It was well into evening when we arrived at Amberwood. Keith and I had scoped out the school earlier, but Eddie and Jill took it in with wide eyes. Whereas Clarence’s home had seemed old-fashioned, the school was bright and modern, consisting of stucco buildings that were so typical of California and southwest architecture. Palm trees skirted along lush green lawns. In the fading light, students were still strolling, in pairs and groups, along the many walking paths that wove throughout the grounds.
We’d picked up fast food along the way, but the late hour meant Jill and I had to split from Eddie. At eighteen, with a car and “parental permission,” I had a lot of freedom to come and go, but I had to answer to curfew just like everyone else when night came. Eddie was uneasy about leaving Jill, particularly when he realized how far away from her he’d be.
Amberwood Prep’s sprawling grounds were divided into three campuses: East, West, and Central. East Campus housed the girls’ dorm while West contained the boys’. Central, the largest of the three, was where the administrative, academic, and recreational facilities were. The campuses were about a mile apart from each other and served by a shuttle bus that ran throughout the day, though walking was always an option for those who could stand the heat.
Eddie had to have known he couldn’t stay in the girls’ dorm, though I suspected that if he had his way, he would have slept at the foot of Jill’s bed like a loyal dog. Watching the two of them was kind of amazing. I’d never observed a guardian-Moroi pairing before. When I’d been with Rose and Dimitri, they’d been simply trying to keep themselves alive—plus, they were both dhampirs. Now, I was finally able to see the system in action and understood why dhampirs trained so hard. You’d have to, to remain that vigilant. Even in the most mundane moments, Eddie always watched our surroundings. Nothing escaped his notice.
“How good is the security system here?” he demanded when we stepped inside the girls’ dorm. He’d insisted on seeing it before going to his own. The lobby was quiet at this hour, and only a couple of students wandered through with boxes and suitcases as they finished last-minute move-ins. They gave us curious looks as they passed, and I had to quell the knot of anxiety rising in me. Considering everything else going on for me, high school social life shouldn’t scare me—but it did. The Alchemists didn’t cover that in their lessons.
“Security’s good enough,” I said, keeping my voice low as I turned back to Eddie. “They aren’t worried about vampire assassins, but they certainly want their students safe. I know there are security guards that patrol the grounds at night.”
Eddie eyed the dorm matron, a stout, gray-haired woman who supervised the lobby from her desk. “Do you think she has any kind of combat training? Do you think she could subdue an intruder?”
“I bet she could wrestle down a guy sneaking into a girl’s room,” joked Jill. She rested a hand on his arm, making him jump. “Relax. This place is safe.”
In some ways, Eddie’s concern was comforting and made me feel secure. At the same time, I couldn’t help but think again about why he was so watchful. He’d been there for the attack that no one would tell me about. He knew the threats because he’d seen them firsthand. If he was this on edge, even now, then how much danger were we still in? The Alchemists had led me to believe that once we were hidden here at Amberwood, all would be well and it would just become a waiting game. I’d had that very conversation with Rose and tried to convince her of the same. Eddie’s attitude was concerning.
The dorm room I shared with Jill was small by my standards. I’d always had my own room growing up and never had to worry about sharing space or closets. During my time in St. Petersburg, I’d even had my own apartment. Still, our one window had a sweeping view of the dorm’s back courtyard. Everything inside the room was airy and bright, with maple-finished furniture that looked new: beds, desks, and dressers. I had no experience with dorm rooms—but I could only assume by Jill’s reaction that we’d gotten a good one. She swore that the room was larger than the one she’d had at her Moroi school, St. Vladimir’s Academy, and was quite happy.
I half-wondered if she thought our room was big simply because we had so little to put in it. Neither of us had been able to do much packing with such swift departures. The furniture gave everything a warm, golden feel, but without personal decorations or other touches, the room could’ve come straight from a catalog. The dorm matron, Mrs. Weathers, had been astonished when she saw us and our minimal luggage. The girls I’d observed moving in earlier had arrived with cars packed to bursting. I hoped we didn’t look suspicious.
