She’d finished her pastry, and a frown pulled at her thin lips.
My mother seemed to sense that this was private, so she stepped into one of our shared bedrooms where three sets of bunk beds took up most of the space.After I shut the door, I stood in front of her, heart pounding in my chest.
“What is it?” she asked.
How did I even begin? Did I show her the mark? The letter? Or just start telling her what happened. I was silent too long, and she began to panic, eyes going wide.
“What is it? Did you get caught going to the Elite city? Are you heading to the mines? Just tell me, Brynn. I can’t take the suspense.”
“I got initiated into the Arcane Trials!” I blurted out.
My mother was silent for a beat, and then she laughed, and it lightened the entire room. Her genuine laugh was airy and musical and carefree. She hadn’t laughed like that since my father was alive. It would make me happy under different circumstances.
“Oh, Brynn, I missed your father’s sense of humor. Thank you for that.” She wiped a tear that had leaked from the corner of her eye, still grinning.
She wasn’t going to believe me. It was too outlandish. I had to prove it to her.
Peeling my shirt open, I bared my mark.
She hissed, stumbling backward.
“Wipe that off before the Watchers see you! Impersonating an Elite is punishable by death!”
“Mom, it’s real. The House of Draven heir initiatedme, and it felt like a thousand lightning bolts ran through my body.”
“You spoke to the House of Draven heir!” she screamed, and my brothers and sisters outside the room quieted.
“Shhh,” I scolded her. The walls of our home were thin. My father built it with scrap metal and wood over a decade ago. I didn’t want our neighbors to hear this conversation.
My mother wrung her hands, eyeing the mark again on my chest, and shook her head. “Why would a Draven heir sponsor you for the Arcane Trials? A laugh? A bet?”
I hadn’t thought of that. Considering he’d been on his deathbed, I didn’t think so. I didn’t want to tell her about his death. She’d surely faint.
“He said something when he marked me, Mother, something unforgivable. Treasonous.”
My mother’s lips quivered as she leaned in. “What?”
I let my hands fall away from her. “He said, Magic for all.Equality,” I whispered.
My mother’s sharp intake of breath gave me chills.
Her fingers came up to clamp around my mouth. “Talk of equality is punishable by death,” she hissed. Our house had only a two-foot gap between the nextone and the next. There wasn’t much privacy out in the Dregs.
I nodded. “I know.”
We were quiet for a moment… she stared at my chest while I handed her the letter. With a sigh, she read it.
“This looks real. Creator help me, it all looks real.” She glanced at my mark again.
“It is real, Mom,” I told her.
She shook her head. “Initiations to the trial go for thousands of silvers on the black market. Why would he waste his on a magicless?”
“Waste it!” I snapped.
My mom scoffed. “Well, you’re not going.”
I stayed silent.
