Poison & Wine [Eric Coulter]

23.

"Congratulations, new members of Dauntless," Max's voice called out over the chatter of the newest members of his Faction, towering over them from where he stood with the other leaders on the balcony in the mess hall and cheers erupted again. Olivia felt an arm drop over her shoulder and found herself caught in an embrace with Natalie and Tyler, all three of them having passed their trials in the top ten of their class. She beamed up at her friends, then looked back up to where Max was standing, his hand raised to quiet the crowd once again.

"Beginning now, you will be held to an even higher standard than you were in training. You have chosen a Faction of great responsibility, tasked with the defense of all inhabitants of this city. You will be pulled individually by a leader and given the options for your occupations that will be based on your rankings. Choose wisely - once assigned, you will not be transferred." Max finished, slowly stepping backwards from the railing of the balcony. Olivia's eyes watched him as he disappeared, ignoring the feelings of unease in her gut as she continued to celebrate with her friends.

"I can't believe you ranked second," Natalie beamed, embracing her friend again.

"Well there was no chance she was going to come in first with me in the way," Tyler smirked arrogantly, earning a playful punch in the shoulder from Olivia.

"Tyler Moore," a familiar voice thundered over the noise. Olivia's head snapped to her right and landed on Eric, standing in front of the exit door, his face emotionless. He scanned the room as he waited for Tyler to join him, a small smirk pulling at his lips as his eyes fell on her. Olivia couldn't help but smile as she watched Eric's eyes drift back to Tyler and he led him out of the mess hall.

The grin faded from the girl's face as she noticed a pair of eyes on her from the opposite side of the room. She glanced up and met James' gaze, her face set in a hard line as he gestured with a nod of his head for her to meet him in the corridor outside.

"Olivia Shelby," a female voice called from over the crowd, capturing the girl's attention. She looked to the door on the opposite side of the mess hall where an olive-skinned brunette stood, her eyes scanning the room. Olivia glanced back at James and shook her head before turning in the opposite direction and following the female leader out of the room.

"Congratulations," the girl said simply with little emotion, looking Olivia up and down as they continued down the corridor. She stopped in front of a metal door, punched a code in on the keypad and opened it, holding it open for Olivia, who entered and watched as the leader took a seat in the chair behind a small desk. The leader gestured for the girl to take a seat in the metal chair opposite her.

"So, you're the one they're talking about."

Olivia raised her eyebrows at the girl, beginning to feel uncomfortable under her judgmental gaze.

"Nevermind," she smirked, pulling a piece of paper out of a folder in front of her and handed it to Olivia.

"My name is Andrea. Call me Dre, I'm one of your leaders. On the sheet of paper are three options for occupations you qualify for, based on your ranking in initiation."