“Ari Clark.” My head whips up and I gasp. Because – That’s – That’s my name – I mean, it’s not my name, but – A hysterical little laugh bursts from me as I stumble forward. I can feel eyes on me as a small, half-hearted cheer goes up – nothing like the cheering at the beginning, but most
I gape a little as we walk down the long, dark tunnel towards… I mean, I don’t even know what we’re walking towards. “Where are we going?” I ask Rafe, a little breathless with intrigue and excitement. “Into the Academy,” he hisses back, like it’s a secret, but I know he’s kidding even before I
But suddenly my eyes lock on a figure across the room and I go very still in shock before I suddenly burst out laughing, realizing that I’m looking at myself in the mirror on the far wall. “What?” Jesse asks, coming to my side. “Seriously?” I say, grinning at myself as I turn a little, observing
My breathe freezes in my lungs as the young tailor and I stare at each other, neither of us blinking. I mean, I am not someone who can claim anything close to the dangerous curves of a temptress, but I am decidedly a girl. Like my mom, I have smaller breasts, but my waist is small and my hips are
“Mom and dad…might have pulled some strings before we enrolled as candidates,” Rafe says, “just in case we got admitted as cadets.” He shrugs like it’s no big deal, which just makes me burst out laughing. “Nepotism!?” I chide, shaking my head at him. “You used nepotism to get the best suite in the
I hurry along with my brother and my cousin, staring around at the stone hallway that meets in gothic arches above our heads, at the windows scattered along the right-hand wall that look out over the landscape. I grin, because I thought I’d gotten used to the view from the barracks – but this high
I am instantly at home, and instantly in love. “I mean, I know it’s small,” Rafe says, running a hand anxiously through his hair, “but we thought you’d want to room with us, and we wanted to give you a little more privacy –“ “I love it!” I shout, hurling myself at my brother and wrapping my arms
The next thirty minutes are…the most indulgent of my life. I think I groan in pleasure at least sixty times as I soak my body in the steaming hot water, as I soap every inch of my skin, as I finally – finally – wash my hair with real shampoo and conditioner instead of that horrible stuff we were s