The dark walls of Ravenhein’s academy loomed ominously above me; a constant reminder of the scale of the school. There weren’t more than twenty-four students at one time, yet the school was grander than a city block. This place is the reason you trained so hard. I wasn’t going to fail now that I was so close to being accepted. Outside of the gates of the institution, the other initiates mingled around me as they waited to be let in and for the Culling to start. Part of me wanted to crawl into a shell from the presence of all the Gifted around me. All sixty of the people here could probably overthrow a kingdom of Regulars, I realised absentmindedly. I knew I could at least. I dragged my feet across the grass and worked up the nerve to talk to someone.

I smiled at a familiar figure and waved. "Vera!" But the person who turn to meet me was undoubtedly not Vera. Instead of Vera, what greeted me was a haughty look from a girl with forest-green eyes and a cold demeanour. "I didn’t know that they let commoners into the Culling. Especially not girls," the girl sneered, ignoring the fact that she was a girl too, as she took in my ragged clothes and unclean face.

I shrugged uncomfortably. "I was invited like everyone else."

I quickly skimmed through her mind with my Gift. Seraphina Elwood, I noted, the name feeling vaguely familiar. I was tempted to look deeper but I knew I would look suspicious if I did.

Seraphina looked away from me and towards the opening gates. "I look forward to eliminating you and maintaining the purity of this school," she said as she made her way into the school grounds alongside everyone else. I waited for a few seconds before entering so it wouldn’t look like I was following her. The inside of the academy felt so much larger than it looked on the outside, that I half wondered if the area was distorted by magic. The middle of the academy held a towering building that overlooked the rest of the almost city-like academy. I noticed restaurants and even a tailor shop.

Stolen story; please report.

A middle-aged man with a scruffy beard greeted us after we all entered. "As the Guide, I welcome this year initiates into this humble–" there were a few snickers from that "–academy."

The man frowned in displeasure at the noise and raise his hand slightly, summoning a large bubble around the area. Every sound from the idyllic sound of birds singing to the rougher murmurs of the crowd vanished. The initiates around me shuffled nervously, and I noticed Seraphina looking particularly annoyed, which made me smile. The man who cast the bubble clapped to grab everyones attention. The sudden sound in an otherwise silent world felt more disconcerting than I would have expected.

"I apologise, but I’m afraid I will not accept any interruptions while I explain the rules to you. Congratulations on making it to the first stage of the Culling. All sixty of you here might think that you are special. I implore you to stop deluding yourself. By the end of the Culling, only eight of you will remain. For the first round, you will have to group yourself up in threes. To help you in your decision-making, we will provide you with the relative combat powers of everyone. You’ll have two hours to wander around the outer region of this school and decide on your groups. Any questions?"

The man snapped his fingers and the bubble of soundlessness disappeared with a soft pop. "What are the groups for!" one of the initiates yelled.

"You’ll find out after all the groups have been formed," the Guide said with an almost predator smile. None of the initiates raised any more questions and the Guide nodded. "Your time starts now. Good luck."

Around me, I heard the initiates gasp as a giant screen appeared in the sky, with everyone’s name on one column, and their combat power next to it. I froze. Near the bottom was my name: Kira Westburn, Combat Power: 23. But that wasn’t what gave me pause. At the top of the list stood Lucas. Lucas Elwood, Combat Power: 100. I swallowed. Lucas.