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Everyone had a role to play I’d been considered cool by half-blood standards, but now I had no idea where I would stand co the eirls’

dors near theheld the cafeteria and rec rooms and surrounded a colorful courtyard

I slowed as I neared one of the larger roo from the room proved there were so flip-flopped inside me Would they accept me back? Would they even knowa deep breath, I pushed open the doors No one see on a pure who floated several pieces of furniture inthe air element, which explained al the noise Mom had used air, too After al , it was the most common element Pures could only control one, sometimes two if they were real y powerful

I studied the girl With her bright red curls and giant blue eyes, she looked about twelve, especial y standing next to the towering halfs in her cute jumper I real y didn’t have roo five and a half feet, which was et size compared to most of the halfs

I blamed my mortal father

Meanwhile, the pure pursed her lips as another chair toppled to the floor and more chuckles erupted from her audience--al except one Caleb Nicolo Tal , blond, and al char smile, Caleb had been my partner in dysfunction when I’d been at the Covenant I shouldn’t have been so surprised to see hi the su to do with her "weird"

child and his pure-blood father was total y on the absentee list

Caleb stared at me, wide-eyed and stunned "Holy…

crap"

Everyone turned at that point, even the pure With her concentration broken, al the items fel to the floor Several of the halfs scattered as the couch caledtime no see, huh?"

Caleb snapped out of it and within two seconds, he’d crossed the length of the roo Then he pickedme around

"Where in the hel have you been?" He put me on my feet

"Three years, Alex? What the hel ? Do you even knohat half of the students said happened to you and your ht you were dead! I could seriously punch you in the face, like right now"

I could barely hold backat e "I can’t believe you’re real y standing here You better have a wild story for hed "Like what?"

"You better have had a baby, kil ed someone, or slept with a pure Those are your three options Anything less is total y unacceptable"

"You’re so gonna be disappointed, because it wasn’t anything exciting"

Caleb dropped his arm around otta tel ot back here

And why you didn’t cal any of us? There isn’t a single place in this world that doesn’t have cel service"

"I’d go with she probably kil ed someone"

I tilted roup of halfs I didn’t recognize He looked exactly as I remembered hiirls to drool over, and equal y dark, sexy eyes I gave him my best smile "Whatever, you douche I didn’t kil anyone"

Jackson shook his head as he approached us "Do you re take down practice? You nearly kil ed hi we heal as quickly as we do or you would’ve put hihed at the memory Poor Nick had spent a week in the infireneral curiosity drew the other halfs to the couch Knowing I had to answer so my absence eventual y, I ca mortals Caleb looked at me doubtful y, but he didn’t push it

"What the hel are you wearing, by the way? It looks like the guy’s training uniform" Caleb plucked at ave a draet out anytirinned "I knohere they keep al the training clothes here Tomorrow, I can pick you up some extra stuff in town"

"You don’t have to And besides, I don’t think I want you shopping forlike a stripper"

Caleb laughed, the skin around his blue eyes crinkling

"Don’t worry about it Dad sent o Guess he feels bad for being a dick of a father

Anyway, I’l get one of the girls to go with "

The pure--Thea was her name--eventual y enuinely interested in me, but she asked the one question I feared

"So has your mother… reconciled with Lucian?" she asked in a smal , childlike voice

I forced myself not to show any reaction "No"

She looked surprised So did the halfs

"But… they can’t divorce," said Caleb "Are they going to do the separate house, different zip code thing?"

Pures never divorced They believed their ht it was a load of bul , but the "no-divorce" thing explained why so many of them had affairs