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CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
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Mortal CHAPTER ONE
“How much longer?” I turn to the pilot, not sure my headset is even working properly. The man and I haven't exchanged a single word since taking off an hour ago.“We’re there.” I blink at him. Look out the propeller plane’s window. Blink some more. He has to be kidding. Acres of pine trees stretch out below, a blanket of green reaching toward the horizon.“Where?” I don’t see any buildings. He points ahead, to where the trees open into a field; a thin runway stretched the length of it. I lean forward, looking for a building, but still there’s nothing. This is where I’m going to school? In the middle of nowhere Maine, with not one speck of civilization in sight?You have to be kidding me, Dad. Like always, thinking about him sends a wave of pain crashing through me. I close my eyes and try to keep the tears at bay, but they prick my eyelids, hot and blinding. According to my father’s will, I was to spend the last eight months of my high school career at a boarding schoo
Mortal CHAPTER TWO
The bridge groans as the horse steps onto it, and just like on the tiny propeller plane, I tense up. “Did your parents tell you why they sent you here?” Brynn asks. “Uh… No. My dad said in his will that I should come here.”Over Brynn’s shoulder, something moves in the woods. The oncoming night combined with the fog makes it hard to see, but there’s a glow and… Are those eyes? Glowing eyes?Suddenly, crossing this questionable bridge seems like a great idea considering the alternative. No sleeping in the woods and being mauled by wild animals for me, thank you very much. “He died?” Brynn’s face crumples. “I’m sorry.”“Thanks.”“I don’t know why I’m here.” She wraps her arms around herself. “This place is so not safe.”“Why do you say that?” The carriage is rocking as we cross the bridge, and one glance down at the frothing water below makes me wish I hadn’t looked. “It’s what everyone says.” She squeezes her sides tighter. “Anytime I hear anything about Hawthorn it’s abo
Mortal CHAPTER THREE
Please don’t let this be that bad. Standing outside of the classroom door, I open my eyes and gather all of my courage. It’s debatable whether anyone heard my prayer, but at least I tried. Someone bumps my shoulder, and I don’t even need to look to know it’s my roommate. She breezes into the classroom with two girls at her side, malicious giggles wafting behind them. Yep. This is already bad. “Excuse me? Are you coming in?” The teacher, a man with silver and blonde hair, stands in the doorway. “Yes.” My voice cracks. “Sorry.”There’s more laughter from inside the classroom. The teacher smiles. “You must be Winter. I’m Professor Vassily. Welcome to Hawthorn. There’s a seat right there in the middle for you.”“Th–thanks.” I walk to the desk, aware of the twenty or so pairs of eyes on me. As I sit down, I allow myself a quick glance around the classroom. No Brynn. Is she in another classroom somewhere, suffering through the same hell as I am?Professor Vassily assumes h
Mortal CHAPTER FOUR
The noise in the cafeteria softens as I enter the room, more eyes than I can count turning to drink me in. A boy nudges his friend, and the girl looks me up and down before whispering something behind her hand. Embarrassment floods me, but I tighten my grip on my backpack straps, stand up straight, and walk with what hopefully looks like confidence. The cafeteria is paneled in dark wood, small circular tables placed sporadically around the room, and a serving line at the far end. A quick sweep of the faces reveals Brynn isn’t anywhere to be found. My stomach plummets. Did she leave the school? Get kicked out before The Selection even started?I shake the thought away. Most likely she has a different lunch hour. Trying to ignore the gazes on me, I walk across the room, scouting a potential seat. Gregory isn’t anywhere to be found either, which means I’m out of luck when it comes to company. The serving line is full of the kind of good food not usually seen at a school cafeter
Mortal CHAPTER FIVE
“Can anyone tell me the moon’s phases?” Professor Towles’s eyes land on me, and I tense up. “Winter?”I gulp. “Um… there’s the full moon and… uh, the crescent?”At the desk next to mine, a girl’s hand shoots up. She was with Gregory at lunch and, like most of the students here, she’s cast me a lot of sidelong looks but hasn’t said anything to me yet. Professor Towles picks up a piece of chalk and nods at the girl. “Yes?”“There’s New Moon, Waxing Crescent, First Quarter, Waxing Gibbous, Full Moon, Waning Gibbous, Last Quarter, and Waning Crescent.”Professor Towles writes them all on the chalkboard, her hand quickly moving across the green. “Very good.”I flip open my notebook and scribble the phases down. If I don’t survive socially at Hawthorn, maybe I can get ahead when it comes to academics. My grades were pretty good back home but it takes more than “good” to impress college admissions.So far, I don’t know half of what’s been mentioned in Astronomy. I might be hanging on
Mortal CHAPTER SIX
Even though the school is huge, it would be impossible to get lost on the way to The Selection: everyone seems to be headed there. I fall in with the throng of students, the two girls having basically run away from me before I could ask them any more questions. The air crackles with the kind of energy you only get from shoving several hundred teenagers into a space together. I press onto my tiptoes and search for Brynn, but it’s impossible to tell if she’s around. The crowd surges through two giant open doors across from the cafeteria. It’s some kind of gym, with banners hanging from the rafters and bleachers lining the walls. At the far end, a raised dais sits in front of a closed door. In the corner, trophies gleam in a glass cabinet. The whole place is steeped in ceremony. I head for the bleachers, but a touch on my elbow stops me. “Right this way, Winter,” Professor Towles says. I follow her to the other end of the hall, right in front of the dais, where Brynn and four othe
Mortal CHAPTER SEVEN
I stand there, in shock, watching the gymnasium empty out, feeling numb. How could I have not been selected? What were they all selected for, anyway?Coming here was a mistake. Even if it's what my dad wanted for me. Obviously, I don't fit in here."Did you hear me?"I turn to see Alice standing there, waiting for something."Sorry, no." My mouth is dry, and the words come out coated in dust. No one but Alice is paying attention to me, and yet it feels like a million eyes are on me. I want to dig a hole and crawl into it."I said, let's go," Alice says. "Standing there like that will only make it worse."I find myself following this girl I don't even know as she leads me out of the room, past the groups of students chatting and welcoming their tiers' new members, and confidently down a new corridor."I see it as a badge of honor," Alice says. "Who'd want to be chosen by those creeps anyway?""Don't we need to be in a tier?" I squeak.Alice doesn't seem to hear. "Let me at leas
Mortal CHAPTER EIGHT
"Where are we going?" I try again, as Alice walks briskly across the brown, frosted lawn."The bonfire," she says.The bonfire. It must be the same one Gregory invited me to.My stomach drops at the thought. Earlier, going to a bonfire seemed the perfect idea. I needed to get friendly with the in-crowd at Hawthorn if I stood any chance at surviving here.Now I wonder if that whole goal is pointless. I wasn't selected for a tier. Doesn't that make me some kind of outcast? A pariah?I study Alice as we walk. Despite also not being selected, she doesn't seem worried about walking into the lion's den."Are there other students who weren't selected?" I ask."Not that I know of. No one who's here now."Wonderful. So that makes us even weirder.We walk around the side of the main building, the bitter cold striking my cheeks. The fog has thinned some, and students walk across the grass, all headed in the same direction.The woods."Is this allowed?" I croak. "For us to leave school
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