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Page 4

 

  The formidable double doors loomed ahead, and I swal owed hard. I’d spent a lot of time in this office when Dean Nasso had overseen the Covenant.

  As the Guards opened the door for us, I remembered the last time I’d been in this office for a lecture. I’d been fourteen, and out of boredom, I’d convinced one of the pures to flood the science wing using the water element. Of course the pure had total y ratted me out.

  Nasso had not been pleased.

  My first glimpse of the office was exactly how I remembered: perfect and wel designed. Several leather chairs sat before a large cherry oak desk. Wildly colored fish zoomed back and forth in the aquarium lining the wal behind the desk.

  My uncle stepped into my line of sight and I faltered. It’d been so long since I’d seen him—years real y. I’d forgotten how much he looked like Mom. They shared the same eyes

  —emerald-colored ones that shifted depending on mood.

  They were eyes only my mother and uncle shared.

  Except the last time I’d seen her eyes, they hadn’t been vibrant. The icky feeling swel ed inside me, pressing on my chest. I stepped forward, pushing it al the way down.

  “Alexandria. ” Marcus’s deep and cultured voice snapped me back into the room. “After al these years. To see you again? I am at a loss for words. ”

  Uncle—and I used the term loosely—sounded nothing like a close family member. His tone was cold and plastic.

  When I met his eyes, I knew right off I was doomed. There was nothing in his stare linking me to him—no happiness or relief at seeing his only niece alive and in one piece. If anything, he looked rather bored.

  Someone cleared his throat, drawing my attention to the corner of the office. We weren’t alone. Mister Steroids stood in the corner, along with a female pure. She was tal and slender, with cascades of raven-colored hair. I pegged her as an Instructor.

  Only pures who had no aspirations for the political games of their world taught for the Covenant or became Sentinels—or pures like Aiden who lived with super-personal reasons for doing so: say, like having his parents murdered by daimons right in front of him when he was a child. That was what’d happened to him. Supposedly, it was why Aiden had chosen to become a Sentinel. He probably wanted some sort of revenge.

  Something we had in common.

  “Sit down. ” Marcus motioned to a chair. “We have a lot to discuss. ”

  I pul ed my eyes from the pures and treaded forward.

  Hope flared with their presence. Why else would there be pures here if not to talk about my lack of training and ways to overcome it?

  Marcus moved behind his desk and sat. From there, he folded his hands and leveled a look at me. Unease made me sit straighter and my feet dangled above the floor.

  “I real y don’t know where to begin with… this mess Rachel e created. ”

  I didn’t respond since I wasn’t sure I’d heard him correctly.

  “First off, she nearly ruined Lucian. Twice. ” He spoke as if I’d had something to do with it. “The scandal she created when she met your father was bad enough. When she emptied Lucian’s bank account and ran off with you? Wel , I’m sure even you can understand the lasting implications of such an unwise decision. ”

  Ah, Lucian. Mom’s perfect, pure-blooded husband—my stepfather. I could imagine his response. It probably had involved a lot of throwing stuff and bemoaning his poor character judgment. I don’t even know if Mom had ever loved him, or if she’d loved my mortal father she’d had an affair with, but I did know Lucian was a total priss.

  Marcus continued listing the ways her decisions had hurt Lucian. I pretty much tuned him out. The last I remembered, Lucian was working to secure a spot on the pure-blood Council. Reminiscent of the old Greek Olympian court, the Council had twelve ruling figures, and, out of those twelve, two were Ministers.

  Ministers were the most powerful. They ruled the lives of both pures and halfs just as Hera and Zeus ruled Olympia.

  Needless to say, the Ministers had huge freaking egos.

  Each Covenant location held a Council: North Carolina, Tennessee, New York, and the pure-blood university located in South Dakota. The eight Ministers control ed the Council.

  “Are you even listening to me, Alexandria?” Marcus frowned at me.

  My head jerked up. “Yes… you’re talking about how bad everything’s been for Lucian. I feel sorry for him. Real y, I do. I’m sure it pales in comparison to having your life ripped away from you. ”

  A strange look inched across his face. “Are you referring to your mother’s fate?”

  “You mean your sister’s fate?” My eyes narrowed as I met his gaze.

  Marcus stared at me, his face going blank. “Rachel e sealed her own fate when she left the safety of our society.

  What happened to her is truly tragic, but I cannot find it in myself to feel overly upset. When she pul ed you away from the Covenant, she proved she gave no thought to Lucian’s reputation or for your safety. She was self-centered, irresponsible—”

  “She was everything to me!” I jumped to my feet. “She did nothing but think of me! What happened to her was horrific—‘tragic’ is for people who die in car wrecks!”

  His expression didn’t change. “She did nothing but think of you? I find that strange. She left the safety of the Covenant and put both of you in danger. ”

  I bit the inside of my cheek.

  “Exactly. ” His gaze turned arctic. “Sit down, Alexandria. ”

  Furious, I forced myself to sit and shut up.

