I handed Cion the dagger when I was done. He stuck it into his belt and then pressed his palm against my name. Then he bent down and took a handful of sand, which he dribbled over my head.

“Welcome, Kateri,” he said. “May the desert give you its strength.” His face was soft in the torchlight surrounding us. He moved back to stand by his name.

Another boy approached. He stood silently in front of me. I resisted the urge to go for my sword. My eyes darted between him and Cion. Slowly, the boy bent down and repeated what Cion had done.

One by one, the boys mimicked him, touching my name, pouring a handful of sand over my head, and then repeating Cion’s words. Some of the shorter boys sort of tossed the sand toward my chin.

Some approached warily, like they expected me to lunge for them like a tiger in the arena. I couldn’t blame them. I was watching them too, wondering if they were old enough to be part of the raid that killed my mother and brother. None of them were.

Dimic approached almost sheepishly. He scooped up two handfuls of sand. Before he tossed them, he leaned close. “Since Cion didn’t kill you, I’m glad you passed that test. I never would’ve lived it down for bringing you here if you hadn’t.”

He pelted me right in the face with sand. Then with a wink, he went back to his place. Boy after boy took his place.

As much as I wanted the silly ritual to be over, I figured I could use all the help I could get. I closed my eyes and let the sand fall down my skin, willing the desert to give me the strength it had given these boys.

Once the last boy had gone, Cion cried, “Kateri, our newest Desert Boy.”

A great cry went up that echoed through the room.

My eyes snapped open. This wasn’t what we’d agreed on. I didn’t want that title anywhere near my name. I could work with them, but I didn’t want to be a part of the group that killed my mother.

The boys began extinguishing their torches and filing out through an opening I hadn’t noticed from my position in the pit. Cion was the last one to go by.

I grabbed his arm. “You said I had to pass initiation, not become one of you.”

“That’s what the initiation is,” he replied. “It’s you becoming one of us. I thought you understood that.”

I shook my head. “I don’t want to be one of you. I just need to beat Rodric.”

“Being one of us is how you beat Rodric. You need to stop thinking like him and think like us. That’s the first lesson you need to learn, and if you can’t, then leave.” He put out his torch and ducked through the opening in the wall.

I wasn’t sure if he expected me to follow or not, so I stood there in the darkness. I curled my fingers into fists and took a deep breath.