I wanted to puke.
“Exams will begin tomorrow and will be done so alphabetically.” Marcus stepped back, allowing Lucian to take center stage once more.
“None of us enjoy the idea of limiting your freedom or imposing potentially uncomfortable situations upon you.” Lucian splayed his hands open in front of him. “We care for our half-bloods, and this is as much for your benefit as it is for the pure-blooded students.”
I covered my mouth, afraid I’d say something. Benefit us? Restricting our comings and goings, forcing us to submit to physical exams? There was no difference between us and the halfs who served them—except we wouldn’t have the pleasure of being doped up and unaware of what was happening to us.
I looked away from Lucian and caught sight of Seth again. Every line of his face had hardened in disapproval and his eyes flared like the sun. I could feel his anger as if it were my own.
After going over a couple of more rules regarding where we were allowed to enter and something about random dorm checks, the assembly drew to a close. I had a hard time focusing on what Marcus and Lucian had gone over. My own anger roiled inside me, and the brewing storm against the wall kept my attention.
We were ordered to exit the gymnasium the same way we’d entered: a silent, single-file line of half-bloods. Briefly, I caught a glimpse of Caleb’s face. Disbelief and anger warred across his boyish features, making him seem so much older. No one had considered what this could mean for Caleb and me. They would find evidence of recent daimon attacks on both of us. Then what? Shove a bleeding pure in our face and see if we attacked? I glanced over my shoulder, searching for Seth. He stood with Lucian, off from the white-robed Guards, and they appeared to be… arguing.
At lunch, we went over the new rules quietly. More Guards than normal hovered around the perimeter of the cafeteria, and even a few Sentinels stood post, limiting what we could say. I wondered what those half-blood Sentinels thought, knowing that they’d be subject to the exams, too.
Pures usually mingled with the halfs during this time, but today was different. Halfs took up one side of the cafeteria while the pures sat at the farthest tables possible. My gaze landed on Cody Hale and his cronies. Cody hung out with halfs sometimes, like when he had nothing better to do. There were many times during the summer when I’d wanted to hit him, but hitting a pure meant expulsion, and that meant servitude.
Right now his group had their heads bent together. Every so often, Cody would run a hand over his neatly-cropped, brown hair, look at our table, and snicker. I wasn’t the only one who noticed this.
Caleb’s silent anger simmered around our table. Since the whole incident in Gatlinburg, I hadn’t seen much of Caleb. My spare time consisted of training sessions while his revolved around Olivia. Looking back, I kind of wished I’d made time for him. Maybe then I would’ve noticed the subtle changes in him, the shade of darkness that seemed to surround him, how quickly he reacted with anger.
“Just ignore them, babe.” Olivia nodded toward Cody’s table, forcing a causal smile. “Cody’s an idiot.”
“It’s not just Cody.” He gave a tight laugh. “Haven’t you seen how the other pures have been looking at us? Like we’re all about to jump them?”
“They’re just scared.” Olivia squeezed his hand. “Don’t take it personally.”
“Caleb’s right.” Luke leaned forward and lowered his voice. “Today in class, a pure I’ve known for years requested his seat to be changed. Sam didn’t want to sit next to me—or any half. Hades, he looked like he didn’t want to be in the same room as us.”
I rubbed my fingers over my temple as my appetite vanished. “They’re all scared. There’s never been a daimon on campus before.”
“It’s not our fault.” Luke’s eyes met mine. “And what do they have to be afraid of? The way the Minister talked today, it sounded like the daimon wasn’t here anymore.”
“No one really knows that for sure.” I picked up my soda, watching Caleb. He didn’t speak for the rest of lunch. As we filed out of the cafeteria, I pulled Caleb aside. “You doing okay?”
He nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
I wrapped my arm around him, ignoring the way he stiffened. “You don’t seem like it. I get—”
“You get that we’re already top suspects, Alex?” Caleb pulled away. “That none of this is right or fair? I don’t want them stripping you down, or Olivia, looking for some sign that we’re chomping on pures during our spare time. And with you…” He paused, glancing around the hallway outside the cafeteria. Luke and Olivia went on, but two Guards eyed us—the same two from yesterday. “Lea was being a bitch yesterday, but people…”
“People have been talking? Caleb, people have been talking about me since they found out my mom was a daimon. So what? Who cares?” I squeezed his hand, just like Olivia had. “Why don’t you sneak over tonight and bring a movie?”
Caleb pulled away again, shaking his head. “I got things I need to do.”
“Like Olivia?” I joked.
That brought a hint of a smile. “Come on, you’re going to be late for class. You have practice with Seth—”
I groaned loudly. “Please don’t say his name. He throws balls of energy at my head like it’s some kind of game.”
“He looked pretty pissed off during the assembly.”
