That left me with three hearts, and I felt rather proud. A glance over at Eddie, sitting near the other male victors, told me I shouldn’t feel so cocky. He gestured frantically, the message loud and clear: Pick up the pace. My pro-defense tactic was keeping me safe but not racking up the hearts. A quick reconnaissance told me others had more hearts than I did, but before I could choose my next course of action, the decision was taken from me.

The girl who’d sat near me, the big bulky one, came at me full force. We collided and fell to the ground. Her fist closed around the cords around my neck, and she pulled, nearly choking me in the process. That magical strength surged within me, and with one big push, I knocked her off of me and scrambled to my feet. She too rose and eyed me speculatively, clearly surprised at the hidden force beneath my small exterior. Chris shouted the five-minute warning. I braced for the tall girl to come at me, but then, with a quick shrug, she turned away and headed toward someone else. It took me only a moment to understand why. She clearly had the most hearts of any girl. With time nearly up, she wasn’t going to risk losing them to someone who’d surprised her with a big show of strength. She’d play it safe and let the clock run out. A few other girls were in contention for second place and suddenly grew more frenzied in their attacks.

Me? I was squarely in third—except there was no third place.

I met Eddie’s eyes again and saw true concern now. Then, my gaze slid to the person sitting beside him in the stands: Caleb, smug and secure in his position. Without thinking twice, I strode over and jerked Caleb up by his shirt. That magical strength burned through me, matching us far more evenly than we would ever have been in normal circumstances. Catching him by surprise gave me an extra edge. I landed a punch that would’ve made Wolfe proud and then kicked at his knee. I didn’t break anything, but Caleb did trip and fall to the ground. I quickly pulled the hearts from around his neck and sidestepped as he swung a fist toward me and roared in rage. Eddie jumped up, quick to defend me, but by then, Chris was calling time.

He hurried over to us, frowning at the unorthodox behavior. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he demanded.

“Winning,” I said. I held up my original three hearts with the mass I’d stolen from Caleb. “You said the winning girls would be picked based on whoever had the most hearts at the end of our hour. That’s me.”

Chris flushed at being trapped in his words. “Yeah, but—”

“And you said any tactic is fair game.”

“But—”

“And,” I continued triumphantly, “you asked if we were willing to do anything in the fight against evil. I am. Even if it means facing someone bigger and stronger—which those vampiric demons obviously will be.” I waved a dismissive hand at the other female competitors, who were staring openmouthed. “What’s the point of going up against them?”

A shocked silence hung around us—then it was replaced by laughter. Master Angeletti made his way toward us through the stands, careful not to trip on his golden robes. His face was filled with mirth. “She has a point, Juarez. She outsmarted you, and I say if she can do that—and take down our biggest male competitor—she’s earned her spot.”

Caleb turned beet red. “I didn’t give her all I had. She’s just a girl.”

Master Angeletti waved him off. “Relax. You can still stay. This girl—what’s your name?”

“Fiona, sir. Fiona Gray.”

“Fiona Gray can have one of the female spots. It looks like the other goes to that young lady over there.” Master Angeletti nodded to the tall girl, the one who’d played it safe in letting the clock run out. Her name was Tara, and although she didn’t look thrilled to see me declared a victor, she made no complaint so long as she got her spot. It was the girl who would’ve been second place who spat out a series of obscenities my way. That seemed to amuse the Warrior authorities, but they held fast in their decision. She and the other defeated recruits were dismissed.

We victors were then treated to a banquet in our honor, back in what served as the compound’s mess hall. The seven of us were seated at one table, while the seasoned Warriors filled others. Personally, I would’ve preferred a shower, but at least I got the chance to sit by Eddie again. He and I grinned and nodded over our plates of ribs as the others relived key moments from the earlier matches and talked about how we were “totally” going to annihilate real vampires. Most of the others seemed impressed by what I’d done to Caleb and got a good chuckle out of it. He, however, clearly wasn’t amused. Throughout the meal, he shot several dark looks over to where Eddie and I sat, and I hoped I wouldn’t regret my last-minute save in the arena.

After lunch, the Warriors decided they’d tested our pen-chant for brutality enough—for now, at least—and that it was time to see what kind of personalities we had. We were called one by one to come speak to the high masters and a select group of Warriors about our intentions going forward. They brought us in by alphabetical order, meaning I went before Eddie and wasn’t able to get any sort of warning of what was to come. This, at least, was pretty consistent from year to year, and Sabrina had briefed us on what to expect: mostly a lot of interrogation during which we’d affirm how much we hated vampires.

What I wasn’t expecting was how much it would remind me of re-education.

Once I was seated in front of the masters and all-male council, they directed my attention to a large screen hanging on the wall. An image of happy, ordinary-looking Moroi appeared.

“What do you see?” asked Master Angeletti.

My heart caught in my throat, and suddenly, I was back in that underground prison, strapped into a chair with Sheridan’s pretty but cruel face gazing down at me.

“What do you see, Sydney?”

“Moroi, ma’am.”

“Wrong. You see creatures of evil.”

“I don’t know. Maybe they are. I’d have to know more about these particular Moroi.”

“You don’t need to know anything except what I’ve told you. They are creatures of evil.”

And then she’d tortured me, dipping my hand an acidic solution that felt like it was burning my flesh off, forcing me to endure the pain until I would finally agree with her and repeat that they were creatures of evil. The memory was so intense, so vivid as I sat there with the Warriors that my skin started to crawl again. The room felt like it was closing in, becoming a prison just as re-education had been, and I worried I would faint in front of them.