“You may go, Miss Davies.” Dean Bellows dismisses me from her office.
I’m sure it won’t be long before rumors fly about why I am in every freshman-level sin class at the academy, but not taking part. I’m sure once I confide in someone that I am sinless, it will spread like wildfire. The key is to keep quiet.
Sure, the rumor mill will churn, and it will be lonely. No one needs to know how useless I am. I’m sure Holly will stop speaking to me once I refuse to tell her about my predicament, but I’m not here to make friends. I’m a wrath, I’ll get through this.
Nobody needs to know my business, and if they have a problem with that, I will just kick their ass in this ridiculous skirt.
No one will know my secret.
7
Thou Shalt Not Make Eye Contact (before coffee)
Arwen
Everyone knows my secret.It’s clear as soon as I step into the dining hall.
“That’s the sinless one,” a girl whispers to her friend on my left. It’s all too familiar. People are staring.
I hold my head high, grab my tray, and head over to the bagel selection, which smells delicious. The faculty isn’t as tight-lipped as Dean Bellows thought.
However, when I turn and see Atticus Willshire sitting at a table full of Pride students, another thought occurs to me.
That makes more sense… of course, he spread the word about my sinless status.What a Dick.
He looks away as soon as our eyes meet.
The Wrath inside me encourages me to go right up to him and kick him in the balls, but I remember I’m in a skirt, already on thin ice, and he is, technically, the son of a faction leader.
My attention is snapped away from the surrounding drama as I explore the food selection. I swear I’m drooling. I haven’t seen this much food in my entire life. Even during bond celebrations and weddings, we’ve never had this qualityof food.
Selecting a variety of items that smell delicious and make my stomach rumble, I make my way through the tables, looking for a vacant place where I can sit alone and eat my bagel in peace.
“Arwen! Over here!” Holly shouts from a nearby table. She’s got a smile on her face and is waving me over.
I head to her table and note that she’s sitting with Brixton James, of all people. Mr. 80% power level himself has deigned Holly with his presence. I notice three others sitting at the table, looking at me with curious expressions.
“Hey, Holly,” I sigh. “I guess you haven’t heard that I’m enemy #1 at this academy yet?”
“Don’t be dramatic,” she rolls her eyes. “Yes, I’ve heard. Sit down. Explain.”
I take a seat next to Holly, start buttering my bagel and sigh. “What’s there to explain? I’m sinless. I thought I was going to be exiled. My power level came back high for some weird reason, so they sent me to the academy.”
I leave out the bit about my impending doom after freshman year.
“High power level?” She scoffs. “The rumors are saying you tested at 100% power level. Infinite power well. People would kill for that.”
I look around the dining hall and see all the eyes on me.
“It looks like most of the academy would kill for that. Kill me specifically. I’m not jumping for joy here. Are you sure you want to be seen talking to me, Holly? Your friends?”
“Don’t be silly. Killing is strictly against academy rules, and I don’t think anyone at this table cares about the rumor mill in SinVail. Does anyone at this table have a problem with my roomie?” She asks, looking around at the others.
“Nope.”
“Not at all.”
“Negative.”
