“This is it then? My only shot at freedom?” I ask. I’m not sure why I believe him but there’s something about him that comes across as honest. Even if he can read my thoughts, which I fucking hate.
“If you can survive, you have a chance to win that pass,” he says. “But everyone at the school is trying for the same thing. And they will do anything to get it.”
I take a deep breath and turn toward the window. If that pass is the only shot at earning my freedom, I have no choice. I have to win it.
The sun casts a golden glow across fields of green. Cypress trees line the road. The kind I’d dreamed of seeing in real life some day. I never thought I’d see them here. Sasha and I talked about going to Italy after graduation. We had the whole thing planned. A few days in Rome before traveling to the islands for sun and water. We even had a change jar in our kitchen so we could save for the trip. It wasn’t much but there was a few hundred dollars in it already. I’d even caught James tossing change in there a couple of times. By the time we got to graduation, we’d probably have enough for at least one plane ticket.
Tears rolled down my cheeks and I bit down on the inside of my cheek. Sasha would never see Italy. And I probably wouldn’t either. James would never join his father’s firm. None of us were going to graduate college. I wondered if I was next to join them in death.
“You know, it’s a tough school but if you’re smart, you can stay alive,” Adrian whispers.“And maybe things aren’t as bad as you think.”
I don’t look back at him. I’m suddenly too tired to chastise him for reading my mind again. I hope he sees how heartbroken I am. I hope he realizes what his people did to me. I want him to know how amazing James and Sasha were and that they should both be alive.
The car slows and I look back out the window. I can make out a ten foot tall iron fence and I’m guessing we’re at the school.
“We’re here,” Adrian says.
The car moves forward and we drive through the gate, passinga sign with the same castle and wing crest that I saw on the car. Above the crest are the wordsBrimstone Academy, Established, 1322.
All I can see is more sprawling green lawn and more cypress trees. We travel down a winding road and finally I notice a building in the distance. It’s a huge sprawling stone structure that can only be called a castle.
Of course it’s a castle.
Towers and spires extend from the upper levels, making the building look more and more sinister the closer we get. Beyond the main building, there are a few freestanding gray buildings.
The place is huge. Just how many students attend this place? My stomach twists at the thought. The more students there are, the more competition I’ll have.
We reach the front doors and the car stops.
My whole body feels numb. While riding in the car, it was easy to talk myself into doing this. Now that I was staring at a massive castle, it was harder to believe I could pull this off.
If everything they say is true, it means I’m part angel. And I’m going to a school full of demons.
I’m sure nothing will go wrong with that.