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glance back at the archways to be sure they hadn’t been sealed shut.
    â€œWith a very dark force indeed. I have just received word that three more kingdoms have fallen to Calivigne and the Sisters. Hundschloss has been reduced to ash.”
    Evie’s eyes flicked around the hall. She didn’t understand what any of this meant, but the grim reaction of the other cadets made the walls seem just a bit closer, the bench a bit more uncomfortable.
    â€œWho’s Calivigne?” she whispered to Maggie. “What’s she talking about?”
    Beatrice continued. “I understand that many of you, and many of your parents, have concerns regarding the Queen’s decision to admit cadets without pedigree.” She glared down at them, her expression revealing nothing about her own opinion. “First, if you feel it your place to question the Queen, you may do so from the comfort of your own homes. She is our Supreme Commander, and to question her is a treasonous act. Second, many of you no doubt have false ideas of what it means to be a Princess of the Shield. You came because you were attracted to the majesty and glamour of life with a crown and castle. You intend to serve your three years, then go forth beloved by all.” The clacking of her heels echoed off the walls. “
You
will be the first ones discharged, no matter your blood.”
    Evie caught a glimpse of Malora, who shook her head with disgust.
    â€œA Princess of the Shield is courageous. She is compassionate. She is kind, and she is disciplined. Without these four core values, a girl may have all the crowns and castles she wants, but she will no more be a princess than she will a dragon.
    â€œYou must prepare for battle as any soldier would, though yours are not the weapons of the soldier. Your weapons are pure hearts and steel spines. Your weapons are already inside you. And the only way to wield them is to
know yourself.
Which is precisely what we will teach you here.”
    A wave pulsed through Evie’s brain, and she thought for a moment she was about to lose consciousness. Some deeply buried instinct had been triggered. A warning.
She’s about to say something I won’t be able to un-hear.
    â€œThree more kingdoms fell this day. Three fine and noble kingdoms full of history and culture and innocent citizens.” Beatrice folded her hands behind her back, slowly patrolling the dais. “The forces of evil are on the ascent, of that there can be no doubt. We need you, ladies, to embrace your training and join the fight.
You,
” she said, pausing for emphasis, “are the only thing preventing Calivigne and her army of wicked witches from spreading misery and death across all the land.”
    Wicked witches.
Suddenly, the little clues that had been niggling at Evie since she’d first arrived clicked into place. The mural . . . the stray comments of her friends . . . the Pennyroyal coat of arms . . . All of it pointed to one simple fact: to be a princess was to battle witches.
    â€œAs the year unfolds, you will notice that our Academy bears many similarities to the training camps of the world’s great armies. This is not an accident. Our distinguished founder, Princess Pennyroyal, developed this institution to engender the same precision, honor, and discipline found in any king’s army. She had seen countless kings train countless soldiers to battle other countless soldiers trained by other countless kings. She despised the endless parade of death and violence, but respected the integrity those camps infused into their soldiers. It was she who discovered that only a true princess could defeat a witch. It was she who trained the very first Princesses of the Shield. It was she who grew those virtues into an army of decency and kindness. An army of princesses.”
    Evie stared at the red linen of the dress in front of her, trying to remain calm. She dabbed sweat from her