“How long have you known Ender?” I ask curiously.
“Oh, so you do speak.” He raises a brow. “Did Ender just make you nervous?”
“A little,” I lie. “Haven usually talks enough for both of us.”
“Ender will have his hands full with that one,” Knox says with a smirk. “Is it bad that I kind of like that she’s busting his balls?”
A small laugh escapes me. “He is insufferable.”
“He’s an acquired taste,” Knox says.
“You didn’t answer my question,” I say.
“We were assigned as roommates when we enlisted,” Knox says. “Of course, now the spoiled Gifted cadets get their own private quarters, but at the time, it was normal to share.”
“That beast was your roommate?”
“He isn’tthatbad,” Knox says. “He’s intelligent and insanely loyal. If one is lucky enough to fall under the short list of people Ender Vale cares about, no force in this world will ever dare to hurt you.”
I glance out the window, tired of hearing about what a virtuous person Ender is. I’ve already made up my mind about him, and no amount of praise will alter my opinion.
“Any advice when I go in there?” I ask.
The Forge looms in the distance. It is a twenty-minute drive from Ender’s residence, which gives me hope that perhaps I’ll be permitted to visit my sister during my days off. I can see the watchtowers in the distance and the silhouettes of the enforcers.
“Don’t fail,” he says. “The Common soldiers are treated as replaceable assets. There are casualties often during their one-year conditioning circuit. It is intimidating at first, but once you get your footing under you, it’s not so bad.”
A shudder slides down my back. I cannot imagine leaving Mercy here. It would be like abandoning her in the woods right by a pack of wolves.
“But you will be protected,” Knox adds, to ease the tension. “You’re the High General’s daughter, and your sister is engaged to the Supreme Director’s son. That gives you some leverage.”
The iron gates groan open, and we roll into the grounds. The Forge looks like a prison. Smoke-stained towers are sparsely laid around a barren ash-green field. Floodlights line the perimeter where enforcers make their rounds in their slate-gray uniforms while their hawk-like eyes scan for intruders.
Enforcers are low-level military officers tasked with guarding key facilities and maintaining security. All of them are Commons except for the capital enforcers.
I step off the truck, boots sinking into the gravel.
“Let’s get you to the Intake Hall for registration,” Knox says.
He leads me through a series of walkways and corridors. We pass the barracks, mess halls, training yards, dormitories, and shooting ranges, which are all arranged in a strict, regimented layout. It is suffocating here. The constant surveillance will drive me insane. I thought Warrick had me on a tight leash, but this is a whole other level.
The Intake Hall is a bare, clinical room. There is a single service counter where a woman sits behind the plexiglass window. Her bored eyes gaze at the row of recruits lined up.
The Commons faces are hollow and dirt-streaked. Unlike the Gifted, who serve for glory and the military benefits, the Commons are conscripted. They are pulled from the factories and farmlands and forced to survive because they were unlucky enough to be born without powers. In return, they are providedwith accommodations during their stay and a paltry credit is uploaded directly to their Smart Card.
Knox ignores the line and leads me to the front. Every head turns at his presence. I feel the weight of their curiosity, as their dull eyes trace my every step.
“State your name,” the woman asks in a nasally voice.
“Mercy Warrick,” I say.
Keys click as she enters it into the system, her fingers precise and mechanical.
She slides a package across the desk.
“Uniform,” she says. “You will wear it at all times.”
I glance inside the package. Brown pants and a second-hand matching coat. It smells like old sweat and cheap detergent. It most likely belonged to the conscript before me. There is a tablet inside. I slip it out and tinker with it for a bit. My schedule is programmed already, along with a map of the facility. The call function has been disabled, which is unfortunate. I had been hoping to use it to speak with my sister.
