Pennyroyal Academy by M.A. Larson

Drillsergeant . . . I didn’t mean to—”
    â€œLooks like we can abandon the hunt for the Warrior Princess, everyone!” The Fairy Drillsergeant glared at Evie, but spoke loudly enough for the whole company to hear. “When this year ends, those of you still here will participate in a daylong challenge called the Helpless Maiden. The rules are simple. You either complete the challenge, or you’re not welcome back next year.”
    Evie stole a glance at Maggie, who gave her a sympathetic smile. But this only made her feel worse.
How much longer will she want to be friends with the company fool?
    â€œOne of every two of you will be dismissed before we even reach the Helpless Maiden.” The Fairy Drillsergeant turned, glaring at Evie with contempt. She flittered so close that Evie could hear the hum of her wings and the soft chime of sparkles. “So tell me, Cadet, how do you intend to last to the end of term when you can’t even SLEEP PROPERLY?”
    Evie’s eyes dropped to the floor and her shoulders slumped. She knew without having to look up that every cadet in the company was staring at her. In all her life, she had never felt like such a crushing failure. Perhaps it would be best for her dismissal to come now, before she embarrassed herself any further . . .
    â€œWell, come on! Move!” shouted the Fairy Drillsergeant, clapping her tiny hands. “All of you, get on with it!” The barracks sprang back to life. She turned to Evie and said in a soft voice, “Get it together, Cadet, or this will be a very short year.”
    Less than an hour later, Evie found herself knee-deep in the mud, struggling to see through the sweat pouring down her face. Alongside three others, she had been tasked with pushing a carriage without wheels up a steep, slippery hill.
    â€œPUSH, YOU MILKSOPS, PUSH!”
    Teeth grinding, Evie peered around the wooden frame. About ten feet above, the mud leveled off and became grass. The hillside behind them looked like a battlefield, the mud churned and slashed through from the progress they had already made. Their company-mates waited at the bottom, shouting encouragement.
    â€œLet’s go, ladies!” called the Fairy Drillsergeant. “I’ve only got one year to get you in shape! No time for idling!”
    Evie let out a cry as she pushed against the metal footplate so hard that her fingers went white. The undercarriage dug into her shoulder, but she knew that adjusting her position was impossible. The whole thing would fall.
    â€œHeave!” shouted a spindly girl on the other side called Cadet Nadele.
    One of them slipped and the carriage lurched downward. Evie yelped as the thick wooden frame pressed into her shoulder, but she somehow maintained position.
    â€œHold! Hold!” shouted another girl, whose name Evie couldn’t remember.
    But the slight displacement had altered the carriage’s momentum. Now the team found themselves struggling, not up the hill, but to avoid going back down. Evie’s feet plowed trenches in the mud. She centered all her weight into her toes to try to find purchase.
    â€œIt’s going!” she called. “It’s—”
    One of her legs suddenly slipped out. She dropped awkwardly, one leg pointing up the hill, the other down. Screams came from everywhere as the carriage pitched toward her. She threw her body to the side and her face plunged into the mud. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t see, either, but she could hear the frantic shouts of her company-mates. She spit sloppy grit from her mouth and pulled glops of it from her eyes. There, at the bottom of the hill, the carriage sat atop a huge curl of black mud.
    â€œBloody hell, is that really your best?”
    Evie’s three teammates pulled themselves free from the mud, and all were looking at her.
    â€œI asked you a question, Cadet!”
    â€œI’m sorry, Fairy Drillsergeant,