Page 159 of Fractured Fate

Having enough of this after seeing how uncomfortable Alex made her own friends, Charlotte squared her shoulders and said, “I think I have the right to be here.”

“Oh yeah? Why’s that?”

“Because my Korrena also attends. Why else do you think my memory is intact?”

The way Alex’s face flickered through a series of emotions from shock, to confusion, to disgust made Charlotte laugh.

“You have a Korrena? That’s so cool! I wish I had mine,” Lindsay finally said, smiling with a dreamy expression.

“Who?” Alex demanded in a sharp voice.

“My brother, now go away.”

Alex snapped her gaze to Riley. “Aiden?”

The girl’s tone shifted swiftly from angry to nervous. How well did she know him?

“Mmhm.” Riley didn’t look up from her phone, as if Alex wasn’t worth her attention.

“No, but he’s—”

“Still not interested in you.” Riley tapped her heels on the fountain, unable to sit still. She looked over at Charlotte. “She had a crush on him when we were kids, and while she doesn’t talk to him that much, she never got over it.” She looked at Alex again. “If you didn’t bother talking to him for years, why would you expect him to be available whenever you were ready?”

Alex spluttered. “I didn’t!” She crossed her arms. “I just thought…” She glanced to the side. “I talk to him now,” she said, almost too low to hear.

Riley lifted a brow, the glitter in her eyeshadow catching the sunlight.

“Forget it.” Alex huffed, spinning on her heel and storming away.

“We’re really sorry about her. She’s weird about humans,” Lindsay said, giving an apologetic smile. “It really was nice to meet you.”

“Yeah. Welcome to the academy. Lindsay and I share a dorm on the first floor of the third building down.” Piper pointed in the direction of the dorm buildings. “Fourth room on the right side. If you ever wanna hang out, come find us.”

“Sure. Thanks. I’ll do that.”

“Great!” Piper grabbed Lindsay’s arm and pulled her in the direction Alex had disappeared toward the dorms.

Charlotte watched them until they rounded the main building and turned to look at Blaire, who laughed.

“Well, I’m impressed.”

“What do you mean?”

“My first day around the students, I got attacked and almost bitten. I’d say your introduction to the academy is going a lot smoother than mine did.”

“Almost bitten?” She looked around with caution. She thought the students didn’t drink from live sources because of the ample supply of blood packets.

Riley hopped up, the chain belt of her pleated black skirt tinkling. “Not everyone is nice, but you’re not in danger. Those guys aren’t here anymore, and they were asshats.”

If Charlotte could meet others like Piper and Lindsay, maybe her time at Blackthorn Academy might not be so bad.

“So none of them have a Korrena?”

Riley shook her head. “No, that’s why Piper and Lindsay room together. Alex’s roommate moved out recently when she found her Korrena. They’re in my building now.”

Charlotte looked up at the fluffy white clouds moving across the blue sky. “They looked our age.”

“Piper is twenty-three, actually. She’s in her last year. Lindsay is eighteen, though. Alex is twenty-one.”