Total pages in book: 214
Estimated words: 195876 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 979(@200wpm)___ 784(@250wpm)___ 653(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 195876 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 979(@200wpm)___ 784(@250wpm)___ 653(@300wpm)
"Only because they don't grasp what you can become."
"Isn't that the problem? Unbound can do so much harm. It's too much power for any one person. So they're right to see me as a monster."
"No, Nessa. This world of ours is… flawed." Voss's voice softens, taking on a quality I've never heard in it before. "Great individuals with the power to make change are exactly what we need. People like you. Unbound."
All I can do is shake my head. "I just want to survive this school. I want to help my friends survive. And maybe if I do that, I want to go back to Saltcrest and see if there's a way to use my influence and position to help my mother and sister. Maybe it won't mean earning their forgiveness, but I can at least try to ease their burdens.”
"I understand, Nessa. You still don't grasp what you are. What you will become. So you're still thinking small. But that's fine. There will be time, yet." His lips curve into a smile I can't quite read.
"Rector Voss?" I ask, fingertip idly running across the smooth surface of the clear sphere filled with swirling air. "Could you do anything to make sure more of us survive? Tighten the restrictions? Add Empire guards to patrol the halls? Remind students we're not supposed to kill one another anymore? Anything?" I add, hating how small my voice sounds. “It’s just that I sense something building here. Another storm.”
His smile is sad. "Whether you realize it or not, Empire guards are already not powerful enough to stop even you first-years. It would take ten or more ordinary men to bring one of you down. And primals capable of controlling you are too busy being deployed in the war effort. No, Nessa, I'm afraid you're all quite dangerous. Too dangerous to truly control. And even if I could, these methods have been proven over many many centuries. The primals who graduate after their fifth year are sharpened blades. Absolutely deadly and nearly perfect weapons. Empire knows this, and they won't change the way we run things for fear of weakening their strongest tools."
Weapons. Tools. Deadly. None of those words are things I want to become, but what choice do I have?
"There's really nothing you can do?"
"I'm doing what I can. Right here," he says, gesturing to the vessels and then to me. "With the proper training, you'll be more than capable of protecting yourself and the ones you care about, Nessa. And whether you see it yet or not, you'll eventually be powerful enough to change things, if you wish. All things."
I frown at the odd tone in his words, but his quick smile convinces me I'm just being paranoid. And protecting the people I care about… That's at least something I actually want. Something that matters.
"Oh, Nessa, there's something I wanted to tell you…" Rector Voss says, moving to sit and lean on his desk as he watches me continue to practice pulling multiple elements at once. "You’ve perhaps heard mention of the Crucible—your final test for the first year, if you will. But you won’t have heard any details about what this test entails. That will change in a few days when your instructors will be told to share.”
I swallow hard. Another fucking test.
Voss offers a sympathetic pursing of his lips. “I can give you a bit of forward warning, Nessa. It’s not much, but it might help. This year, you’ll be sent outside the castle walls with groups no larger than five per team. I can’t share the details until the moment before the Crucible begins, but I can tell you that the winning team will all earn promotion to legacy status. I don’t think I need to tell you a prize like that will likely create fierce, bloody competition.”
My breath catches. Promoted to legacy status? Other than Bastian, the legacies might as well be untouchable to us. They seem to exist in their own, privileged bubble on campus with the best perks and the best training. It's already an open secret that they're being groomed for positions of leadership after Confluence, even among the primals. They'll be the generals. The commanders and captains.
The idea of being promoted to their ranks… it's enough that even regular students without Malakai's bloodthirsty streak would be driven to do just about anything.
"I'm afraid the legacies will be competing in the Crucible as well," Voss continues. "Most years, they win. They’re often given a task in opposition to yours, but it varies. There’s one final thing your instructors may not share," He pauses, elegant fingers folded as he regards me. "Every year, we lose quite a few students during the Crucible. Empire sees it as a way of making sure the primals who survive have what it takes to come out of a war-like situation alive."