We had spent the first day unpacking and getting settled. And although Lana had been dying to meet new people and explore, she’d stayed by my side, even bringing dinner to our room so I could avoid Jace as long as possible. I wasn’t ready to see him or, unknown to her, Reese. I wanted to hide until the last minute.
But my time for hiding was up. As soon as we entered the auditorium, I spotted Jace. He stood, waving us over toward him and Nick. I took a deep breath, and Lana squeezed my hand.
“Just act like it’s any other day,” she said under her breath.
I nodded. Yeah, any other day after your best friend kissed you right in front of your secret, enemy-race boyfriend. “I’m fine, Lane.” I trailed behind her.
Lana and I hadn’t discussed my situation thoroughly yet. I’d admitted to her the night before that yes, I did care for Jace, even at one point thought I wanted us to be together, but I wasn’t sure how I felt now. She couldn’t understand why I was having such a hard time if I still cared for him. I’d strategically changed the subject to her and Devon. It had worked. She’d dropped it.
I glanced around the room. Even though the Peace Act was in effect, you couldn’t tell. Most of the Shythe sat on one side of the auditorium, while the majority of the Narcos sat on the other. But at least they were blending…some. We walked up the middle of the two sides, passing a group of rowdy Narcolym.
My heart flipped in my chest when I heard Reese’s voice. My head shot toward him. He sat across the aisle from where Jace and Nick were seated. His gaze caught mine, and my breath shuddered out, shaky. I allowed Lana to move me down the row, but I kept my eyes trained on him.
I waited for him to smile, to nod, to blink…to do anything. But he only stared at me with a stoic expression plastered on his face. I swallowed hard. I wanted to run over, wrap my arms around him, but I sat down next to Lana. Finally, he looked back to his friend—a girl friend—whom he’d been talking to. She was Shythe.
I dropped my eyes to the floor. Did he think I’d kissed Jace? I made up my mind to talk to him. I couldn’t bear to look into his eyes and not explain what had really happened. Even if we couldn’t be together, I wouldn’t allow him to think I’d purposely hurt him.
Jace’s voice pulled me from my thoughts. He was seated on the other side of me. While I was lost in Reese’s eyes, Lana had seated me next to him. I’d make sure to thank her later.
“Can you believe this?” Jace was saying to Nick. “How can they think this is going to work? Look at them.” He cocked his head in the Narcos’ direction. “Laughing like being here is some kind of joke. This is our school.”
“Who did the seating arrangement?” Nick asked. “I thought we were supposed to be mingling.” He looked toward the Narcos. “Ah, I see. Some of us are. Pfft.”
Jace glanced at me. “How’d it go yesterday? You and Lane get settled okay?”
I smiled. “Yeah. Our unit’s great.” Maybe he wanted to forget the kiss ever happened. I breathed a sigh of relief. He seemed to be back to the old Jace—focused on the Narcolym issue and not me. “How’s your room?”
“Probably looks just like yours.” He smiled and took my hand. “Want to have dinner with me tonight?” His voice lowered. “I mean, not someplace out obviously, but in the courtyard.” Then he added quickly, “And with all of us…the group.”
I smiled again. It was all I could do. My voice seemed to be lost as I felt his fingers sliding between mine. Why was he suddenly unafraid to express his emotions? The Change, possibly, I considered. Or maybe he was just ready. I allowed him to hold my hand, the whole time wishing I was braver, and thought back to my decision to not be with either of them.
Then I snuck a peek over to Reese. He seemed happy as he laughed with the Shythe girl. A sharp pang hit my heart, reverberating through my chest. He obviously didn’t want to be with me anymore after what happened. If that was the case, then I could put off hurting Jace for one more day. I squeezed his hand and smiled at him.
“Courtyard sounds fun,” I finally told him. “I’m sure Lana is dying to socialize.”
Jace’s eyes brightened. “Awesome.”
The headmaster on stage spoke into a brass microphone. His voice surrounded us, loud. “Welcome to the Academy and the twenty-forty academic school year.” The audience hushed. “I know some of you are curious as to why this year is different.” Jace huffed beside me. “But I assure you, your questions will be answered in due time. Just know that the Councils have the best intentions for all Kythan.” He turned, beckoning a faculty member to bring over a sheet of paper. “For the time being, let’s go over your curriculum and schedule.”
By the end of the assembly, I was dozing off. The headmaster could make an exciting subject boring, and hearing him talk about mathematics and its place in today’s time was too much excitement for me.
Jace nudged me when the speech concluded. “Come on. I think we have a free period until our first block.”
I followed behind the triplets, glancing over as we passed Reese. He was holding up his schedule, talking with that same Shythe girl. I ground my teeth together. Reese didn’t notice me as I passed this time. He moves fast. I clenched my fists, digging my nails into my palms as she leaned over him. Her hair fell between them, and he caressed it back over her shoulder. I jerked my head and looked toward the exit.
When we reached the outside courtyard, I inhaled the fresh air. I released tiny, clipped breaths, holding back the tears that prickled the corners of my eyes.
I turned toward Lana. “Hey, I’m actually pretty wiped. Think I’ll go take a nap before our first class.”
“All right,” she said. “Then I’ll see you in Chemistry.”
I smiled at Jace. “Sorry, need a break. That guy really put me to sleep.”
“Sure.” He nodded, but I could see questions burning in his eyes. “See you later.”
I turned and stalked off. I was about to lose my cool, I could feel it. And I w
asn’t wearing my eye lenses. If Reese was with me, he could warn me before my eyes changed color, but he wasn’t. And I didn’t trust my emotions right then.