Most people they passed gave Cordie amicable nods and friendly smiles; she seemed to be well-liked and had a kind word for everyone who greeted her.
“Oh, there’s Polina,” Cordie exclaimed as she spotted a girl who stood apart from the crowd, watching the fireworks with quiet awe from where she leaned against a tree. She was short and stocky, with dark, fluffy curls and an olive undertone to her fair skin. She and Cordie exchanged prim air-kisses.
“I thought you wouldn’t show,” Polina said in a gentle, barely audible voice.
Cordie squeezed the girl’s hands, her expression turning fiercely protective. “Is everything all right? Did Thames leave you here alone?”
Polina shrugged. “He went off with your brother. I didn’t want to intrude.” She eyed Baz and Kai with shy curiosity, as if just now noticing their presence. Her gaze lingered on Baz, and a faint blush colored her cheeks.
Cordie pulled her toward them. “Polina, let me introduce you toBaz and Kai, Eclipse students from Luagua. Polina is one of two Eclipse-born students here at Aldryn.”
“That’s two too many, if you ask me,” a voice slithered from behind them. “Abominations, all of them.”
There stood a young man who stared at Polina with such visceral hate, it almost made Baz want to cower the way she did now, ducking her head trying to make herself appear smaller. At his side, he felt Kai tensing as if for a fight. The student who’d spoken had slicked-back dark hair and a severe brow. He was flanked by two of his friends, both burly in stature and just as hateful in appearance. Their combative stances made it clear they were looking for trouble.
“No one asked you, Wulfrid,” snapped Cordie. “Keep walking.”
Gone was the polite manner with which Cordie had addressed the barkeep earlier. It was as if a wolf had broken free to replace her saccharine exterior, called to the surface by these bullies.
Wulfrid sneered at her. “Or what?” He made a show of looking around, his gaze flitting over Baz and Kai as if they were nothing before landing on Cordie again. “Not quite as invincible as you believe yourself to be when your brother’s not around, are you?”
Cordie advanced on him with her hands fisted at her sides. The boy didn’t even flinch. “Come on, then, Seer. Do your worst.” When Cordie merely glared at him, he smiled with oily satisfaction. “You’re a pathetic excuse of a lunar mage. Mingling with Eclipse scum. Next to no magic to speak of yourself. Everyone knows you’re only here because of your family name.”
Cordie’s jaw worked, her eyes blinking rapidly. Wulfrid had clearly hit a nerve.
“I think that’s enough.”
This came from Kai, who was watching Wulfrid with barely leashed rage.
Wulfrid’s attention darted to him—and the Eclipse sigil visible onboth his and Baz’s hands. His lip curled in disgust. “I can’t believe they’re allowing your kind to participate in the Bicentennial. You’re a stain on our school’s history.”
“You’ll be a stain on this snow if you don’t walk away right now,” Kai said, voice low and threatening. Like a beast prowling the night, he stepped closer to Wulfrid, towering over him by at least a head.
Wulfrid lifted his chin in defiance, but he couldn’t hide the way his throat bobbed in fear or the faint tremor in his voice as he asked, “And who might you be to address me in such a way, Eclipse scum?”
Kai’s smile was cold and unsettling. “Call me scum one more time, and what I’ll be is your worst nightmare.”
Whatever Wulfrid saw in Kai’s piercing gaze was menacing enough to get him to back off. With a sneer, he motioned to his friends to follow him.
“Come on,” Cordie said once they were gone, her eyes never leaving the back of Wulfrid’s head. She grasped Polina’s hand. “Let’s go find Thames and—”
“I don’t want to stay out here anymore,” Polina said weakly, tugging back her hand and holding it to her chest. She looked pale. “I should have stayed in Obscura Hall.”
“Wulfrid’s a menace,” Cordie argued. “Don’t let him ruin our fun.”
“You don’t understand.” Polina’s voice was meek, quiet. “Wulfrid might be menace enough to say something, but plenty of other students share his opinions. I feel them staring. I know what they think of us.”
Cordie looked like she wanted to press her friend further but didn’t. There was a bleak sort of understanding in her eyes as she nodded, saying, “Of course. Let me walk you back to campus.”
“No, really, you stay here. Enjoy the festivities. I can find my way back.”
“We’ll go with her,” Baz chimed in. This earned him a beaming look from Polina and a raised brow from Cordie.
“Are you certain?” Cordie asked. “You only just got here.”
“We’re really tired after everything that happened,” Kai chimed in, catching on to Baz’s plan. “It’ll give us time to get settled.” More like time to prepare to slip into Dovermere as soon as the tide was low again.
Cordie looked only slightly dejected. “Well, all right, then. But oh, youmustcome to our salon tomorrow and meet everyone.”
