Page 127

Alex threw herself across the room to embrace her friend.

“Thanks, Dix,” she said, hugging her tightly. “You’re the best.”

“It’s not like I haven’t asked you to keep my share of secrets.” D.C. smiled as she pulled away. “It looks as though you’re the go-to girl for royal confidences.”

“Woohoo,” Alex said dryly.

D.C. shook her head in amusement before saying they had less than half an hour left for breakfast.

“Do you mind if we swing by the Med Ward on our way?” asked Alex as she picked up Fletcher’s lab coat. “I need to return this to Fletcher.”

When they were outside and heading towards the Gen-Sec building, D.C. said, “Jordan told us about your weekend trip. I can’t believe Hunter made you do all that!”

“It was pretty intense,” Alex said.

Total understatement.

A few steps later D.C. spoke again, quieter this time. “Did you really fight Aven?”

Alex shuddered as the memory washed over her. “Yeah. Or, I tried to, at least. He’s… really good.”

“HeisMeyarin,” D.C. reasoned. “Still, I heard you held your own long enough to buy some time and get everyone out of there. I was amazed when Jordan said so. Especially with all the other gifted people on Aven’s side.”

“We were very lucky,” Alex said, honouring her promise to Roka and keeping her new Meyarin abilities secret. “Nothing more.”

D.C. appeared doubtful. “If you say so.”

They dropped off Fletcher’s coat and hurried to the food court to eat a quick breakfast. Jordan and Bear were already waiting for them, finishing the last of their meals.

After Alex had scoffed down her scrambled eggs on toast she turned to Jordan and Bear. “I have some news.” They looked ather curiously and she drained her juice before speaking again in a whisper, “Do you guys remember Zain? The massive guard from Meya?”

“He’s hard to forget,” Bear said, and D.C. and Jordan nodded in agreement.

“Well, he visited me last night and told me he’s going to be Karter’s teaching assistant for a while,” Alex said, deliberately leaving out her trip to Meya.

D.C. eyed her shrewdly, but since Alex’s words weren’t actually false, she didn’t think her roommate would call her on them.

Jordan and Bear were clearly surprised and she quickly finished her explanation.

“He wants us to act like we’ve never seen him before. It’s for our sakes, mostly, since it wouldn’t be good for anyone to think we’ve been in contact with a Meyarin. That said, Zain doesn’t actually believe anyone will figure out that he’s not human. They’ll think he’s intimidating—and attractive. His words, not mine.”

She scowled a little when she thought about the guard’s teasing.Stupid Mey

“Why’s he coming here?” Jordan asked.

Alex thought about her answer carefully before she responded. “He’s going to be keeping an eye on everything, I guess. They heard about what happened with Aven yesterday and they seem to think it’s a good idea for me to have a babysitter. Or something like that.”

Okay, so she hadn’t told the complete truth. But she knew Roka wouldn’t be pleased if she gave away Zain’s real mission. So she told them what she’d first thought the guard was coming for, and her explanation was believable enough that her friends nodded their acceptance.

“Your very own personal bodyguard,” Bear said with a smirk. “You’re moving up in the world, Alex.”

“I think this is a good thing,” Jordan said seriously. “I’ll sleep better at night knowing Zain is here to keep an eye on you, just in case Aven turns up again. Meyarin against Meyarin is way better than human against Meyarin, that’s for sure.”

“I agree,” Alex said. “Although it is a little annoying.”

“Annoying might just save your life,” Bear pointed out.

The gong rang then, telling them to head off to class.