I throw open the door to our room and stumble inside, panting and exhausted and covered in sweat from my lesson with Blaze as I toss my new chemistry textbook onto a side table. “I just had the best day,” I sputter out, each word seeming to come out on its own little pant. “Ariel!” Rafe shouts, fr
“Really?” I ask, perking up and looking around. “What happened?” “We got our specializations,” Ben says, beaming at me as he settles onto the couch next to Luca and I, sitting in my usual seat. “That’s amazing!” I burst out, delighted. But then I hesitate. “But also, what does that mean?” Ben
“What…what does un-sorted mean?” I ask, looking first at Luca and then a little frantically around at the rest of the boys, all of whom are equally a bit dour. “It just means that they’re deciding where Luca fits,” Jesse says, giving a shrug. “He’s sugar coating it,” Luca corrects, and I turn my
“Oh, I don’t need espionage training to notice when my prized possessions are missing,” I say, yawning and letting myself flop down on the couch pillows. “I grew up with Jesse. He stole everything. All of my toys.” “Lies!” Jesse calls from across the room. “…I only took the little ponies. The ones
When I open my eyes, I am indeed still wrapped up in Jackson’s arms. But we’re not in my little private nook at the academy – we’re sitting on a cliff’s edge, looking out over a moonlit sea. “It’s cool here,” Jackson murmurs, looking appreciatively out over the scenery. “We’ve only ever come here
“Gotta save some things for later,” he murmurs as I lift my head to look at him again, but then he smiles and dips his mouth lower, pressing a kiss at the hollow of my throat. “I’ve only known you’re a girl for like, two? Three weeks? It would be cruel of me to show you all the goods so soon – give
The run is as grueling as I knew it would be, with Rafe, Jesse, and Jackson each taking turns to backtrack and run at my heels, forcing me to pick up speed or get trampled down by their gigantic feet. By the end of it, I’m bending over with my hands on my knees, my head hanging, trying to catch my
Ben laughs, low and derisive. “Are you serious, Wright? You’re the one making leash jokes when you’ve got a literal guard keeping an eye on you all the time? Do you…are you unaware of what irony is?” Wright scowls and opens his mouth to retort, but Ben interrupts. “Also,” he says to the guard, h