Page 42 of After Darkness Falls

Jack smiled at his cousin. Chloe hadn't been sure she liked the guy until then, but that smile? It explained why she'd been intrigued enough to go on his race, why his confession about putting her in danger hadn't entirely infuriated her.

Suddenly, she realized something: although he didn't compete, the reason he ran with the rest of the huntsmen was to ensure no one got in trouble.

The guy was marshmallow wrapped in steel. All soft inside. He cared about his cousin; he cared about his men and women.

"Hey, are you guys doing another race? I think I could totally use the cardio," said Gwen.

Looking surprised, Jack glanced at Chloe, who shrugged. She’d just verbally sparred with an ancient vampire. What was a little huntsman race?

"Sure. Next weekend. This week is pretty light; the teachers are just reminding us where we were last year while you newbies get a feel for the classes. After next week, trust me, we'll need to unwind."

"Awesome. Can we tag in?"

"Sure thing. It's going to be at the Coscnoc, mid-day."

"Coscnoc?" Chloe repeated.

"The third hill," said Tris. “It's forbidden without an escort because there are some major hexes and traps, but Jack got the all-clear for a paintball race. It's gonna be sick."

Sick sounded about right. "Hexes and traps?" she echoed, feeling like a parrot.

Tris shrugged. "It's just around the caves. We'll mark the area."

That sounded mildly less threatening than a bunch of angry werewolves.

"All right. Let's do it."

20

Beyond the Veil

Jack had not been kidding when he'd said the first week on a full schedule was going to be taxing.

In addition to Paranormal Introduction and Advanced Immortal History, Chloe opted to take Law Introduction, Advanced Business, Alchemy 101, and Latin. Blair had advised against taking more than two major subjects and even suggested that AIH, Alchemy, and Latin might end up being too much. Chloe hadn't gotten what she meant, because AIH was only four hours per week, Alchemy, one, and Latin, two. But she soon realized that even the kindest, gentlest, and most encouraging teacher—Miss Penny—gave tons of homework. For every hour spent in class, she had to spend two or three researching stuff just to keep up. Suddenly, she understood the sheer size of the library—and why most students spent all their time there.

It was impossible to research any of the paranormal courses online, and even the generic subjects were rather different when taught by a sup.

She'd been warned about Mr. Silver, but the worst professor was, by far, Alexius, who taught Alchemy 101. The man was a flirt. He flirted with everything—male, female, even with his damn potions—and his students were too busy giggling and batting their eyelashes to really listen to what he said. Then, he gave tests, and when they failed, he sighed dramatically and professed his disappointment.

Chloe watched the whole thing, entirely bewildered. How was everyone falling for it?

But she remembered the first time they'd met, in the staircase behind the red door. She'd fallen for his charms too, then. Why weren’t they working on her anymore?

She didn't quite understand it.

To Chloe’s relief, she did get along with most of the students in her classes. Outside, she often met the little ravens who rarely failed to greet her, one way or the other. Some screamed from the sky when they were busy with their affairs. Others came to fly around her at their leisure. One, in particular, often made a point to sit on her shoulder and peck at her blonde hair.

She took to carrying some peanuts with her so that she could reward them appropriately.

"You know that's not normal, right?" said Viola, an eagle shifter and one of the students in her Latin class.

Chloe shrugged. "What's normal here, really?"

Normal was overrated.

Chloe did well enough, overall. She started three steps behind most of the students here, but she had one advantage: her memory. It had always been above average, and for what it was worth, her annoying habit of replaying her life as soon as she returned to her own room gave her an edge. She could listen to each lesson twice, and memorize it even better.

She didn't see Levi, and that was a great thing. Remembering the way she'd gone crazy the last time she'd seen him, she deliberately stayed away from the red door. She still cringed when replaying the scene in the middle of the night.

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