Chapter 1
“Listen and listen well, ladies, because what I’m about to teach you, I’m only going to say it once--then it’s all on you.” Matron (the name she demanded we called the beast of a woman by) walked down the line, shoulders rigidly square, hands behind her back. Her dark, beady eyes took in every single woman standing before her, disgust tugging on the corner of her mouth. “Everything you do out there will be observed and judged. Some of you will be selected to work in the Keep. Some of you will be taken as a Mistress of the Night. Some of you will be turned away. The worst of you will be killed on the spot.”
This was not what I signed up for.
I licked a bead of sweat off my upper lip; it tasted sour, spoiled by the nerves coursing through my veins. Everything in my body told told me to follow the only other girl quaking in her tattered leather slippers out the door and never look back.
My parents didn’t have this in mind when they told me to leave for Eminence Keep. They wanted their only daughter to live a better life in a city full of opportunity and vitality, not slowly wither away in a small village at the edge of the border. “Apply at the Keep,” my mother had advised. “They’ll look after you, treat you well.”
Her time away from the city was evident, because I had been promised a warm and welcoming environment, of which I could thrive off of and become the baker I wanted to be. What I got was a harsh, cold place that wanted absolutely nothing to do with me or my hopes and dreams.
“Rule one!” Matron called out to all one hundred twenty-four women who applied to work at the Keep during their annual hiring event. My mother also left out what a big deal this event was and how many women would apply. “Kneel in their presence until they tell you otherwise. Rule two: Under no circumstances, are you to hand them anything--unless you have been instructed to do so. Lastly and most importantly, rule three: never look them in the eye.”
I swallowed a lump threatening to choke me on the spot before I even had the chance to go through Appraisal.
“Keep these three rules in mind and you just might be selected. Make these rules your new way of life and you’ll live past a year.”
What was rule one again?
My heart drummed an erratic rhythm in my chest, which, in turn, sent a wave of nausea to my poor stomach. It had already heaved its contents on the street outside of the Keep this morning and then minutes before we had to line up in front of the heaping gate standing between us and our future.
“I can’t do this,” the woman behind me whispered to herself, panic-stricken. “What if I’m picked to be a Mistress of the Night?”
A woman two applicants down scoffed and appraised the panicked woman with slow, calculative eyes. She flipped her midnight hair over her shoulder, revealing a pair of round breasts heavily accentuated by the brown leather corset clinging to her torso. “I don’t think that will be a problem. For either of you.” Her green eyes flickered over to me.
“I don’t recall asking for your opinion,” I bit back, despite the burn in my cheeks. Besides, being a Mistress of the Night was the last thing I wanted to be. My entirely average looks and above average curvy figure didn’t matter if I spent most of my time in the kitchen.
The woman behind me went bright red and ducked her head.
I leaned towards her. “You better say something now before it’s too late. Once we leave this room, there’s no turning back.”
She peered at me through a veil of hair and nodded. “Miss Matron!” She stood on her tiptoes, waving the large woman over. “Matron, I want to go home.”
She stopped in front of us, crossing her arms across a broad, muscular chest. The look she landed on the woman beside me was unimpressed and unsurprised. “Then go. Nobody’s stopping you. Not yet. We have no place for the weak in the Keep.” Her sharp gaze cut into me, sharper than any blade.
Against my better judgment and any self-preserving bones in my body, I squared my shoulders and planted my feet. If they wanted me to leave, they were going to have to drag me out.
Or carry you out in a body bag.
I cringed. Why was I doing this, again? I could find a place to board and get a job anywhere in the city. Why did I have to work at the Keep? It wasn’t because my mother told me to; though, she did play a big part in it. It had nothing to do with the ignorance of growing up in a tiny border village. I hadn’t been chased out by the people who told me I was fat and useless.
No. I was here because the Keep turned nobodies like me into somebody. It was the source of every great musician, every diplomat, every mage. Generals, heroes, Kings! The Leviathan, King of Aedos, Defender of the Realm, the most terrifying creature in the realm, was molded within these walls.
My ambitions weren’t quite set that high, but I intended for every member of his court to know my name and request my services. Every single one of them would taste my delicious treats and speak of them for centuries after I have left the realm.
The panic-stricken woman beside me left without preamble. She skirted around the corner and would never be seen in these walls again.
The busty woman scooted down the line to my side and scoffed. “Pathetic.” She set her venomous sights on me. “Well? Are you going to join her, Hammy?”
I’d been called worse, but it still stung, no matter how many names people gave me.
“Hey,” the blonde haired woman ahead of me barked back. “Lay off her. We’re all here for the same reason. There’s no need to get catty.”
A thin smile splayed on Busty’s lips. “There’s every reason to get catty,” she mocked the word. “There is a limited number of spots--and I intend to make the cut.”
“Then I suggest you focus more on impressing them than tearing down the women around you. You can have boobs as big as balloons, but if they don’t like your attitude, you’re as good as gone.”
Busty sneered at her, but said nothing further and crossed her arms. The blonde woman smiled kindly at me, dimples tucking into her cheeks, and extended her hand. “Natalie Dralthus. I’m going to become a mage.”
Natalie was a slight woman and a few inches shorter than me, but her grip on my hand was calloused and firm. A grip of a farmer. Her dress, while neatly pressed and tidy, was sun-bleached with a hastily hemmed trim to hide the tattered ends. I would know, my mother did the same thing for all of my dresses before I left so I didn’t look completely wild in the big city.
“Valary Alaris,” I offered. “I’m going to be famous for my baked goods.”
“Figures,” Busty muttered behind me.
I tossed a glower her way, but had no time for anything else. Matron called for our attention up front.
“All right! Appraisal is about to begin! Remember, stay on the path and do as you’re told. I can’t guarantee your safety if you don’t. Good luck, and I’ll see some of you on the other side.”
With that comforting farewell, she stepped aside and the grand gate swung open. The sunlight blinded me after being tucked away in this semi-dark hallway all morning and afternoon. I held my hand up to my face to cover my eyes then followed the line into the arena where my life would truly begin. Or abruptly end.
