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Finally, she smiled.

“Thank you for your apology, Tobias. I know it must have been difficult for you to open up like that.” She chewed on her lip for a moment, then sighed. “I’ve only been here a week, and I’ve been focusing on all the wrong things. I’m ready to focus on the right things, like getting a handle on my mermaid powers and writing my essay for Shifter Bio. So why don’t we start fresh, as friends?”

She held out her hand, but she might as well have jabbed a dagger right into my chest.

I had expected worse, after everything that had happened between us. I’d expected her to tell me to fuck off and never talk to her again. But it still sliced me to my charred heart that she said the f-word.

I shook her hand, savoring for just a moment how small and warm it felt in mine. I wanted to pull her against me and wrap my arms around her, just as much as I wanted to push myself away from her and run in the other direction. But I just let go of her hand and returned mine to its home in my pocket.

“Friends,” I repeated the word behind a smile I didn’t feel, hating the way it tasted in my mouth. “Can I walk you to your dorm? Maybe I can help you with your Bio essay.”

“Sure, that would be nice, actually,” she said.

Friends wasn’t what Arthur had ordered, but at least this was a step up from where Arya and I were yesterday, and I’d ask her out before the week was over.

I just had to use the utmost caution with how I proceeded with her. I couldn’t afford to fall in love with her, and I’d never forgive myself if she fell in love with me. I had to handle this just right, for both our sakes.

Chapter 30

Arya

On Thursday, one full week since I’d started school at The Dome, life was finally starting to feel like some version of normal.

There was no boy drama, as Tobias and Kendall were firmly in the friend zone, and enjoyed separately so they couldn’t clash. Shea seemed to have recovered from the disappointment of the party and was texting me on the regular.

And I had made a sort of peace with the other mers ostracizing me. It helped that Adina was turning out to be not so horrible. In fact, she was actually kind of enjoyable to be around.

Like Tobias and Kendall, she also had to be enjoyed separately from my other friends, as there was no way I was going to try to lump her in with my phoenix and dragon friends. Not yet anyway. She may be dating a hound, but there was only so much lenience her prejudice could take. Baby steps.

Cora and Letti were presently staring daggers at both of us across the gym as I helped unwrap Adina’s hands at the end of Defense. Ashlyn had used the last sparring round to attempt to flirt with Niko, so I took the opportunity to spreadmyself out to my only female mer friend. And honestly, it helped sparring with different people so I could learn new techniques.

“I wish they’d stop staring at me,” Adina complained, turning away from the glaring guppies.

“How could they? You’re friends with me now. That makes you a double traitor,” I teased, but it was also probably very much the truth.

She just shook her head as she flexed her fully unwrapped hands. “Hey, I have to talk to Caesar, would you wait for me after class? I don’t want to walk to the dorms alone.”

My heart squeezed, but I tried not to let my pity show. I was quickly learning that mers hated to be on the receiving end of pity. Maybe that was why I wasn’t the biggest fan of it, either.

“Of course. I’ll just hit the showers for a quick rinse, then.”

I headed into the girls’ shower room, standing under the hot flowing water until everyone else left, figuring Adina might need the extra time with Caesar. When I figured it had been long enough, and I felt like I’d gotten every drop of sweat off my body, I toweled off and got dressed.

When I came back out into the gym, there was no one else in the large room. I looked all around, but I didn’t see Adina or Caesar anywhere. I wondered if they could be talking in one of the smaller rooms in here, so I ventured across to those.

The door to the Simulation Room stood open. I walked past it to look inside. Surely they wouldn’t be talking in there.

The room was empty, just like the rest of the gym.

I looked at the room for a moment. This was the room I’d heard mentioned with dread but knew so little about.

It didn’t look all that intimidating. Nothing but a very large box with four white walls, a white ceiling, and a white floor. The white that shone on every naked surface was a starkcontrast to the dark gray that covered everything else on this campus, making the room seem uncomfortably bright.

How could anyone train in this room? There was nothing here. I didn’t know what I expected, but I definitely expected more thannothing. At least some wires and gear hanging from the ceiling. Otherwise, how could a simulation run?

“Doesn’t look too scary, does it?” Adina asked suddenly from behind me.

I turned around to offer a witty retort, but my mouth sealed when I saw that she was flanked by Cora and Letti, and all three of them were smiling wickedly at me.