Recruit number thirteen…number thirteen…thirteen…

  Sister Lucia bit the insides of her cheek until she tasted iron, repeating the words like a desperate mantra. Her compulsion to hyper-fixate on numbers buzzed in her mind. Thirteen was a sign. An omen. She should have known.

  Her hand trembled, but she was quick to shove it into the pocket of her tunic, out of sight.

  “Sister...” It was Sister Cathy's voice.

  Lucia turned to see Cathy motioning toward the newly initiated recruits assembled in front of them. “Would you care to add something to that?”

  The hall, smaller than the ceremonial one yet still too large to feel intimate, seemed to swallow the group of thirteen whole. After the ceremony ended, Cathy had ushered them quickly into the secondary hall, the one she had used to train them before the ceremony. Lucia hadn’t even realized where they were until Cathy’s voice cut through her thoughts. Her mind was barely holding together. A million questions swirled all at once.

  She felt all thirteen pairs of eyes fall on her.

  Lucia cleared her throat.

  “Right. Yes.” Her voice echoed through the wooden chamber.

  “Welcome to the Faith of Bound Word. From here on, we will prepare you for the grand joint initiation ceremony held at the end of next week. Today’s celebration was your welcome into the convent. You’ve been sanctified and received into the Sisterhood—”

  A sudden snort cut her off.

  Lucia swept her gaze across the group in a single motion. The sound had been mortifying enough to snap at her attention. Her eyes locked—inevitably—on the one she knew was behind it.

  “I’m sorry. Choked on my own saliva,” said Sister V, letting out a theatrical cough, thumping her chest for effect.

  It was the first time Lucia truly looked at her since the ceremony. The deep red tunic and veil hung on her quite clumsily, ill fitting and recklessly put together. Her olive skin was tanner than Lucia remembered. Her eyes sharper, her face skinnier and leaner from ten years ago. Everything about her was the opposite of Lucia. If Lucia was water, she was fire. If Lucia was morning dew, she was a wildfire raging through the night, destroying everything in sight.

  And yet, their eyes were the same. Like a mirror. One Lucia wished the rest of the convent wouldn’t recognize as familial.

  The recruits beside V offered polite concern, but her gaze stayed fixed on Lucia. A decade-old flicker of irritation rippled through Lucia’s chest. She straightened and resumed her speech, this time with deliberate force.

  “The Sisterhood is always honored to welcome fresh faces. But you must return that honor. This convent is your home, for as long as you choose to stay. Break the rules—and you’ll be out faster than you came in.”

  The tone was unusually harsh coming from Lucia, who was known for gentler words. Even Cathy glanced at her sideways before chuckling nervously, trying to defuse the tension.

  “Of course, no one would be violating anything right now. We’re so thrilled to welcome such a lovely group of young Sisters,” Cathy added quickly.

  Yet Lucia remained indifferent. She was seething. Her eyes stayed locked on V. But V didn’t back down either. She returned Lucia’s stare, unflinching, like prey toying with its predator.

  “Alright then!” Cathy clapped her hands with forced cheer. Another sidelong glance at Lucia. “Now is the time everyone's been waiting for, your official rooms! As a new nun, you all will be staying in the same building as your mentor nun. Please, grab your belongings and make a line in front of your mentor.”

  The recruits began shuffling toward the heap of luggage stacked against the back wall. Cathy quickly crept closer to Lucia and whispered, “Are you alright? Feeling okay?”

  Lucia startled. “Of course, I’m fine, Sister Cathy.”

  “You don’t sound fine.”

  “What do you mean?” Lucia’s voice spiked.

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  “Is—is Sister Teresa’s absence getting to you? Or—did one of the nuns complain?”

  Sister Teresa…

  Lucia had almost forgotten her concern over the missing head nun. She should have been the first to sprint out of the ceremony to find out what happened. But instead, she’d been… distracted. Her heart pounded every time her gaze slipped back to that face.

  She shook her head. “No—no one complained. And I’m afraid nobody knows what happened with Sister Teresa…yet. With Mother Superior here, I can only assume Teresa’s tied up with some official duty.”

  “Ah yes, the Mother Superior,” Cathy's nose wrinkled. “Strange woman, isn't she?”

  Sister Cathy’s comment immediately triggered the uncomfortable nerves of having to serve the rigid faced older woman who had never looked anyone in the eye. Sister Lucia was deathly afraid of the highest ranking member of the Faith alongside the High Priest. Together the pair rarely left the Central regions. Something was off this recruitment season.

