I take one last look at Blackwood, aware that even if we survive this crazy mission, I cannot imagine a scenario where I would leave my dad alone to come back here. And I almost can’t believe I’m thinking this, but some part of me will miss her severe attitude and her brilliant strategy games. I may never understand everything she tried to teach me, but I know I’m better for it.

Ash and I exit the room, and as the door closes behind me, it feels like the end of another chapter in my life. I didn’t realize when I left my house in Pembrook to come here that nothing would ever be the same, but as I prepare to leave the Academy, I know that once again my world is about to shift.

“They’re going to sedate us again, aren’t they?” I ask Ash as we make our way down the stairwell.

“Oh, definitely,” he says, and flashes me a smile that takes the edge off.

The guards lead us to the ground floor and through a dimly lit hallway. The guard next to Ash stops in front of a door adjacent to the teachers’ lounge and unlocks it.

“See you in America,” Ash says before disappearing into the room.

I follow the second guard to the adjoining door and he, too, unlocks it without explanation. I slip through and it clicks shut behind me. The room is small and cozy, what you might expect if someone transformed a castle into a bed-and-breakfast. It has a colorful tapestry on the wall, a large four-poster canopied bed, and an elegant desk. The fire in the fireplace heats up the room in a pleasant way.

My duffel bag sits by the end of the bed, and the blue plaid pattern and worn straps seem out of place next to the antique furniture. I run my fingers over the familiar textured fabric, and as I undo the black zipper, I realize it still smells like my house.

Inside are bits of home that make my heart ache—my pine tree pillowcase from my bed, an old T-shirt of my dad’s that I stole for pajamas a few years back, and a pair of vegan leather fingerless gloves that Emily and I bought last year, convinced we would start a fashion trend. Turns out they weren’t warm enough for winter and were too hot for summer, making them useful for only about two weeks in the fall when the air was just turning crisp—which caused us to wear them every day so we could get our money’s worth and also caused our friends to make endless remarks about our biker gang. Emily didn’t care, insisting that Pembrook just wasn’t big enough for any original ideas.