Jill paused to stare out the window as we got ready for bed. “It’s so dry here,” she murmured, more to herself than me. “They keep the lawn green, but it’s so strange not to feel the moisture in the air.” She glanced over at me sheepishly. “I’m a water user.”
“I know,” I said, not sure what else to add. She was referring to the magical abilities all Moroi possessed. Each Moroi specialized in one of the elements, either the physical four—earth, air, water, and fire—or the more intangible and psychic element of spirit. Hardly anyone wielded that last one, though I’d heard Adrian was one of the few. If Jill couldn’t access her magic easily, I wasn’t going to be disappointed. Magic was one of those things, like the blood drinking, that served as a slap-in-the-face reminder that these people I was laughing and eating with were not human.
If I wasn’t still exhausted from the drive with Keith, I probably would’ve lain awake agonizing over the fact that I was sleeping close to a vampire. When I’d first met Rose, I hadn’t even been able to stay in the same room with her. Our hectic escape together had changed that a little, and by the end, I’d been able to let my guard down. Now, some of that old fear came back in the darkness. Vampire, vampire. Sternly, I told myself it was just Jill. I had nothing to worry about. Eventually, fatigue triumphed fear, and I slept.
When morning came, I couldn’t help looking in the mirror to make sure I had no bite marks or other sign of vampire harm. When I’d finished, I immediately felt foolish. With the difficulty Jill was currently having waking up, it made no sense to imagine her sneaking up on me in the night. As it was, I had a hard time getting her out the door in time for orientation. She was groggy, with bloodshot eyes, and kept complaining about a headache. I guessed I didn’t have to worry about nighttime attacks from my roommate.
Nonetheless, she managed to get up and around. We left our dorm and found Eddie, gathering with other new students near a fountain on Central Campus. Most of the crowd appeared to be freshmen like Jill. Only a few were the same age as me and Eddie, and I was surprised to see him easily chatting with those around him. With how vigilant he’d been the day before, I would’ve expected him to be more on guard, less capable of normal social interaction—but he fit right in. As we walked up, however, I caught him glance around stealthily at his surroundings. He might be playing a student, like me—but he was still a dhampir.
He was just telling us about how he hadn’t met his roommate yet when a smiling guy with bright blue eyes and reddish hair strode up to them.
“Hey there,” he said. Up close, I could see a smattering of freckles. “Are you Eddie Melrose?”
“Yes, I’m—” Eddie had spun around with that guardian efficiency, ready to take on this potential threat. When he saw the newcomer, Eddie went perfectly still. His eyes widened slightly, and whatever he’d been about to say faded away.
“I’m Micah Vallence. I’m your roommate—also your orientation leader.” He nodded toward the other mingling students and grinned. “But I wanted to come say hi first since I just got here this morning. My mom pushed our vacation to the limits.”
Eddie was still staring at Micah as though he’d seen a ghost. I studied Micah too, wondering what I was missing. He seemed normal to me. Whatever was going on, Jill was also out of the loop because she was regarding Micah with a perfectly ordinary expression too, no alarm or surprise.
“Nice to meet you,” said Eddie at
last. “These are my, uh, sisters—Jill and Sydney.”
Micah smiled at each of us in turn. He had a manner about him that made me feel easy, and I could see why he’d been drafted as an orientation leader. I wondered why Eddie was reacting so strangely.
“What grades are you in?” he asked us.
“Senior,” I said. Remembering the cover story, I added, “Eddie and I are twins.”
“I’m a freshman,” said Jill.
Looking over our “family,” I noticed that Eddie and I could probably pass for siblings pretty easily. Our coloring was similar, and of course, there was the fact that we both looked human. While a human wouldn’t necessarily look at Jill and say “vampire!” she still possessed certain features that marked her as unusual. Her build and paleness were definite contrasts to me and Eddie.
