Free The Fear Trials by Lindsay Cummings Page A

A body floated past us. Koi didn’t see it until the tangled mess of hair got caught in his oars.
    Koi turned the boat around before my scream drew too much attention.
    My father bars the door behind us, and pulls the curtains closed. I settle down on the mattress beside Koi. He is humming softly to our little sister Peri.
    â€œIt’ll be fine, Peri,” I say. “We’ll keep you safe.” I press her teddy bear into her arms. It is mangled, missing an arm and an eye, but Peri loves it.
    â€œI want Mommy.”
    â€œI know you want Mommy, but she’s busy.” I smile at Peri. “She’s working on the Initiative boats tonight.”
    â€œShe’ll be back soon,” Koi adds.
    We exchange a glance with each other. We never know if she’ll be back.
    My father settles down across from us and pulls Peri into his arms. He rocks her gently. I don’t remember him ever doing this for me. “Go to sleep, little one,” he says. “Mommy will be here in the morning.”
    Soon Peri falls asleep, but it is not peaceful. She whimpers and tosses when my father gently puts her on a mattress.
    My father lights a single candle and opens our bag of rations. We have one loaf of bread and a bundle of dried meat to last us the next two days. When my mother comes home, she’ll bring more.
    If she comes home.
    â€œYou lost again, huh, sis?” Koi breaks the silence. I can see only his outline. Lean, but muscular from years of training with my father. His shoulders shake with laughter.
    â€œWhat’s the point in fighting him, day after day?” I ask. “It’s not like he’s actually trying to murder me.”
    â€œBut others will, someday,” Koi says.
    Another bite of bread. Another bite closer to it being gone. I set it aside, save what little is left for Peri to have when she wakes up tonight, crying with hunger.
    â€œWhen do you leave tomorrow?” I ask. Koi has his placement test in the city. A chance at a job, which means more rations, more food for all of us. Especially Peri, who gets thinner every day, when she should be growing taller and stronger.
    â€œFirst light,” Koi says. He looks exhausted. He has been tossing in his sleep all week.
    â€œWill you pass?” I ask. I try to keep the fear from my voice. But I know he hears it. He always notices everything about me.
    â€œI’ve trained him plenty,” my father says. “He’s ready.”
    â€œAnd if I’m not?” Koi’s voice is a whisper.
    My father sighs. “Then we’ll just have to work harder to survive.”
    He is right. The Initiative grants us rations enough for two, and only the Wards are offered free meals. Families must work for it. There are five of us. If Koi fails, we will be forced to wait until I am of age, or steal and barter to survive. Two years is a long time to be hungry.

Chapter 3
    I lie awake all night. Sometime in the early morning hours, my mother arrives.
    She knocks three times on the door. I open it, hug her, and breathe in the scent of lilies.
    She always makes everything better. But tonight, her eyes are wild. Her silver hair is disheveled. I don’t think she’s slept in days.
    â€œDo you want to watch the stars with me?” she asks. “I don’t want to be alone.”
    â€œYou should go to sleep,” I say.
    She smiles, but it does not reach her eyes. “Not now. I don’t want to dream tonight.”
    I look over my shoulder, where my father lies asleep, his dagger next to him. “It isn’t safe,” I whisper.
    â€œWe need to embrace the darkness, darling,” my mother says. “It’s beautiful.” She takes my hand and pulls me out on deck.
    We lie side by side and stare up at the sky.
    â€œThat’s Orion’s belt,” my mother says. She points up at a constellation. Three dots in a row, in a perfect line. “It looks the same as it did when I was