On the Edge of the Blade: Book One

Chapter One

From the passenger seat, Clyde's twin sister Avriella laughed. Iclyn didn't, her face set into a grim line. Their car stopped at the gate that stopped non-employees from entering that level of the garage, and Iclyn opened the window and scanned her ID. The gate opened, and their car glided through.

"That's understandable," Iclyn said, shooting Avriella a look. "Your teachers won't add to the problem. They're all really nice."

"If that hasn't changed since you went there," Avriella pointed out. "That was, like, twenty years ago."

Winter snorted a laugh. Iclyn was eight years older than him, and she was only just out of high school. It definitely hadn't been twenty years since she went to middle school.

"Five," Iclyn corrected with a very loud sigh. "And I checked the website a few days ago. The middle school staff hasn't changed."

"Good," Winter said. He'd heard a lot about Iclyn's teachers, and most of it was positive. That was in contrast to the rest of the school . . .

A flood of worries crashed through Winter's head, and he curled his legs in tighter, trying to avoid his sister's concerned gaze.

"Hey," Iclyn said gently, meeting his eyes in the rearview mirror. "It's only six and a half hours. You'll survive."

Winter had no doubt of that. He wasn't worried about surviving. He was worried about how hard surviving would be.

Fifteen minutes later, their car turned into the standard middle school drop off loop, turning several heads. Winter even saw one man's mouth drop open. He smirked for a second, then quickly wiped it off his face as he noticed a familiar car driving out of the drop off loop. He scanned the mass of kids and saw who he expected: Isolde, his twin sister, Quilo, his older brother, Kalda, his cousin, and Marc, Kalda's brother.

Great.

Winter had known they would be here. It wasn't unexpected. It was just . . . disheartening. It felt like proof the next three years would be just as miserable as he expected.

Their car rolled to a stop, and Avriella and Clyde hopped out immediately. Winter held still for a few seconds, trying to gather his nerve.

"Winter," Iclyn began. She sounded weirdly serious.

"Yeah?" he asked, trying to keep the conversation casual.

"Good luck. And . . . at least try to make friends."

"We both know that's pointless," Winter grumbled.

"Winter." His sister's tone left no room for argument.

He sighed. "Whatever. I'll try."

Iclyn didn't seem particularly thrilled by that response, but Winter leapt out of the car before she could protest.

He stood on the curb for a moment, scanning faces. He knew he wouldn't see anyone familiar, other than Clyde and Avriella and his family. But it couldn't hurt to try.

Winter blinked as his eyes narrowed in on a face that he hadn't seen recently but was still incredibly familiar. "Vanessa?" he mumbled, staring at the black-haired girl surrounded by friends across the pavilion.

He hadn't known she was going to this school.

Winter sighed. Vanessa Vierra hated him. And she didn't even have a good reason. At Icebreakers Sports Complex, he had more power than her, so it wasn't like she could really do anything. But here?