  “Aren’t you getting your luggage?” Cathy’s voice interrupted again. She was looking past Lucia.

  Lucia followed her gaze. Her heart tugged seeing Sister V draw closer. She immediately turned away pretending to look at the rest of the recruits forming a line with their luggage in hand.

  “I don’t have much, Sister Cathy. Just myself, if that’s alright with you,” Sister V’s sharp voice reached Lucia, but she continued to ignore it.

  “Ha…” Sister Cathy chuckled awkwardly, “…I’m quite alright with that. Why don’t you join the line here—”

  “Apologies,” V cut in, holding up a hand, “…but I accidentally walked over to…Sister Lucia, wasn't it?”

  Lucia froze.

  She never thought her name, her chosen one, would ever get uttered by those lips.

  A beat of silence passed. Then Sister Cathy tugged on Lucia’s tunic. Lucia quickly turned, still avoiding eye contact.

  “Yes, that’s right,” she muttered.

  “Beautiful name, Sister,” V said, her voice sugary sweet, laced with sarcasm only Lucia could notice. V turned back to Cathy, “I accidentally walked over to Sister Lucia’s line during the ceremony. I apologize for the confusion.”

  “Oh, that’s nothing,” Cathy waved it off. “We should’ve done another dry run before the ceremony. That’s on me—”

  “No, I’m truly sorry I caused much trouble. But I hope my moving under Sister Lucia would help you be content with only caring for the six that’s left.”

  It wasn’t an ask. It was a subtle demand.

  Sister Lucia looked over to Cathy who was dumbstruck. All the lists, all the preparations were done to have seven recruits for Cathy and six for Lucia. And now, one of them is asking—no, had already decided to move under Lucia’s wing.

  “I—” Cathy hesitated.

  “I’m sure Sister Lucia wouldn’t mind it,” V continued. “I hear she’s been here much longer. I’m sure she’ll be able to handle the unfortunate mix up.”

  “I’m sorry,” Lucia cut in, her voice loud and rough. “The original order must be upheld. We’ve already assigned you to Sister Cathy—”

  “But Sister Cathy mentioned the recruitment ceremony indicates the official acceptance of mentees by their lifelong mentor. Surely, you don’t want to go against tradition and assign me to someone who didn’t receive me?”

  Sister V paused. The hall dead silent.

  “I—I did say that,” Cathy murmured, though Lucia held her wrist not only to stop her from admittance but also to give comfort.

  “You have already been assigned to a mentor, Sister V,” Lucia said, sharply. “I suggest you follow through. We cannot make exceptions for when a recruit makes a mistake.”

  “But—” V started again, but another voice cut through the room.

  “That should be fine, Sister Lucia."

  The crowd turned. It was Sister Claudia, Assistant Supreme head nun of the convent, Sister Teresa’s second in command. If Sister Teresa were to continue to be absent during the ceremony it would have been Sister Claudia taking over.

  She stood at the entrance for a moment before beginning her walk. Her tan skin gleamed under the candlelight as she passed the recruits and joined the assistant nuns at the front.

  “Every once in a while we make mistakes. Sister V made a forgivable one.”

  That wasn’t like Claudia. She was stricter than Teresa, known to enforce rules to the letter.

  “And technically,” Claudia continued, “Sister Lucia, you did admit the new nun during the ceremony. She's right—by tradition, that would make you her lifelong mentor.”

  Her gaze settled on V, who stood tall, smug.

  “So let me ask you directly, Sister V. Who would you like to be your mentor… for life?”

  They were supposed to be their words. Once. But now, they stood here, divided, estranged, strangers draped in identical robes. All that remained was a buried hatred. The face before her was no longer family, no longer familiar. It was a scar. A reminder of the life Lucia had clawed her way out of.

  For ten years, she had masked that past with a new name, a new life. It was working. Until now.

  Why is she here? How did she find me? Is she here to ruin everything I built?

  Lucia’s pulse pounded in her ears.

  “Who would you choose, Sister V?” Sister Claudia asked again.

  V’s lips curled into a smile, one anyone else might have mistaken as sweet. But Lucia knew better.

  “Sister Lucia,” V said clearly.

  Then, softer, just beneath her breath, for Lucia alone.

  “Forever and always.”