“Failure is not an option?” I try for breezy and confident, and it comes out more like a gurgle, like the last of the water circling the drain. The girl waiting for me gives a very loud sigh and looks pointedly at her watch.
My bodyguard of ten years suddenly hugs me. He hugs me like a brother and I am stunned. Aside from general directional nudges or abrupt moves when he thinks I might be in danger, Lev has never touched me. “Stay strong,” he whispers, “remember who you are, and always wear that necklace. Always.”
Letting my forehead drop to his shoulder, I give myself five seconds to mourn everything that’s lost to me before stiffening my spine and giving him a determined smile. Lev has enough to worry about without me turning into a boneless chicken and flopping on the polished wood floor, wailing loudly, which is really what I want to do. “Thank you, Lev. For everything.”
Giving my tour guide one hard look, he pulls away and heads out to the SUV without looking back.
“You’re Tatiana, right?”
It’s the bored girl. “Yes, hello. Tatiana Aslanova. What’s your name?” I ask, trying to look friendly instead of weepy.
“Your roommate,” she snarls, heading out the door without checking if I’ve followed her. My new roommate is tall, her stride eating up the path. She’s charging ahead to the next closest building, also built with tall, leaded-glass windows and multiple towers and turrets. There’s a huge stone entryway that does not look in any way welcoming, nor does the group of guys lounging in an outdoor seating arrangement on the terrace.
“Look lads, fresh meat!”
“I’ll be your tour guide, honey.”
“Hey Dukakis, who’s this?” This specific cat-caller is handsome in a sharp, dark way and he knows it, preening as we both glance in his direction.
“No one who will ever likely be desperate enough to fuck you, Mateo,” drawls my tour guide.
“Why do I get the feeling you just did me a favor?” I ask her as we climb a flight of stairs to the second floor.
“Because Mateo Costa is a fucking prick and there is no woman on this campus who hasn’t had to deal with his special brand of asshole behavior,” she snaps, turning to her left and heading down a long hallway with a huge, floor-to-ceiling window at the end of it.
“I appreciate the warning,” I said. I am grateful for it. My experience with the opposite sex was always conducted under the scrutiny of my family or my bodyguard, which means nothing more exciting than a handshake and some polite conversation. The concept that I’m going to have social interaction with men - and without the looming presence of Lev - is both giddy and terrifying.
“This is us,” she says, opening an ancient oak door. “Until two hours ago, I was the only student on this floor with my own suite,” she adds sourly.
“I’m sorry,” I offered weakly. The suite is startlingly luxurious for student housing. There’s a large main room with a fireplace flanked by two windows and comfortable leather couches. The first door to the left leads to what I assume is my bedroom because the large bed is stripped bare. There’s another huge window with an amazing view of the cliffs and the ocean, a good-sized desk, a chair, and a lovely oak armoire.
“That’s your bathroom,” she said crossly, opening another door. “Don’t use mine. Ever. Basic rules, don’t fuck anyone in the main room, at least have the common courtesy to use your bedroom and keep it down. Don’t leave a mess where I have to look at it. I have to actually graduate from here, so I study. A lot.”
This sets me off. “I have to graduate too, Dukak- wait, what’s your first name?”
“Athena,” she says reluctantly.
“So Athena, I’m sorry you have a roommate now. But my presence here isn’t specifically to ruin your life,” I said, trying to sound firm and confident. “I’m a nice person, you might actually like me if you give it a chance.”
“Uh, huh,” she says dubiously. “Anyway, the grand tour is over. Dinner starts at five and ends at seven. Bye.”
“Wait, where’s-” Athena’s closed her bedroom door and our conversation is finished.
Sitting on the floor in front of the window, I watch the whitecaps on the Atlantic and wonder if I’ve somehow stepped sideways into a parallel world, one where my mother and father are gone and my brothers are an ocean away and completely unreachable.
“You can cry and completely lose your shit,” I lecture myself, “or you can just keep moving.” The sound of my voice is a little jarring in the silent room, but I can see why people talk to themselves. It sounds authoritative. It’s soothing.
Pulling the manila envelope toward me, I wonder where they placed me. There are four majors at the Ares Academy; Leaders, always the first-born in the family. Then there are the Warriors, who usually head up the organization’s soldiers and security, the Assassins, who do most of a crime family’s dirty work, and the Spies, who gather information and analyze threats.
Seems like the Aslanov Bratva’s spies weren’t doing their work. An attack on the scale of what was just launched against our family surely couldn’t have gone undetected like this. Knowing my brother Roman, there are already heads on a pike somewhere as a warning.
Reading down through the Admissions letter, I see I’ve been placed in the Spies track. I stand up, rubbing my face and pacing some more. Tatiana Aslanova, the Spy. It would be hilarious if it wasn’t so sad. But where else would they put me? The Warriors? The vision of me in body armor and wielding a bloody sword is just entertaining enough that there’s still a smile on my face when there’s a knock on the suite’s door.
A woman in an honest to god’s old-fashioned maid uniform is standing there holding a pile of bedding in her arms and boxes stacked behind her. I knew Ilia had his personal shopper set me up with a new wardrobe and necessities since everything I own is still back at our family’s home in Vancouver. The speed of delivery, though, is impressive since I’ve only been here a couple of hours.
“Hello, I’m here to make up your room?” She’s got a nice smile, even though her eyes dart everywhere but at me.
“Oh, thank you,” I said. Suddenly, the thought of anyone in the room with me seems like too much. “I’ll take care of it myself.” I put my arms out, smiling expectantly, and this seems to alarm her.
“No, Miss Aslanova, I’m required to do it.”
“Oh, I insist,” I said, smiling widely in a way that I know is super creepy but it’s all I can manage right now. “I’ll tell them that you did it and you are an amazing bed-maker.”
Her pretty face scrunches up a bit, but she nods reluctantly and hands over the pile of sheets and towels like they’re the Crown Jewels of England.
Dinnertime has come and gone but I can’t seem to leave my spot in front of the window. Somehow, having all these bags and boxes of clothes piled in the corner makes this too real. My entire life has been narrowed down into this one room, surrounded by things I don’t recognize and with no way to reach the few people left who care about me. All the girls I’d made cautious friendships with at the University will never know what happened to me. Will they care? Will anyone try to reach me?
Wrapping the comforter around my shoulders, I do none of the things on my to-do list. Instead, I cry, staring out at the ocean until I fall asleep on the floor.
Chapter Four
In which Tatiana is introduced to the Infamous Jankowski Beatdown. And Lucca.