Chapter Eight #2
They forget their hands are just as much of a weapon.
Was Creed right, do I have dormant powers that the island has suppressed?
The thought makes me feel like a sheep. I allowed Creed to ship me here with the others with the promise of…what, exactly?
Knowledge I won’t even need once I go back home?
Powers I may or may not have that will just disappear all over again once I step foot off the island?
Damn, girl. You really are a fucking fool, so easily played.
I don’t belong here.
I belong on that island where no one can toy with me. Where no one can manipulate me to want. Or worse.
Hope.
There is no point in either.
I need to be careful here.
I need to remember that my life is one I’ll live on my own.
I need to remember to have nothing is to lose nothing.
I glare at my supposed new roommate, who’s clearly familiar with this place.
My eyes fall to the edge of her clothing chamber, where something revolting spins in small circles, a light purple glow swirling around it.
The crisp white blouse is embroidered with tiny silver runes down the sleeves; and the pleated skirt of black and gold looks like it’ll tear in three seconds flat.
“Yours is in there.” She points to another tall chamber, my name sparking through the center like flames every few moments.
“My what?”
She rolls her eyes, hands still half-buried under her pillow. “That’s the school uniform. You’ll need it to enter your classes.”
I nearly laugh. “I nearly gutted your king in a throne room two hours ago, and now I’m in a pastel coffin getting fitted for—what? Math?”
She sighs and pushes to her feet, tucking her hair behind one ear as she turns to her own uniform. “If you don’t show up, they’ll banish you to the mines and replace you with someone who actually wants to learn.”
Mines. Heh. Cute.
Also, I’m pretty sure that’s not true. I heard what the angry older brother said. Everyone has to come here.
So that means this girl is a liar.
And liars need to die.
I go to push toward her when I spot a black notebook on the edge of the bed. It’s carved from some kind of oak, and a sharp opal crystal protrudes from its center.
It stinks of witchery.
“That is your Pathway Codex,” Elana explains as she buttons her top. “It leads you where you’re required and will be your best friend while you’re here. Everything you need will be in there.”
“I don’t like being told what to do and when to do it.” I yank the crystal out and fling it at the glass wall. It clatters uselessly against the runes etched into the stone. In a blink, it’s back inside the front of the book. I glare at the stupid Pathway Codex. “Maybe I’ll burn it.”
“You could try and even if you figure out how, I wouldn’t.” My eyes narrow on the girl and she pushes into a sitting position. “It’s the only way out of the dorm.”
I scan the space again. Of course. No doors.
Magical books. School uniforms. Rules. Bossy brothers.
The thought of them makes me think of him and my breath hitches. I roll my ankle to see if I can still feel that dead girl’s shirt I stuffed inside my boot before Creed tricked me into a chat. I can’t bring myself to toss it, but it’s not because it has his scent on it.
I just like it. End of fucking story.
Pursing my lips, I study the blouse and skirt again—gold and black for the Stygian bloodlines, I bet.
I tear both into strips, one for a makeshift bandolier to hold my knife. The other for a gag if some “professor” won’t shut up.
Elena sighs. “Or…you could look like a half normal gifted, put on the extra uniform in your wardrobe and try to make a friend.”
I pause. A friend?
She must be Argent-born. Gross.
Doesn’t she know friends can leave—and then what?
Daft gifted girl.
I stare at her as the last harbinger of compromise. She looks back, unflinching, but there is an unmistakable hint of uncertainty in her eyes. Like she knows I’ll bite if pushed.
Or if I get bored.
Maybe she’s smarter than I thought.
Fine.
Maybe a-not-friend but person whose name I know can help me get back home before all hell breaks loose. And it will, but it’s like the royals don’t care. Odd, considering the island is a place no one is allowed to leave, but whatever.
Throwing the doors open to reveal the extra uniform, I actually try it on. I roll the skirt around my hips once, twice—still disgusting, but at least it’s functional now and won’t restrict my legs if I have to crouch or spring.
The top is a no for me. But the black jacket hanging behind it isn’t so bad. I cut the bottom off just below my tits.
I smile at myself and turn to Elena.
She grimaces but nods. “I mean…better?”
I roll my shoulders, feeling the ghost of King Legend’s claim tug at my bones.
Almost.
“Ready?” she asks.
At my nod, she snaps her fingers, and the wall dissolves in a pulse of magic revealing two portals.
I look to Elena. “Now what?”
She frowns and steps up to the one across from her. “Did you pay attention to nothing back home?”
My grin stretches slow, and her expression grows wearier by the second. “Do you not realize where I’m from?”
Her frown deepens and a legit giggle bubbles up my throat. “Okay, if you didn’t pick up on it at that little announcement show, that’s your bad. You’re the one who has to sleep in the same room as me…” I cluck my tongue. “Maybe this is going to be a little more fun than I thought.”
“What does that mean?” she whispers.
My smile grows and I spin around, putting my arms out. “See you later, roomie.”
I fall into the portal, head-fucking-first.