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surroundings. The Aegis reminded
     her of the community college back home—a large boxy dormitory opening to a courtyard,
     half a dozen
     scattered outbuildings, and multiple trails that led into a thicket of woods. She
     leaned forward and squinted, bringing an obstacle course into focus.
    Aisly followed Cara’s gaze. “That’s where you’ll take your physical conditioning class.”
    Cara groaned inwardly. Even in another galaxy, she couldn’t escape PE.
    “But don’t worry,” Aisly continued. “The instructor will adjust your target time to
     compensate for your inferior respiratory system.”
    Awesome. Add to the equation Cara’s inferior human brain, and after Troy left, she’d
     be the most worthless person on the planet. Quite the downgrade from her previous
     title of
     Midtown High valedictorian.
    “Do you go to school in this Aegis, too?” she asked. From what she understood, children
     stayed in their local Aegis from birth until the end of their twenty-first year, when
     they
     received a job assignment and moved to the occupational barracks. But surely any L’eihr
     gifted enough to be appointed to The Way wouldn’t take classes with the rest of the
     students.
    “We do now,” Jaxen said. When she waited for him to elaborate, he didn’t.
    The three of them climbed the front steps leading to the dormitory, and Aisly extended
     her wrist for the scanner. In response, a pair of metallic doors hissed aside to allow
     them into the vacant
     lobby. Cara braced herself for an icy burst of air-conditioning, but a cross breeze
     from open windows along the adjacent corridors brushed her skin, reminding her that
     the temperature here hovered
     around seventy year-round. The next sensation to reach her was the warm, welcoming
     scent of baking bread. Her stomach growled in response.
    “Must be breakfast time,” she mused. That would explain the absence of students.
    “Yes,” Aisly said. “Our morning staple here is
t’ahinni
. It’s made from
larun
, which is a flat—”
    “Flatbread,” Cara finished. A bittersweet smile curved her lips. “I tried re-creating
     it on Earth for Aelyx, but I never got it right.”
    From there, they whisked her to the headmaster’s office and outfitted her with a supply
     of clean uniforms and a palm-size tablet.
    “Bring this to each class,” Jaxen said. “All the texts and essays you’ll need are
     preloaded and translated into English.”
    Even after his demonstration, Cara didn’t understand how to use the device, but she
     kept quiet for fear of looking stupid. She’d ask Elle to explain it later. Next, Jaxen
     and Aisly
     escorted her to her room, which was near the lobby on the first floor.
    Jaxen paused outside her door. “Is it still your intention to remain here permanently,
     as Aelyx’s
l’ihan
?”
    Cara nodded, even though “remain here permanently” sounded so…permanent.
    “Excellent,” Aisly said. “Then we can resolve the issue of your citizenship.”
    Cara’s stomach dipped. Just because she’d left Earth didn’t mean she wanted to sever
     all ties to her people. “Can I have dual citizenship?”
    “Absolutely,” Aisly promised. “But the process remains the same. In order to become
     a citizen, you have to hold a
Sh’ovah
.”
    A
Sh’ovah
? Why did that sound familiar?
    Cara searched her memory. When nothing came, she turned to Jaxen for clarification,
     but by the time their eyes met, the answer hit like a cannonball to the gut. It sounded
     familiar because
     several months ago she’d written a blog post about the rite of passage:
You swear an oath to the Sacred Mother, and then all your peers stand in line and
     smear mud on your naked body to
     symbolize your union with Her. Mazel tov!
    All the blood in Cara’s face went south, settling somewhere in the vicinity of her
     socks. She’d have to stand before her new classmates in her birthday suit? And let
     them cover her
     with mud? There had to be another