“No?” He arches a brow. “Handsome and clever, isn’t your type?”
“Dumb and full of shit, isn’t my type,” I correct. “And you happen to be both.”
I expect him to get angry at that comment, but he just shrugs good-naturedly.
“Your opinion of me will change eventually,” he says.
“What is everyone’s power?” I ask, Spider.
As long as he plans to stick around, I may as well squeeze him for information.
Flint answers in his stead.
“I am a Shifter,” Flint says, biting into a carrot. “I can steal faces.”
“Really?” I ask, impressed.
I blink, and he’s Spider: two-toned hair and everything.
“Wow,” Spider says. “You stole my breath away. Am I really that beautiful? Like, I am justallowedto walk around like that.”
I snort.
“Do me, next.”
Flint shifts again, and now he is me, except his clothes fit loose on his frame. It’s incredible to see. Definitely, one of the coolest powers I’ve witnessed.
“I’ll write down a list of everyone’s gifts so you can learn your opponents,” Spider says. “Great initiative, requesting that information, Mercy. I can already tell you’ll be my prized pupil.”
We eat in relative silence except for Spider’s occasional stories. Helovesgossiping. He tells us about a girl who was imprisoned for getting pregnant in Block C because she didn’t have access to contraception. She was given 10 years, with an additional 5 for withholding the father's name, who would have been arrested alongside her.
It isn’t until we’re done eating that I pull Spider aside before he vanishes. He was just about to turn the corner to his bedroom, which is in the west wing. The opposite side of ours.
I wanted to speak to him away from Flint. I like Flint, but I just met him, and I don’t make it a habit to easily trust people, especially the Gifted. Not when they’re all plotting against me.
“I would like extra lessons,” I say. “Maybe after dinner a few times a week?”
“Aren’t you tired from training?” Spider asks.
“I want to get stronger, faster,” I respond. “I want to win.”
He smiles, revealing his perfect, white teeth.
“I knew you would be my little champion,” he says, patting my head fondly.
I refuse to sit around and watch them conspire against me.
Only one of us will be picked to join Black Star, and I intend for it to be me.
chapter
thirteen
Haven
Days pass in a blur of practice. Some days, I can barely carry myself to bed. Spider trains me hard once we fuel up after dinner, and we go at it till midnight. He’s teaching me to fight multiple opponents. It’s helpful that his power allows him to create many versions of himself.
I want to be prepared in case we have another “free-for-all” or if Aric colludes with his friends and jumps me. His stares have grown more hostile as our training continues, and I know it isn’t just good-natured rivalry; he’s still friendly with Rei and acknowledges Flint. It’s only me he despises, because I’m a Common.
