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“Aeriline, right?” he smirked, his right hand ruffling through his dripping wet hair. I tried to look away, to look at anything other than his beautifully sculpted body, but I couldn’t.
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“Yeah,” I mumbled, shifting my attention to the incredibly detailed tattoo that lay on his right bicep. It was a crossbow, but there was something about it, as if it held secrets that it didn’t want to reveal.
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“Are you going to keep staring, or are you going to come in?” he threw a shirt on, once he noticed my eyes locked on his body. Shit.
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“Right,” I shook my head, pushing past him, focusing on the new room to prevent myself from looking at him any further. The room was larger than I expected it to be, and it was definitely larger than anything I had ever lived in. To the right were a set of sofas and a table to eat on, and to the left was a set of stoves and cooking items. I could also see two doors in the distance, which I assumed were the bedrooms. I could feel my pupils dilating with joy. I can’t believe this is all mine.
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“Is that it?” he pointed to the tiny brown sack hung across my shoulder. And his. Not that I’m complaining.
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“Do I need more?” I replied. I didn’t know why I had asked; it’s not like I had any more things to bring anyway. I shifted my head upwards, and I finally got a clear look at his face. His eyes were catlike, the emerald green hue was piercing, yet the soft expression on his face made him far from intimidating.
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“I would think so. There are about 12 formals throughout the year, unless you somehow magically fit them all in that tiny sack of yours,” he let out a slight laugh, revealing a singular dimple on his right cheek.
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“Right, I knew that,” I scoffed, trying to cover my embarrassment. The truth was, I didn’t know about it. I didn’t know anything about this world at all.
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“Right,” the wink he gave would’ve sent most girls into a coma. I included myself if I didn’t know any better. I grew up never letting my guard down, even to obnoxiously good-looking guys.“You’re one of the Selected, aren’t you?”
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My eyes furrowed in confusion. “The Selected?”
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“Judging from your confusion. I guess I was right.” He began staring at me like I was one of the heirs of the 8 kingdoms or something. “Hmm, my first time meeting one.”
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His eyes narrowed, examining everything about me from the mole near my right eye down to the busted-up sneakers I stole off the road. I had felt guilty at first. I wondered what kind of poor kid I had stolen them from, but I had learned to always put myself first. Something I was never going to change.
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“Prettier than I expected,” he mumbled under his breath. I couldn’t tell if that was supposed to be a compliment, but I couldn’t help but smile. “Oh, you’re room is over there,” he pointed out.
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“Thanks,” I smiled as I headed towards the room. As I walked past him, I got a whiff of his scent. It was of deep rosemary and cinnamon, the type to draw you in with its innocence and spit you back out.
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“It’s Zade by the way,” his scent still lingering around me. I turned back around to face him, matching the scent to the person.
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“Nice to meet you,” I tuck the loose black strands of my hair behind my ear.
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“The pleasure was all mine,” he bowed, and I let out a slight laugh. I could tell he was holding back laughter as well, but he committed to the bit until I reached the door that led me to my new room. I guess this wouldn’t be so bad. I turned my head to look back at him, but he was already gone. God, I need to get used to that.
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As soon as I opened the door, I crashed onto the bed. The smooth, cushioned bed gently wrapped around me. I could get used to this. I let out a long and relaxing sigh as my eyes began to give out on me. For a school for assassins, I felt oddly safe enough to sleep, or maybe it was the tired talking.
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I threw off my shoes, my body now completely sunken on the bed. I pulled the blanket from underneath me, and as soon as I did, I noticed something white fall from the ground.
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I stretched my arms towards the ground, grabbing the white paper from the ground. An envelope. It looked like any ordinary envelope- white and rectangular, but the rose-encrusted seal made the contents seem rather important. I opened the envelope, and inside lay a mysterious-looking card.
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6 pm- Tomorrow- Serpents Creek
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The card read out.
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My eyes widened in confusion. I turned the card over to see a detailed map of the school, along with a set of arrows leading deep into the surrounding woods to a location named Serpents Creek. At the bottom of the map, the words TELL NO ONE were outlined in bold.
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“This day keeps getting weirder and weirder,” I sighed, ignoring the letter for now. It’s probably just some weird assassin way of letting us know locations for classes or something. I tucked the letter underneath my pillow and closed my eyes. Just as I felt myself slipping away, I heard a knock on my door.
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KNOCK.
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“What now?” I groaned loudly as I swung the door open to see Zade standing beside the door. His eyes widened with shock.
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“There’s someone to see you.” I walked to the entrance to see Clara waving at the door.
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“Aeraline, do you want to go out for dinner?” she offered, her eyes glistening with hope. To be honest, I wanted to say no, but I wasn’t going to lose my first friend already.
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“Sure, I’d love to,” I replied, mouthing the words Sorry to Zade who was behind me. He nodded, looking amused.
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“Ladies, thank you for the invite, but I already have other plans today. How about tomorrow?” Zade added. Clara and I locked eyes, and we let out a slight giggle.
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“That would be lovely,” Clara responded and dipped her head into a small bow, and shifted her attention back onto me. “You’re going to change, right?” she asked innocently, but she noticed my slight sense of discomfort. “Oh, right. You could borrow one of mine.”
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“Thank you, C. I appreciate it.” I thanked and followed Clara to her room.
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“Of course, anything for a friend.”
and then Add to home screen.