While my nerves were at an all-time high, I felt slightly better having Naomi at my side. She chattered mindlessly as we walked across the quad, towards our classes. Since I was now in the Gifted program, my schedule had changed.

Naomi would be with me most of the day, save for first and last period. She had a free hour first thing in the morning, which she used to study for her other classes. Mine was my last period, which meant my days ended a little early.

Though with all these new classes, that free period might be used for extra studying. There was a lot of material for me to catch up on.

I tugged out my schedule, chewing nervously on my lip as I did so. My first class, History and Politics, was in Omega Hall. Naomi glanced at it, nodding her head as she saw the classroom number.

"It's a course on the history of our kind, mostly the past, but it also sometimes focuses on the more recent history too. Occasionally you'll discuss current events, depending on what's happening back home."

"Home?" I asked her. Everything about the Varquay was so new, and everything I learned just led to more questions than buzzed around in my head.

She nodded again. "Summit. It's a small country, hidden from the humans by magic. The capital of Haven is where most people live, but there are other villages as well. And some prefer to live among the humans."

"Do you interact with humans a lot?"

Naomi seemed thoughtful. "A fair bit, I suppose. We aren't completely self-sufficient, even with magic. Technology is helpful in all things and usually humans develop those things. So, yes, we interact with humans, though they don't know that we aren't like them. And most of the time, they don't remember us when we're gone."

I gave her a curious look. "Why not?"

"It's part of our ability to hide in plain sight. We're unassuming, sure, but part of it is magic. A lot of us have magical wards placed around us that make humans forget about us when we're gone."

I thought about Alek and his mother and how the entire neighborhood hadn't remembered them after they'd gone.

My mother had pretended I was insane, remembering something that didn't exist. But she'd recognized Elyse and Alek here at Whitethorn. Why had she lied to me?

No one else had remembered Alek and Elyse. Had they used magic to prevent people from remembering them? If so, why?

And then I thought about my missing memories from the night of the bonfire. And then there was the person who'd sat with me after I'd received the letter from my mother. Had someone used magic on me both of those times? I couldn't remember anything about the bonfire, and I could remember nothing about the stranger who'd comforted me.

"These spells that cause memory loss, do they work on other Varquay? Or just typically humans?"

Naomi scrunched her eyebrows together. "Most wards are created with the intent to misdirect human thought. Stronger spells can wipe the memory, but using any sort of memory altering spells on another of our kind is frowned upon. In most circumstances, it's illegal."

"Oh."

She gave me a curious look. "Did you think someone messed with your memories?"

I kicked a stray rock off the sidewalk. "The night of the bonfire... I thought maybe there was some outside force that could have affected my memory, but it's probably not likely. It's probably just the trauma."

I didn't bring up the other time I'd thought my memories had been messed with. My main focus right now was the night of the bonfire.

"Why do you think someone would want you to forget that night?"

"I don't know. On Parent's Day, I overheard my mom and Inara talking. They spoke of keeping me safe. And Inara told me about the people who hunt us. I wondered if maybe someone had wanted me dead that night."

"You overheard them? Is that all you heard?" Naomi chewed on her lip nervously, as if my line of questioning was something she didn't want to talk about. Had she known someone who'd been targeted by these hunters? Or was she simply hiding something?

"Mostly, that was it," I replied. "My mom mentioned something about keeping me safe from Alek and Emerging and Bonded. It made no sense, really."

Naomi seemed thoughtful. "It would have to be a powerful spell, or more likely a Persuasion, to make you forget everything from that night."

I frowned. "Persuasion?"

"It's a technique that we can use to Persuade, or influence people, to do what we want them to."

"Like mind control?"

"Maybe a little like that. But it's forbidden to use it against another person. Even using it on humans is frowned upon."

I fell silent, taking in all Naomi had told me. It wasn't impossible that someone had taken my memories. But I still wasn't sure why, how, or who.

"Do you think someone who was after you killed your step-brother?"

The thought, spoken aloud by Naomi, made me feel nauseated. "I really don't want to talk about this anymore, Naomi."

She nodded her head, falling quiet immediately. We continued the rest of the way in silence, though I was fine with that. I didn't want to talk about the bonfire or Oliver or anything else that concerned the reason they had sent me here. I just wanted to get through these classes today with minimal stress.

Naomi led me up to the third floor, where my original class had been. It would be the same classroom, but a different subject. Naomi had told me the English class I'd been attending was fake and existed only for my benefit.

The other students that had populated the course had been forced to sit through boring fake lecture after lecture.

"Good luck," Naomi whispered to me as I braced myself to enter the classroom.

Instantly, Mari's blonde head swiveled toward me, her cold blue eyes narrowing. Nadia was seated next to her, her dark hair pulled into a complicated braid. Alek was lounging in the seat directly behind Mari, though thankfully he paid me no attention when I entered.

I stood awkwardly in the doorway for a second before I moved to head to my normal spot next to Jason. I tucked my head down and headed there as quickly as I could, but before I could get there, a book slammed down on the desk. A perfectly manicured hand clutched the book, and I looked up at the owner.

Celeste gave me a fake smile as she slid into the seat, flicking a piece of her ice-blonde hair behind her shoulder. "Sorry, this is my seat."

Fighting the urge to roll my eyes, I searched for another empty seat. The only one was directly in front of Mari and I felt my heart drop into my stomach.

