The Golden Lily

Those Strigoi had then turned on the rest of us and inadvertently revealed something unexpected and alarming (if not to them, then to me). My blood was inedible. They'd tried to drink from me and been unable to. With all the fallout from that night, no one among the Alchemists or Moroi had paid much attention to that small detail - and I was grateful. I was terrified that one of these days someone would think to put me under a microscope.

"That was a fluke," said Eddie at last. "Not one that's likely to happen again. Now watch the way my leg moves, and remember that a Moroi will probably be taller than you." He did a demonstration, and I cast a quick look at Jill. Her face was unreadable. She never talked about Lee, whom she'd dated briefly. Micah had gone a long way to distract her on the romantic front, but having your last boyfriend want to become a bloodthirsty monster couldn't be an easy thing to get over. I had a feeling she was still in pain, even if she did a great job at hiding it.

"You're too rigid," Eddie told Angeline, after several attempts.

She completely relaxed her body, almost like a marionette. "So, what? Like this?" He sighed. "No. You still need some tension."

Eddie moved behind her and attempted to guide her into position, showing her how to bend her knees and hold her arms. Angeline took the opportunity to lean back into him and brush her body suggestively against his. My eyes widened. Okay. Maybe he wasn't imagining things.

"Hey!" He leapt backwards, a look of horror on his face. "Pay attention! You need to learn this."

Her expression was pure angelic innocence. "I am. I'm just trying to use your body to learn what to do with mine." So help me, she batted her eyelashes. Eddie moved back even farther.

I realized I should probably intervene, no matter what Eddie had said about handling his own problems. An even better savior came when the school's thirty-minute warning bell rang.

I jumped up.

"Hey, we should go if we want to get to breakfast in time. Right now." Angeline gave me a suspicious look. "Don't you usually skip breakfast?"

"Yeah, but I'm not the one putting in a hard morning's work. Besides, you still need to change and - wait, you're in your uniform?" I hadn't even noticed. Whenever Eddie and Jill trained, it was always in casual workout clothes - just like he wore now. Angeline had actually come out today in an Amberwood uniform, skirt and blouse, that were showing the wear and tear of a morning's battle.

"Yeah, so?" She tucked in her blouse where it had started to come undone. The side of it was smudged with dirt.

"You should change," I said.

"Nah. This is fine."

I wasn't so sure, but at least it was better than the jean shorts. Eddie did leave to put on his uniform and never came back for breakfast. I knew he liked his breakfasts, and since he was a guy, he could change clothes pretty quickly. My guess was he was sacrificing food to stay away from Angeline.

I heard my name called as we entered the cafeteria and caught sight of Kristin Sawyer and Julia Cavendish waving to me. Aside from Trey, they were the two closest friends I'd made at Amberwood. I still had miles to go in ever being socially savvy, but those two had helped me a lot. And with all the supernatural intrigue my job involved, there was something comforting about being around people who were normal... and, well, human. Even if I couldn't be fully honest with them.

"Sydney, we have a fashion question for you," Julia said. She tossed her blonde hair over one shoulder, her usual sign that what she was about to say was of utmost importance.

"A fashion question for me?" I was almost ready to glance back and see if maybe there was another Sydney standing behind me. "I don't think anyone's ever asked that."

"You have really nice clothes," Kristin insisted. She had dark skin and hair, as well as an athletic air that contrasted with Julia's more girly nature. "Too nice, actually. If my mom were ten years younger, cool, and had a lot more money, she'd dress just like you." I didn't know if that was a compliment or not, but Julia didn't give me a chance to ruminate.

"Tell her, Kris."

"Remember that counseling internship I wanted next semester? I scored an interview," Kristin explained. "I'm trying to decide if I should wear pants and a blazer or a dress." Ah, that explained why they were coming to me. An interview. Anything else they could have pulled from a fashion magazine. And while I could admit that I probably was the authority on such practical matters... well, I was kind of disappointed that was what I'd been summoned for. "What color are they?"

"The blazer's red, and the dress is navy."

I studied Kristin, taking in her features. On her wrist was a scar, the remnant of an insidious tattoo I'd helped remove, back when Keith's shady tattoo ring had run rampant. "Do the dress. Wait... is it a dress you'd wear to church or to a nightclub?"

"Church," she said, not sounding happy about it.

"Dress for sure then," I said.

Kristin flashed a triumphant look at Julia. "See? I told you that's what she'd say." Julia looked doubtful. "The blazer's more fun. It's bright red."

"Yeah, but 'fun' isn't usually what you want to portray at an interview," I pointed out. It was hard to keep a straight face with their banter. "At least not for this kind of job." Julia still didn't seem convinced, but she also didn't try to talk Kristin out of my sound fashion advice. A few moments later, Julia perked up. "Hey, is it true Trey set you up with some guy?"

"I... what? No. Where'd you hear that?" Like I had to ask. She'd undoubtedly heard it from Trey himself.

"Trey said he'd talked to you about it," said Kristin. "How this guy's perfect for you."

"It's a great idea, Syd," said Julia, face as serious as if we were discussing a life or death matter. "It'd be good for you. I mean, since school started, I've gone out with..." She paused and silently counted out names on her fingers. "... four guys. You know how many you've gone out with?" She held up a fist. "That many."

"I don't need to go out with anyone," I argued. "I have enough complications already. I'm pretty sure that would add more."

"What complications?" laughed Kristin. "Your awesome grades, killer body, and perfect hair? I mean, okay, your family's a little out there, but come on, everyone has time for a date now and then - or lots, in Julia's case."

"Hey," said Julia, though she didn't deny the charge.

Kristin pushed forward, making me think she was more suited to a legal internship than a counseling one. "Skip homework for once. Give this guy a shot, and we can all go out together sometime. It'd be fun."