by Jaymin Eve
As we stepped up to the path, I stared at the school. The parking lot might be exactly like the movies, but the building itself was nothing like I expected. No boxy brick building, it was all steel and glass, with a bulbous center and sleek lines along each side … like arterials leading off the main hub.
This had Daelighter technology written all over it. “This school is the territory of your people, right?” I lifted my head, so my murmur could only be heard by Daniel.
He nodded, leading me up onto the path and past a center statue of four imposing men. “When we first crossed from Overworld, we ended up in Astoria. This town has been our center point ever since. Its close proximity to home and the transporter is useful for those of us having to making the trip across frequently. The school, Starslight Prep, was put here for the families who decided to raise their children on Earth. They needed a safe education institute, a place they could control.”
I still couldn’t believe these aliens had been here with humans for well over a hundred years. It made me wonder how many other beings might be here on Earth, too, blending in, biding their time. The Daelighters were, for the most part, peaceful, but knowing they controlled a lot of the global money … it was scary to think of … that power. If they ever turned on humans, we wouldn’t stand a chance. I guess that’s exactly what Laous had done, and one rogue Daelighter could do a lot of damage apparently.
Inside the main building I was getting an airport, space station vibe. Lots of metal, moving sidewalks, high windows, and security. I noted all of the cameras, because that was something I was trained to do. Always figure out who was watching. More training from my mom.
Thinking about my life with her brought up the long-suppressed feelings of hurt, but knowing she was out there right now possibly being tortured … or worse … dead, was too much on top of everything else. My breath sucked in and out harshly as mild panic took me over.
“What is it?” Daniel asked, gently gripping my biceps as he pulled me closer and away from the gawking crowds.
Yeah, I noticed all of the students staring at us. The hall was full of open mouths and wide eyes. Most of them were looking at Daniel and then me, wondering who this strange girl with him was.
“Callie!” There was more urgency in his tone and I snapped my attention back to him.
My voice was monotonous, only a twinge of my upset showing. “My mom is being held prisoner somewhere, or dead … who knows … and I’m just here going to school, acting like life is normal…”
Some of the tension eased out of his broad shoulders; his expression softened, thick lashes partially obscuring his eyes as he took a deep breath. It looked like he was trying to get himself under control, and I realized that I’d really scared him. Probably should have been more circumspect in my random freaking out when there was a psycho on the loose.
“The council assured me that they’re doing everything they can to find Laous.” He didn’t remove his hands. “Until we have some leads, there’s no way to track your mom down. But the second we know something…”
My return whisper was laced with sorrow. “He has no more need for her, right? He got what he wanted from me. She was only leverage for that. We’re kidding ourselves to think that she’s still alive.”
He released me, and then in the same instant wrapped his arms around me. The gasps that filled the entrance to the school were loud. Whispers started after that. Who’s the new chick? Another one stealing a founding son.
Founding son? Really? Were they referring to the fact that the four houses founded the school? Was that actually a thing here?
“I don’t know if your mom is still alive, Callie,” Daniel said close to my ear, his body so warm and firm against mine. “But we won’t stop searching until we figure out what happened to her.”
I heard his assurance, but was distracted because … I was being hugged by Daniel. Again. This time it was unlike any hug I’d ever had. He was wrapping me up tightly, holding all of my broken pieces together. My eyes burned as I pressed my face into his soft shirt. I never wanted to leave his strong arms. I wanted to stay there, warm and safe and hidden from the world.
And not alone.
That’s all I ever wanted from life. To not be alone.
Eventually, I had to pull away. The whispers were out of control, it kind of felt like everyone was standing in a circle around us. They dispersed as soon as Daniel narrowed his eyes on the groups nearby, and then he nudged me forward, toward a double set of sliding doors.
“We’ll talk more about it later,” he said. “For now, let’s get you enrolled.”
My heart was still racing like crazy, so I worked to control my breathing as we entered the office.
“Daniel Imperial, how are you doing, sweetheart?”
