Ember Academy
"All I would ask in return is loyalty. When it matters. And it will matter, Sera, sooner than you think."
"Loyalty to what, exactly."
"To the house that decided to protect you, instead of merely study you." Cassia leaned in slightly, and her voice dropped, gentler now, almost kind, and that was somehow the worst part of all of it, how easy the kindness sounded, how practiced. "You're new here. You don't yet understand how this academy actually works. The masters teach the lessons. But the noble houses decide who survives them." Her eyes held Sera's, steady, patient. "I would very much like you to survive, Sera. I'd like that a great deal."