Initiation Read Online Free PDF Page B

Faustine held up her hand.
    “I’m King Sebastian’s daughter.”
    Sienna’s and Jewel’s mouths nearly hit the floor. “O-M-G!” they squawked in unison.
    Jewel gently pushed her sister out of the way, and moved to stand close to Faustine, breathing her in.
    “It’s Chanel Number–” Faustine started.
    Jagger finally spoke, trying to hold in his chuckles. “Really, Jewel! Do you have to do that? Leave the kid alone.”
    “Zip it, Jagger. It’s not every day we hear such explosive gossip. Imagine what the National Enquirer would do with this piece of information. Lady Annabel and King Sebastian!” Sienna chortled.
    Jagger coughed. “Remember the school rules… the confidentiality clause.”
    “Yeah, yeah. Spoil sport,” Sienna chided. “Still, this is quite something. So you’re a hybrid? A human-demon hybrid? I can smell your human blood. Better keep you away from the vamps.”
    “I guess.” Faustine’s confident posture diminished slightly.
    “Do you mind if we sit for a moment?” Sienna asked. “I want to hear all about Lady Annabel.”
    “No, sit by all means, but Faustine and I have to go. You can grill her about her mom some other time.” I stood, pulling Faustine up with me and leading her out of the dining hall.
    “They seemed nice. Why do we have to leave?” Faustine asked as we wandered back toward my dorm room.
    Good question. Why had I been in such a rush to get out of there? Annoying as they were, I kind of liked the Holt twins. Yet, I had found the whole atmosphere stressful. The weight of keeping up my wall in front of Jagger exhausted me. Normally, that wasn’t a problem, but Jagger seemed to have made it his mission to get through my barriers, and he was very powerful, so it took all I had to fight him. Just those five minutes in his presence had tired me out to the point of needing another feed. Perhaps a detour to the mentors’ lounge would solve the problem. I wanted to check it out anyway.
    I would use that as my excuse anyway. “We really ought to try to figure out a way for you to use the mentors’ lounge. I thought we’d go find it first; I’ve never been inside. And then, if it’s nice and somewhere you’d like to hang out, we’ll pay Frau Schmelder a visit to see if you can use it.”
    “Perfect! Are Sienna and Jewel mentors, too?”
    “I don’t know. They went through their Integration last year, so they might have signed up, but they both tend to be busy, so who knows? We can find out in the mentors’ lounge. They’ll have a list.”
    “What are they so busy with?”
    “They’re both on the ski team, our female champions. They seem to train all the time.”
    “Awesome! So I’ll see them later, then.” She put her hand on my elbow, pulling me back.
    I stopped. “What’s up?”
    “What if I’m not good enough?” I could see the concern in her eyes.
    “Good enough to get on the team?”
    “Yeah.”
    “I don’t think you need to worry.” Little did she know that her dad practically owned our ski department, slopes included. She’d be on the team even if she totally stunk, or else the ski program would have to close down altogether. I hoped that she was as good as her dad boasted. “Your reputation precedes you. Besides, I believe Jagger is going to personally coach you.”
    “He is? Who is he, exactly? I’ve heard his name a few times, but I don’t know who he is.”
    “He was the boy in the dining hall with Sienna and Jewel. He didn’t get a chance to introduce himself, but you’ll get to meet him later. He’s in his final year at the Academy, doing the Enrichment program, which in his case is captaining the ski team. He’s also the president of the student council.” I paused. Had I overstepped? The presidency was usually kept very secret.
    “What kind of crea– paranormal is he?”
    “A faery, like Sienna and Jewel.” Sheesh, I did it again. Some kind of mentor I was!
    “Get out!”
    I blinked at her.
    “They don’t look