That overly chirpy voice belonged to a blond woman. She was impeccably styled, not a hair out of place in her tight chignon. She had a lot of makeup on, which didn’t disguise the fact that she was in her forties. Forty but trying to look twenty was exactly how I’d describe her.
Her heavily made-up eyes were locked on Daniel, and I was pretty sure she’d just licked her lips. Seriously … she could be his mother. Or probably not, since in human years Daniel was older than her, but she didn’t know that, so my point remained. Crossing my arms over my chest, I leveled my very best resting-bitch-face on her.
Daniel either didn’t notice or didn’t care. And he was far too polite. “Good morning, I have a new student to enroll today, Callie Channing. All of the paperwork should have been sent through last night.”
Blondie made a disparaging noise, her watery blue eyes locking on me. “Callie, is it?”
Before I could nod, or flip her off, which is what I wanted to do, she dropped her eyes to the computer in front of her and started to type. It seemed to take her an extraordinarily long amount of time to find my file, but eventually she figured it out and set me up in the system.
While she explained my class schedule, she continued to stare at Daniel.
Eventually I had to clear my throat. Loudly.
“I’m sorry?” she said, blinking and finally turning in my direction.
“You’re talking to me, right?” I was all fake politeness. If I’d been Southern, I’d have said “bless your heart” to her multiple times already. “Daniel already knows his classes, so there’s no need to tell him.”
She blinked a few more exaggerated times, and if her forehead could move, it would have been wrinkled in shock. “I’m sorry…” she spluttered out once more.
I took a step closer, leaning over the bench so that our faces were only a few inches apart. But before I could give her a piece of my mind – subtle just wasn’t me – Daniel wrapped one arm around my waist, picked me up, and dropped me behind him. He then grabbed up the paperwork the cougar had been waving around before directing me out of the office.
Laughing eyes met mine, and I was relieved that he didn’t look too upset. “Come on,” he said with a smirk. “Let’s get your uniform.”
My annoyance dissipated quickly, and I hurried after him. The uniform turned out to be some sort of torture device with skirts and tights and a fitted shirt. They even made me remove my Converse for these shiny, slippery, uncomfortable shoes.
Just as I was stepping out of the seamstress’ room, a familiar face skidded around the corner.
“Callie!” Emma shrieked. “You made it.”
She hugged me, and this time it almost felt natural. I even returned her gesture without having to think too much about it. Before I could offer a greeting or anything, she had my arm and was already turning to Daniel. “We’ll be back in a minute. Watch our stuff, okay?”
She started to drag me, and before I knew it, we were in a nearby bathroom.
9
This room looked exactly like the movies, starkly white, tiled, with a row of stalls and a row of sinks. Emma flashed me a huge grin and I chuckled at how mischievous her expression was. She then turned to stare at the close
d door. “Three … two … one…”
Bang, bang, bang.
“Emma, get your scrawny butt out here. Callie needs to get to class.” Daniel sounded annoyed but not angry.
“Give us a minute, this is girl stuff, Dan,” Emma shouted back, rolling her eyes at me. “These Daelighter dudes are so predictable. I hoped that this was the one place I might get a second alone with you. But even being a girl’s bathroom, it won’t keep them out for long.”
The door swung open then and I almost expected Daniel to stroll right in, but it wasn’t him. A stunning, dark-haired girl stood in the doorway. She looked somewhat familiar to me, but I couldn’t figure out where I knew her from. Anyone that beautiful was going to stick in my mind, but … I really couldn’t remember where I’d seen her before. Maybe she was from a television show or something.
“Star!” Emma waved her over. “Come and meet Callie. She’s the second secret…” She trailed off then, clearly realizing we weren’t exactly in a private place.
From what I could see, all the stalls were empty. “I think we have the room to ourselves,” I said.
Star quickly checked and said, “Yep, all clear.” She then stepped over to me, the sweetest smile on her face. “It’s so nice to meet you, Callie. I’m Star Darken, Lexen’s sister.”
