Evaline:
My fingers tightened around the slip.
Oscar Thorne.
Alpha Oscar.
Of all the instructors… of all the names… it had to be his.
But I didn't have time to falter. I couldn't afford it.
This was my chance. My *only* chance. If I passed the test, I'd become an Academy student. That meant stability. A real identity. A future.
And more than anything, it meant power.
Power that I could use to take back what was stolen from me.
So I took a breath. Forced my shaking heart to quiet. And I made up my mind.
**I would win this test. At any cost.**
I turned, walking back toward the group where the other four top applicants were lined up. The instructor who'd made us draw the slips was asking each of them to call out the name of the instructor they were matched with.
"Kyros?" the instructor asked.
Kyros stepped forward with confidence and said, "Instructor Mara."