Jason said nothing. He didn't even make eye contact with me. I wondered if he was upset about Parent's Day. Or maybe his offer to escort me to classes being declined. Either way, it looked like I was on my own today.

I slunk into the seat, but I could already hear Mari's snicker as I opened my textbook. The teacher hurried into the room, a foam cup of coffee clutched in her hands.

"Sorry I'm late," she said as she set down her coffee on the desk and smoothed her navy skirt. Her heels clicked against the floor as she turned to face us, her eyes focusing on me instantly. "Welcome, Selene. I'm glad to have you here with us in your full capacity."

I could feel my face grow hot in response to her words, but thankfully, she quickly changed the subject, diving straight into today's lesson about a war. As much as I wanted to listen in, I could hear Mari's voice behind me, making snide comments with Nadia during the entire class period.

I was content to ignore the comments about my split ends or the emerging pimple on my chin. Those things didn't bother me much anyway.

"Alek overheard her mother disowning her," Mari snickered. "He found her sobbing outside of Inara's office."

"What a pathetic little loser," Nadia agreed. "Even her own mother doesn't love her. Abandoned like the trash she is."

And as much as I knew it was just petty, mean girl high school drama, I still felt the lump form in my throat. I knew Alek had been waiting for the moment he could share my embarrassment with his bitchy girlfriend.

Even though her words stung, I wouldn't give that witch the satisfaction of making me cry.

When class finally ended, I packed quickly, wanting to get out of here. Naomi was waiting for me in the hallway, her arms clutched tightly around her textbooks.

"How was your first class?"

"It was fine," I told her. Though something in my voice must have given me away, since she frowned at me.

"What happened?"

I sighed, not really wanting to dive into it. "It was just Mari being Mari. I don't really want to talk about it."

We started walking to our next class, neither saying anything. Then Naomi said, "The classes before lunch can get pretty boring, but the ones after lunch are way more exciting."

I would have to take her word for it, considering that I didn't know for myself. I checked my schedule. "It still says I have body conditioning after lunch."

"Yeah, but since you were the only student that wasn't aware, now we can actually start training. Coach Knight will be more serious than ever, especially considering that you've never trained before, but you'll get used to it."

"Training?" I asked her, not liking how sounded. What on earth did we need training for?

"It's not nearly as bad as it sounds," Naomi promised me. "Think of it as a self-defense class more than anything else. After the attack on Summit's capital, Haven, the Academy adjusted their classes to show us how to defend ourselves. It's a core part of our curriculum. And it helps those who want to enlist in the army get a head start on their training."

Would defending ourselves be so necessary that it was required to teach teenagers? A shudder ran through me at the thought.

My other classes before lunch went quickly. I stayed away from Mari in each of them, which made the classes much more enjoyable. But they were also a tad overwhelming. I'd spent most of my time learning about human history. To now be learning an entirely unique history made me feel like a little kid again. There was so much I didn't know.

Naomi and I walked to lunch together. The sun was high overhead, but it did little against the bitter cold that whipped across the quad. I tugged my jacket tighter around me, but it didn't seem to help.

The main building was warm inside, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I rubbed my hands together to regain some of the feeling in them. The smell of food lured us faster towards the dining hall, where I grabbed a sandwich and a bottle of water.

Naomi grabbed some carrot and celery sticks and then we moved to our table.

"So, what do you think so far, now that you've gotten to see the real Whitethorn?"

I took a bite of my sandwich, trying to find the right words. "I'm very far behind."

"I know that it all probably seems really overwhelming, but it will get easier. I promise."

I didn't reply, just took another bite of my sandwich.

"I'm excited that you'll be joining us in training," Naomi said. "Maybe we can partner together. I'm tired of having to fight Mari, Nadia, or Celeste."

The next bite of sandwich stuck in my throat. Swallowing hard, I looked at Naomi. "We have to fight each other?" What sort of hell had I walked into when I'd broken through the barrier and found my magic?

She nodded, not looking at all concerned with this information. "It's the best way to learn. You have to apply your abilities in a practical manner."

I wasn't sure that was true. Was it practical to have teenagers throwing punches at each other? And what if there was magic involved? Would I be dodging fireballs and punches?

I'd never been in a single fight in my entire life, unless you counted the one time in third grade when a classmate had tried to punch me and I'd dodged out of the way. She'd tripped and ended up scraping her arm and knee on the pavement.

"I know it seems terrifying, but Coach Knight doesn't let it go too far. She monitors all the fights herself. No dirty plays go unpunished on her watch."

"They don't go unpunished... which means they still happen." I was going to die.

Naomi grimaced. "Yeah. Some people don't play nicely with others. But Coach Knight is serious about her punishments. If someone is playing dirty, they know that there will be consequences."

I wasn't sure that made me feel any better, especially considering that some people still went against the rules, despite the consequences. I glanced across the room, where Mari sat with Alek. If anyone was going to break the rules to fight dirty, it would be Mari. Or even Celeste, now that I'd gotten on her bad side.

My stomach churned as I poked at the rest of my sandwich, no longer hungry. As if sensing my unease, Naomi gave me a smile. "You know, I bet Coach Knight won't even make you fight until you've had some training."

I made a non-committal noise but said nothing. I hoped she was right and that I wouldn't have to fight anyone until I was ready. But a sinking feeling in my gut told me I would never be that lucky.