Ah, well, that explained the supermodel good looks and familiarity. Now that she’d mentioned her family, I could see she had the same shaped eyes and nose as her broody brother. But she was definitely not of the broody variety. If anything, she seemed unnaturally nice and friendly.
Emma quickly pulled me toward the sinks. “We need to hurry. As I said, our guys aren’t going to leave us alone for long. Until Laous is caught, we’re under strict guard.” She really didn’t sound too upset by that. “But I figured you wouldn’t have any makeup or the essentials, being stuck in Imperial with Daniel, so Star and I brought you some supplies.”
For a moment I wondered if I’d heard right. Star pulled a small purple bag out of her expensive leather satchel and handed it to me. It was a half-moon shape, with a zipper right across the top. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I opened it. Whoa. They had packed in a veritable beauty shop, enough makeup and supplies to last me months. Or years. I had very little experience with beauty products, except when I’d managed to steal some of my mom’s.
Blinking rapidly, I stared down at the bag longer than was really necessary in an attempt to get my emotions under control. Finally, I was able to say without my voice breaking: “Thank you, this was really thoughtful of you both.”
“You really don’t need much makeup,” Star said, and my head shot up to find her examining me closely.
It was clear that she was very into this sort of thing. Her eyes were lined, sparkly shadow above her gorgeous blue irises. She wore the uniform, but it was all fancied up, with a scarf, and pins, and a ton of other adjustments.
“But every girl likes a little battle armor, right?” she said.
Emma grimaced. “I don’t wear much either, but ever since Lexen and I started hanging out in school, it’s been nasty-bitch central around here. So now I always put mascara and eyeliner on. Stupidly enough, they make me feel more confident.” She met my gaze and said, “They will try and undermine your confidence. Don’t let them get in your head.”
Looking between the two of them, my heart felt like it was about to literally burst from my chest. This feeling … the warmth and kindness and caring, I wasn’t sure I knew how to process it.
“I’m pretty good with keeping my fight-face on,” I replied huskily. “But thanks for the warning. If you two get into any trouble, let me know. I’ve got your back.”
My tiny, secluded world was suddenly filled with so many people. I was going to have to work triple time to make sure they were all safe. They both beamed smiles at me, and I wondered if maybe I could actually do this friend thing. Like … it seemed easy enough – be nice, care about them, and don’t treat them the way my mom treated me. Simple rules worked best for me. I didn’t like to complicate life with too much else.
I wasn’t an idiot. I knew we all had human feelings … except for Star, but from what I’d seen, Daelighter emotions worked similarly. Emotions did confuse things, but if I stuck to my core three rules, then everything should be okay.
The bell rang then, and I wondered how we’d managed to keep this bathroom to ourselves for so long. Quickly rifling through the makeup bag, I pulled out mascara and eyeliner, as well as a pale pink lip gloss and some pressed powder.
“My mom loved makeup,” I said, placing those items on the sink. “I have never owned my own, but I would sneak hers on occasion. Most of my attempts resembled a clown face.”
“Do you need some help?” Star asked.
Gripping the sink with my free hand, I nodded jerkily. “Yes, thank you.”
In an instant my face was being held in one of her hands, the eyeliner in the other. I just closed my eyes and let her do her thing; it really didn’t matter what I looked like. No one here cared. In what felt like thirty seconds, she was done.
“Perfect,” Emma exclaimed, clapping her hands.
Turning to the mirror, I tilted my head to the side and assessed the face staring back. “I have eyelash envy,” Emma admitted, fluttering her own dark lashes at me.
My lashes did look insanely long and thick with the mascara. The gray of my eyes was stormy against the thin line of kohl, and my lips were all shiny. Whatever blemishes my skin might have had were gone now, covered in a thin sheen of powder. It was all subtle enough that it wasn’t even obvious I wore makeup; I just looked more polished.