“Yeah, he did.” I thought about him arguing with Lucian. Only gods know about what. “Anyway, sure you don’t want to come by?”
“Not feeling it tonight. Besides, dodging the normal Guards is bad enough, but double the amount? Even I may have problems with that.”
I pouted but relented as we parted ways. The rest of the afternoon crawled by, but I perked up when I saw Aiden enter the gym toward the end of Gutter Fighting. I tried and failed to contain my excitement.
“Where’s Seth?” I bounced up to Aiden.
Aiden’s eyes glittered with amusement. “He’s with the Minister. Would you prefer him?”
“No!” I said a bit too eagerly. “What’s he doing with Lucian?”
Shrugging, Aiden led me out to the center of the mats. “Didn’t ask. You ready?”
I nodded, and Aiden handed me the dummy blades. He’d allowed me to practice with the real ones a week ago. Sadly, the thrill of finally getting to practice with them ended up overshadowed by the fact I’d already used them for real. I knew the weight of the slender daggers in my palms, the feeling of them slicing through daimon flesh. Using them in battle had killed that naïve appeal.
Aiden coached me through several techniques we’d learned in Silat training. We broke apart while he pulled out the dummies for me to stab. I twirled the plastic daggers like they were batons. “The new rules they set up for us suck. You know that, right? Physical exams and dorm searches?”
Aiden reached out, carefully tucking a strand of hair back behind my ear. He was always doing little things like that, things he shouldn’t be doing. “I don’t agree with all of them, but something has to be done. We can’t continue as if nothing has happened.”
“I know we can’t continue as if nothing has happened, but that doesn’t mean the pures have a right to punish every single half-blood.”
“We aren’t punishing the half-bloods. These rules were put into place to protect the half-bloods also.”
“To protect us?” I gaped at him. “Because all I heard today were rules limiting what we can do. I didn’t hear anything about the pures having to submit to embarrassing exams or being told they couldn’t even visit the main island.”
“You weren’t in the assembly when they laid down the new rules for the pures, were you?” A bit of frustration began to seep through, furrowing his dark brows.
“Well no, but I haven’t heard any pures bitching about anything.”
Aiden took a deep breath. “Then you haven’t been listening. They aren’t allowed to go anywhere unless they’re in groups. They can’t leave the island unless they’re with a Guard or a Sentinel—”
“Whoa.” I laughed harshly. “Those poor pures have to have babysitters? At least they don’t need to get permission to leave. We don’t even have that option.”
“Aren’t you grounded from doing anything anyway? And preventing the halfs from leaving the island is to keep them safe.”
I clenched the dagger, squeezing it so hard I thought it would shatter. “The new rules aren’t fair, Aiden. You have to see that. I know you’re a pure, but you can drop the act around me. You don’t have to say you agree with it because you’re expected to.”
“This isn’t an act, Alex. And this has nothing to do with me being a pure. I agree that drastic measures need to be taken. If the half-bloods have to sacrifice a couple of weeks of partying and jumping dorms to ensure—”
“Sacrifice a couple of weeks of partying? Are you serious? Do you think that’s why we’re upset?”
Aiden stalked toward me. “You’re upset because you’re being irrational and stubborn. You’re letting your emotions rule your logic, Alex. If you’d stop and think for five seconds, you’d see that these rules need to be in place.”
I jerked back a step, unable to remember the last time he’d spoken to me like that. An icky feeling started in my chest and spread.
“So let me get this straight.” My voice shook. “You think it’s okay for them to restrict where we can go and what we can do? That they can search our rooms at any time? You think it’s acceptable for them to subject us to full body searches? And it’s just okay for them to launch a witch hunt the moment they think there’s another daimon?”
“No one’s starting a witch hunt, Alex! I agree that certain measures have to be taken, but I don’t agree with—”
Anger pounded through my blood. I threw the practice blade to the floor. “My gods, you’re just another pure, Aiden! You’re no different than the rest of them. How irrational of me to think otherwise.”
Aiden flinched as if I’d hit him. “I’m no different than the rest? Do you hear yourself?”
“Whatever. Who cares, right? I’m just a half-blood.” I pushed past him before I did do something irrational, like cry in front of him. Turns out, I didn’t make it very far. I kept forgetting how fast Aiden could move.
He blocked me, eyes flashing silver. “How can you even say I’m like the other pures? Answer me, Alex.”
“Because… because you should know that those rules aren’t fair to us!”
“This isn’t about the damn rules, Alex. I’m like the other pures?” He gave a low, sharp laugh. “You really believe that?”
“But you think—”
Aiden grabbed my arm, pulling me right against his chest. The unexpected contact fried my brain. “If I was like every other pure-blood, I would have had you by now, without even thinking about the consequences for you. Every day is a struggle not to be like them.”