Ava stepped back.
She had known from the first day that she would die in this place, but hearing Mr Patrick say it hammered it in.
“Who wants to kill me?” she asked weakly.
But she already knew. What she didn’t know was why. Did they know what she had done?
“They know everything, Ava. I told you not to go into the forest. Everything in there belongs to them. Do you understand? They know.”
The sudden burst of energy that she’d had was depleted. She dragged her feet to the first bench and gently lowered her body. She felt no pain but still felt as if her body had broken into pieces.
If they knew, why was she still here? That was the number one rule of the academy. Never step foot into the forest.
“And that’s what’s been keeping me up at night,” Mr Patrick said.
“Stop that.”
She f
