Chapter 7

Just before sunset, all thirty-one Knight Apprentices gathered at the Castle to await our fate. Our Merit points had been tallied up, but the big, black Scoreboard behind the General remained blank.

"In a moment, you will all know which Apprentices have proven themselves worthy of continuing the Program," the General said, his gaze sliding across the crowd, "and who has fallen short." His attention snapped to me.

I gulped back my rising panic.

"After the first five days, this is the ranking of Apprentices."

The Scoreboard flashed, and a list of thirty-one names appeared. Bronte's name was there, right at the top. As expected. Dante was second. Nevada was sixth. Kylie, Asher, Dutch. My teammates had all made the cut. My eyes panned down the list, searching for my own name.

I gasped when I found it right there, in twenty-fifth place with sixty hundred and fifty Merit points. Not only had I made it, I wasn't even in last place anymore!

But how? Where had all those points come from?

"I knew that creating a minimum competency bar would push you all to rise to the challenge," the General said. "This all worked out exactly as I planned. I am pleased to announce that all Apprentices will continue in the Program."

Pleased? No way. There was no way the General had intended for me to make the cut.

I got proof of that after the ceremony, when Governor Meyer came over to speak to me.

"Yes, the General was ready to throw you out," she confirmed. "He had a whole speech prepared about how the weak must be separated from the strong for the good of everyone."

Yeah, that sounded exactly like the General.

"So what happened?" I asked.

"Kato happened," Governor Meyer told me. "He awarded you a Medal of Distinction."

The Medal of Distinction—an award for bravery and valor and other knightly traits—was an honor typically reserved solely for the Knights of Gaia. In fact, I'd never heard of anyone but a Knight receiving one.

"Kato's move made it impossible for the General to remove you from the Program without losing face," she continued. "After all, what kind of man would kick out an Apprentice who'd earned such a high honor? His only choice was to award you a significant number of points in recognition of your superior moral character." She chuckled like she enjoyed the irony of the situation.

I was still reeling from this happy, unexpected surprise.

"By the way, thanks for the heads-up about Jon Park."

Her words snapped me out of my happy stupor.

"Jon Park?"

"I found a note on my desk today. It made a very interesting allegation: the fiend who attacked the Oval at the Tournament yesterday is one of the General's own soldiers. Also, apparently the General knew all about this and tried to cover it up. Thank goodness for anonymous tipsters leaving notes on my desk." She winked at me.

So she thought I'd delivered the tip. I would have told her it was a Knight—the invisible stranger—except I didn't even know his name. Plus, if he'd left the note anonymously, maybe he didn't want anyone to know that he'd given her the tip.

"It appears the General escaped this controversy unscathed," I commented.

Her smile soured. "Yes. I did try to fire him, and I sure wouldn't have been sorry to see him go. The Iron Wolf has been a thorn in my side for years. But, alas, my motions to remove him as the head of Fortress security and from his leadership position over the Knights were both rejected. Someone high up in the Government must be protecting him."

I couldn't lie. I was definitely disappointed. I sure wouldn't have been sad to see the General go. He was really the most unpleasant person I'd ever met.

"Don't worry, Savannah," Governor Meyer said with a conspiring wink. "We might still get our chance someday. For now, we will have to be content with what small victories we can get. And celebrate them with the people who matter most." She directed my attention to Kato, who'd just entered the Hex. "I'll leave you two alone now."

She gave me another wink, then joined a group of Apprentices to congratulate them on a job well done.

Kato moved toward me like a Knight on a Quest. "How are you?" His voice was level, but I'd like to think his expression was one of relief under that thick helmet.

"I'm fine. Thanks to you," I added. "I made the cut, thanks to you. You pulled off a miracle."

"I assure you that I performed no miracle. I simply followed the rules."

I looked at him in confusion.

"As a Knight Commander, I have the authority to award a Medal of Distinction to anyone who has demonstrated exceptional character," he explained.

I fought back a smile. "I take it this rule is in the Knights' Code of Conduct?"

"It is."

"Ha! I knew I'd get you to tell me more about the Code of Conduct!"

He was quiet for a moment. Then, he said, "Yes. It seems you have."

I was no longer holding back the smile. I just let it all out. "Well, so now that you've slipped up once and revealed a secret rule from the mysterious Code of Conduct, you might as well go all the way and tell me everything."

He snorted.

"Seriously, though, thank you." I set my hand on his arm. "You didn't have to help me get the points I needed, but you did."

"You didn't have to help us fight the fiend at the Oval, but you did. You earned that medal, Seven. You are a truly unique Apprentice. Time and time again, you demonstrated your determination to do the right thing, even to your own detriment. You deserved to be recognized for your valor, not punished for it."

My heart was soaring with happiness. I got to stay in the Program! I got to keep training to be a Knight. Emotion overwhelmed me, so I did something rash.

I threw my arms around Kato and gave him a big hug. "Thank you for believing in me," I whispered against his helmet as the gasps of shocked Apprentices rippled across the Hex.

But the truly shocking part was that Kato didn't pull away. Instead, his arms folded around me.

"I stand by what I said the day we met," he said. "You will make an excellent Knight." He patted my back. "Now, if you'll excuse me, duty calls."

Then Kato stepped back, pivoted around, and marched over to the General, who looked very displeased to have borne witness to my emotional outburst.

But I didn't care. I couldn't stop smiling. The General couldn't rain on my parade. Not today. All that mattered was I got to stay here. I got to train my magic. Someday—hopefully not too far in the future—I would be a powerful Knight. And then I would end the Curse and save this world.