“There’s one last trial before you’re fully enrolled,” dad says slowly, peeling his orange in one long strip. “And that is your academic finals. If you pass those, then I won’t fight you on returning to the Academy.”
I gasp, thrilled, leaning forward to thank my dad with all of my heart.
“But!” dad says, holding up a finger. “I won’t have it a secret anymore – not from the officials, and not from your professors. At least, those you work with. If you pass your finals, we will have a word with each of your professors. And if they refuse to work with you…” he shrugs, meeting my eyes. “I’m not going to force them, Ariel. And you shouldn’t seek to either. It is…too dangerous a world, to not be working with people who are betting against you.”
I bite my lip, considering it quickly, my mind s