It made me feel … not like me, but I understood this battle armor thing, so I would just suck it up and enjoy the pampering.
“Is it okay?” Star sounded unsure, her gaze flicking to Emma for a moment. I wondered then if maybe she was really new to this whole friend thing too.
“It’s perfect,” I said, placing my hand on hers. “Thank you so much.”
Emma straightened, helping me throw all of my makeup back in the bag, which she then stashed in her backpack.
”I’ll give it to you later to take home,” she said, before turning to leave the room. “Come on,” she called, “I can feel Lexen pacing outside.” There was laughter in her voice; she clearly knew her guy well.
When she pulled the door open, we were met with a wall of muscles. Literally. Two broad backs covered the doorway and I now understood how we’d managed to hog the entire bathroom. Lexen and Daniel had stood guard, stopping anyone from entering.
Looking at the pair of them – tougher and more menacing than any human men I’d ever seen – I doubted they’d had much trouble from the locals. They used pure intimidation to get what they wanted, no need for words.
As we stepped out, Lexen only had eyes for Emma. She smiled cheekily at him. “Thanks, babe. Appreciate the assist.”
He shook his head. “One game of basketball and suddenly you’re a sports expert.”
Emma huffed. “One game where I didn’t fall down or injure myself. Pretty sure that makes me an expert. In anyone’s definition.”
She threw me an annoyed look. “I’m completely athletically challenged. Lexen keeps making me run, and throw stupid things—”
“Like a ball,” he interrupted drily.
She snorted. “Right, like his balls.”
Star let out a groan, and everyone else just shook their heads. Me, on the other hand, I was loving it. They were couple goals. The realization that I wanted what they had hit me hard. I’d never thought that love and family and children were in my future. I expected my life would be empty, but I’d always held out a secret hope for more. That’s the reason I stopped the casual sex. I was tired of being empty.
My cup runneth over. I prayed then, harder than I ever had before, that I would never go back to my old life. That if … when … we found my mom safe and sound, she would be happy to let me go. Both of us free, finally.
My eye
s shifted to Daniel before I could stop them. He was staring at me in a way that made it difficult for me to breathe. I wondered what he thought about my makeup. I hoped he didn’t think I’d “prettied myself up” for him. If I ever found myself in a position like Lexen and Emma, I would want to be loved for my natural self. With all of my flaws. I mean, he could love me in makeup, too, but the natural thing was non-negotiable. It would be way too tiring to try to look perfect every single day.
So the makeup was not for Daniel, it was for me. Because Star was right, sometimes a girl just needed some battle armor.
“Looks like Star got to you.” He sounded amused.
I shrugged. “Apparently school is akin to a warzone. You have to go in with your camo on or you’ll be shot dead instantly.”
He just shook his head. “You looked just as beautiful before you walked into the bathroom.”
My brain stopped working when he called me beautiful, so if he said anything else it was just a jumble. The bell rang again, startling me. I quickly brushed down my uniform and tried to mentally prepare. It was time for class.
“Come on, you’re in math with me and Lexen this morning,” Emma said, reaching out to link our arms together. “These guys don’t use books or anything. They’re already old and smart enough. But you can share mine, because there’s no time for you to stop by your locker.”
I tilted my head toward Daniel. “Do I have a locker?”
“Yeah,” he nodded. “But you can just use mine. It’s easier to access and there’s nothing in there anyway.”
I narrowed my eyes on him. “Bitch face in the office put me in the furthest locker she could find, didn’t she?”
Emma snorted. “Blond and mean, right? Bitch face is the perfect description.”
I turned to see her grimacing expression. “Oh yeah, cougar-bitch. She appears to have a thing for Dae—”
Star cut me off with a squeak when she tripped, which was probably a good thing. I’d almost – stupidly – said Daelighters out loud. Lexen moved super-fast, catching his sister before she hit the ground. There was a scuffle behind, and when I spun around I found Daniel holding another guy up against the wall, his forearm lodged in the stranger’s throat.