  “Did she tel you why you needed to leave the Covenant?

  Give you any reason to why she would do such a reckless thing?”

  I glanced over at the pures. Aiden had retreated to stand beside the other two. The three of them watched this soap opera through poker faces. A lot of help they were proving to be.

  “Alexandria, I asked you a question. ”

  The hard wood embedded into my palms as I gripped the chair arms. “I heard you. No. She didn’t tel me. ”

  A muscle ticked along Marcus’s jaw as he stared at me in silence. “Wel , it is a shame. ”

  Since I wasn’t sure how to respond, I watched him open up a file on his desk and spread the lined papers out in front of him. Leaning forward, I tried to see what they were.

  Clearing his throat, he picked up one of the papers. “As it is, I cannot hold you responsible for what Rachel e did. The gods know she is suffering the consequences. ”

  “I think Alexandria is aware of how her mother suffered,”

  the female pure interrupted. “There is no need to go any further. ”

  Marcus’s stare turned glacial. “Yes. I suppose you are correct, Laadan. ” He turned back to the paper he held between his elegant fingers. “When I was advised you were final y located, I requested your reports to be sent to me. ”

  I winced and sat back in the seat. This wasn’t going to be good at al .

  “Al of your Instructors had nothing but glowing accolades when it came to your training. ”

  A smal smile formed on my lips. “I was pretty damn good. ”

  “However,” he glanced up, briefly meeting my eyes,

  “when it comes to your behavior records, I find myself…

  flabbergasted. ”

  My smile shriveled up and died.

  “Several write-ups for issues of disrespect toward your teachers and other students,” he continued. “A particular note here, written personal y by Instructor Banks, states your level of respect for your superiors is seriously lacking and had been an ongoing issue. ”

  “Instructor Banks had no sense of humor. ”

  Marcus arched a brow. “Then I imagine neither did Instructor Richards nor Instructor Octavian? They also wrote, at times, you were uncontrol able and undisciplined. ”

  Protests died on my lips. I had nothing to say.

  “Your problems with respect didn’t appear to be
your only issues. ” He picked up another piece of paper and his brows rose. “You were disciplined numerous times for sneaking out of the Covenant, fighting, disruption of class, breaking numerous rules, and oh yes, my personal favorite?” He looked up, smiling tightly. “You had racked up repeated demerits for breaking curfew and for fraternizing in the male dormitory. ”

  I shifted uncomfortably.

  “Al before the age of fourteen. ” His lips thinned. “You must be proud. ”

  My eyes widened as I stared at his desk. “I wouldn’t say proud. ”

  “Does it matter?”

  I looked up. “I… guess not?”

  The tight smile returned. “Considering your previous behavior, I’m afraid to say there is no way I could al ow you to resume training—”

  “What?” My voice turned shril . “Then why am I here?”

  Marcus placed the papers back into the file and closed it.

  “Our communities are always in need of servants. I spoke with Lucian this morning. He has offered you a place in his home. You should be honored. ”

  “No!” I came to my feet once again. Panic and rage seized me. “There is no way you’re going to drug me! I won’t be a servant in his house or any pure’s!”

  “Then what?” Marcus folded his hands again and looked at me calmly. “Wil you go back to living on the streets? I wil not al ow that. The decision has already been made. You wil not reenter the Covenant. ”

  CHAPTER 3

  THOSE WORDS SHOCKED ME INTO SILENCE. ALL

  MY dreams of vengeance evaporated into nothing. I stared at my uncle, hating him almost as much as I hated daimons.

  Mister Steroids cleared his throat. “If I may say something?”

  Marcus and I turned toward him. I was surprised he could even speak, but Marcus waved his hand for him to continue.

  “She kil ed two daimons. ”

  “I’m aware of this, Leon. ” The man who was about to bring down my whole world didn’t seem too interested.

  “When we found her in Georgia, she was holding her own against two more daimons,” Leon continued. “Her potential, if trained properly, is astronomical. ”

  Shocked that this pure would speak for me, I slowly sat down. Marcus stil looked unimpressed and those bright green eyes were as hard as ice.

  “I understand, but her behavior before the incident with her mother cannot be erased. This is a school, not a daycare center. I do not have the time or the energy to keep an eye on her. I cannot have her running wild through these hal s and influencing the other students. ”

  I rol ed my eyes. He made me sound like a cunning criminal about to bring down the entire Covenant.

  “Then assign someone to her,” Leon said. “There are Instructors here during the summer who’l be able to keep an eye on her. ”

  “I don’t need a babysitter. It’s not like I’m going to burn down a building. ”

  Everyone ignored me.

  Marcus sighed. “Even if we assign someone to her, she is behind in her training. There is no way she would be on par with those in her class. Come fal , she wil be sorely behind. ”

  This time it was Aiden who spoke. “We would have the entire summer to prepare her. It’s possible she could be ready enough to attend classes. ”