13. Favored

Elijah didn’t stay much longer after, claiming he had some guardian business to tend. I hoped he’d make better progress regarding finding information about the mark on my neck than I have thus far.

It would have helped a great deal if I knew more about this world I now find myself bound to. A sad tug inside my chest was hard to ignore each time I thought of my parents.

A big part of me hoped my dad would reason with my mom, or maybe bother to call me, or send a message at the least.

I haven't heard a thing from them since Mom dumped me at that train station.

I gathered my things, about to leave, when my eyes caught the small sign that said the library was hiring assistants. I remembered Ariah—or was it Celeste?—mentioning it.

It was getting hard for me to keep up with everything, but I couldn’t wait to get a job. I needed to take care of myself, even if I was overwhelmed.

I stuffed my books into my backpack and headed for the front desk, thinking of how I could confidently phrase