If Micah noticed the lack of family resemblance, he didn’t let on. “Nervous about starting high school?” he asked Jill.
She shook her head and smiled back. “I’m ready for the challenge.”
“Well, if you need anything, let me know,” he said. “For now, I’ve gotta get this party started. Talk to you guys later.”
From the way his attention focused solely on her, it was obvious that the “if you need anything” was directed at Jill, and her blush showed that she knew too. She smiled, holding his gaze a moment, and then looked away shyly. I would’ve found it cute, if not for the alarming prospect it presented. Jill was in a school full of humans. It was absolutely out of the question for her to date one, and guys like Micah couldn’t be encouraged. Eddie didn’t appear to care about the comment, but it seemed to be more because he was still troubled about Micah in general.
Micah called our group to attention and began the orientation. The first part of it was simply a tour of the grounds. We followed him around, in and out of air conditioning, as he showed us the important buildings. He explained the shuttle system, and we rode it up to West Campus, which was almost a mirror of East. Boys and girls were allowed in each other’s dorms, with limitations, and he explained those rules as well, which caused some grumbling. Recalling the formidable Mrs. Weathers, I felt sorry for any boy that tried to break her dorm rules.
Both dorms had their own cafeterias, where any student was welcome to eat, and our orientation group had lunch while we were still on West Campus. Micah joined my “siblings” and me, going out of his way to talk to each of us. Eddie responded politely, nodding and asking questions, but his eyes still looked vaguely haunted. Jill was shy at first, but once Micah starting joking around with her, she eventually warmed up to him.
How funny, I thought, that it was easier for Eddie and Jill to adapt to this situation than it was for me. They were in a strange environment, with a different race, but were still among familiar things, like cafeterias and lockers. They slipped right into the roles and procedures with no difficulty. Meanwhile, despite having traveled and lived all over the world, I felt out of place in what was for everyone else an ordinary setting.
Regardless, it didn’t take me long to figure out how the school ran. Alchemists were trained to observe and adapt, and even though school was foreign to me, I quickly picked up on the routine. I wasn’t afraid to talk to people either—I was used to striking up conversations with strangers and explaining my way out of situations. One thing, however, I knew I would have to work on.
“I heard her family might be moving to Anchorage.” We were at orientation lunch, and a couple of freshmen girls sitting near me were discussing a friend of theirs who hadn’t shown up today.
The other girl’s eyes widened. “Seriously? I would die if I had to move there.”
“I don’t know,” I mused, moving my food around my plate. “With all the sun and UV rays here, it seems like Anchorage might actually provide a longer life span. You don’t need as much sunblock, so it’s a more economical choice as well.”
I’d thought my comment was helpful, but when I looked up, I was met with gaping stares. It was obvious from the looks the girls were giving me that I probably couldn’t have picked a weirder comment.
“I guess I shouldn’t say everything that comes to mind,” I murmured to Eddie. I was used to being direct in social situations, but it occurred to me that simply saying “Yeah, totally!” would’ve probably been the correct response. I’d had few friends my own age and was out of practice.
Eddie grinned at me. “I don’t know, sis. You’re pretty entertaining as you are. Keep it up.”
After lunch, our group returned to Central Campus, where we parted ways to meet with academic advisors and plan our class schedules. When I sat down with my advisor, a cheery young woman named Molly, I wasn’t surprised to see that the Alchemists had sent along academic records from a fictitious school in South Dakota. They were even fairly consistent with what I had studied in my homeschooling.
“Your grades and tests have placed you in our most advanced math and English classes,” Molly said. “If you do well in them, you can receive college credit.” Too bad there’s no chance I’ll get to go to college, I thought with a sigh. She flipped through a few pages in my file. “Now, I don’t see any records of foreign language here. It’s an Amberwood requirement that everyone learn at least one language.”
