into the wooden chair beside mine.