Page 9 of A Fate Everlasting

Her eyes lit up. “Los Angeles?”

“The City of Angels.” I didn’t mean for it to sound bitter, but it did.

“Weird,” she said, her voice dipping into a hushed whisper. “That’s two recruits from there in a week. We don’t get many applicants this late into term, with the disadvantage and all.”

I exhaled slowly, forcing down the lump in my throat. “Really, it wasn’t my choice.”

A brief silence stretched between us as I started unpacking, pulling out a bundle of herbal tinctures and crystal bottles Lily had packed for me. Ruby’s eyes flickered over them with veiled amusement.

I wasn’t ashamed. The routine reminded me of home and kept my thoughts in line. Without it, everything frayed at the edges, sound, light, emotion.

“What’s your talent?” I asked lamely, an attempt at conversation.

“Talent?”

I frowned. “I was told this is a school for the exceptional. So, what’s your, like… thing?”Exceptional.The word felt heavy, even ironic. I’d never been exceptional at anything, nothing like my parents. If they hoped this place would draw something out of me I didn’t already see, I was certain they were wrong.

Ruby stared at me for a moment, her expression unreadable. Then, she let out a quiet laugh. “Oh, you don’t know?”

A chill brushed over my skin. “Know what?”

“Evermore isn’t a typical college,” she murmured, watching me like she was waiting for something.

“I gathered that much.” Ruby cast a look over my unpacked things, lifting her eyebrows as I asked, “Is this some kind of religious school? I’ve never heard of a ‘preparatory college’ before.”

Ruby tilted her head. “Intrinsically,” she continued airily. “Don’t worry, you’ll catch on soon enough. The Rift is in a month for the Lower Sixth.”

“Sorry?” The words tumbled out before my mind could catch up. The jet-lag combined with all of thisstrangenesswas starting to feel like I’d taken a sedative. Verrine had mentioned it, but I had no idea what the Rift was.

“The Rift,” she repeated, amused by my reaction. “It’s when we prove we belong here. When Evermore decides if we’re strong enough to stay and, if we make it, determines what path we will take next year in Upper Sixth.”

“Which path? You mean our classes?”

I added a few more tinctures to the pile forming on my wooden nightstand. A month. I had a month to prove I belonged in a place I didn’t ask to be. I could still feel the flight turbulence in my stomach, and I was already being given an exam date? That wasn’t enough time to learn the rules, let alone pass some cryptic end-of-year test. I’d never been particularly good at studying and that wouldn’t change now.Here.

“Ascend or Fall,” she said with a shrug, but something in her eyes gleamed. “Some don’t make it,” Ruby added. “You have to be strong to survive here.”

I scoffed.Ascend or Fall.It sounded like a roundabout way of saying pass or fail. I thought it would be simple, attend and graduate. This girl, Ruby, was making it seem far more complicated.

“The Rift,” a chill crawled up my spine. “I have toparticipateto graduate?” The word barely made it past my lips. My throat felt tight, my pulse hammering against my ribs. Ruby just watched me, her expression stark.

“Of course.” Ruby gave a delicate shrug. “How else would you—” A sudden knock sounded from the hallway, and she turned, her smirk vanishing. “Hurry. We need to get to supper. Wecannotbe late.”

I hesitated. “I’m fine with skipping.”

She laughed bitterly. “That’s not how this place works.”

I sighed, dragging my fingers through my travel-grimed hair, then tied it back in a high ponytail, starting toward the door.

“Arabella.” Ruby’s voice was gentle, but there was an edge to it. I turned. She gestured toward the folded gray uniform at the foot of my child-sized bed. “We aren’t allowed out of uniform during term time.”

“What, even on weekends?” I lifted the skirt to my body, sizing it up. “That’s ridiculous.”

“It’s the rules.” She leaned against the doorframe, watching me with a smirk. “Now hurry. We must clock in with the prefects before seven. If we’re late, the Crucible will mark us down.”

Right.The Crucible. This was feeling far less like a college and more like a prison that tracked our every move. This was a level of surveillance I hadn’t signed up for.

I stood before the dusty, antique mirror, adjusting the uniform. Something about it dulled me, like the second I put it on, I was losing a piece of myself. I barely had time to process the feeling before Ruby pulled me toward the corridor.

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