Oops. The Alchemists had messed up there in faking my records. I’d actually studied a number of languages. My father had made sure I had lessons from an early age, since an Alchemist never knew where he or she might end up. Scanning Amberwood’s list of offered languages, I hesitated and wondered if I should lie. Then I decided I really didn’t want to sit through conjugations and tenses I’d already learned.
“I already know all of these,” I told Molly.
Molly regarded me skeptically. “All of these? There are five languages here.”
I nodded and added helpfully, “But I only studied Japanese for two years. So I suppose I could learn more.”
Molly still didn’t seem to buy this. “Would you be willing to take proficiency tests?”
And so, I ended up spending the rest of my afternoon laboring over foreign languages. It wasn’t how I wanted to spend my day, but I supposed it would pay off later—the tests were a breeze.
When I finally finished all five languages three hours later, Molly hurried me out to get fitted for my uniform. Most of the other new students had long gone through already, and she was concerned that I might have already missed the woman doing the fittings. I moved as fast as I could without running down the halls and nearly bumped into two girls rounding a corner.
“Oh!” I exclaimed, feeling like an idiot. “I’m sorry—I’m late for my fitting—”
One of them laughed good-naturedly. She was dark-skinned with an athletic build and wavy black hair. “Don’t worry about it,” she said. “We just walked past the room. She’s still there.”
The other girl had blond hair a shade lighter than mine that she wore in a high ponytail. Both of them had the easy assurance of those who knew their way around this world. These weren’t new students.
“Mrs. Delaney always takes longer than she thinks she will with the fittings,” the blond girl said knowingly. “Every year, it’s—” Her jaw dropped, her words freezing up for a few moments. “Where . . . where did you get that?”
I had no clue what she meant, but the other girl soon noticed and leaned closer to me. “That’s amazing! Is that what they’re doing this year?”
“Your tattoo,” explained the blonde. I must have still looked clueless. “Where’d you get it?”
“Oh. That.” My fingers absentmindedly touched my cheek. “In, um, South Dakota. Where I’m from.”
Both girls looked disappointed. “I guess that’s why I’ve never seen it,” said the dark-haired girl. “I thought Nevermore was doing something new.”
“Nevermore?” I asked.
The girls exchanged silent glances, and some message passed between them. “You’re new, right? What’s your name?” asked the blond girl. “I’m Julia. This is Kristin
.”
“Sydney,” I said, still mystified.
Julia was smiling again. “Have lunch with us at East tomorrow, okay? We’ll explain everything.”
“Everything about what?” I asked.
“It’s a long story. Just get to Delaney for now,” added Kristin, starting to move away. “She’ll stay late, but not forever.”
When they were gone, I continued on my way—much more slowly—wondering what that had been about. Had I just made friends? I really wasn’t sure how one went about it in a school like this, but that whole exchange had seemed pretty weird.
Mrs. Delaney was just packing up when I arrived. “What size do you wear, dear?” she asked, catching sight of me in the doorway.
“Two.”
A number of articles were produced: skirts, pants, blouses, and sweaters. I doubted the sweaters would see much wear, unless a freak apocalyptic blizzard hit Palm Springs. Amberwood wasn’t particularly fussy about which ensemble students wore, as long as it came from the approved pool of fashion. The colors were burgundy, dark gray, and white, which I actually thought looked kind of nice together.
Watching me button a white blouse, Mrs. Delaney tsked, “I think you need a size four.”
I froze mid-button. “I wear a two.”
“Oh, yes, you can fit into them, but look at the arms and the skirt length. I think you’ll be more comfortable in a four. Try these.” She handed over a new stack and then laughed. “Don’t look so mortified, girl! A four’s nothing. You’re still a twig.” She patted her ample stomach. “We could fit three of you into my clothes!”
Despite my many protests, I was still sent away with the size-four clothing. I rode back to my dorm, dejected, and found Jill lying on her bed and reading. She sat up at my arrival.
“Hey, I wondered what had happened to you.”
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