some kind of mama's boy. I just mean 'easy' is about where my powers end. Whereas
you--you're the famous Lucinda Price." He waved his hands in a very masculine version
of spirit fingers.
"I wish everyone would stop saying that," she snapped. Then, feeling rude, she
sighed and leaned against the deck's railing to look out at the water. It was just so hard to
process all these hints that other people here knew more about her than she knew about
herself. She didn't mean to take it out on this guy. "I'm sorry, it's just, I thought I was the
only one barely hanging on. What's your story?"
"Oh, I'm what they call 'diluted,' " he said, making exaggerated air quotes. "Mom
has angel in her blood a few generations back, but all my other relatives are mortal. My
powers are embarrassingly low-grade. But I'm here because my parents endowed the
school with, um, this deck you're standing on."
"Whoa."
"It's really not impressive. My family's obsessed with me being at Shoreline. You
36
should hear the pressure I get at home to date a 'nice Nephilim girl for once.' " Luce
laughed--one of the first real laughs she'd had in days. Miles rolled his eyes goodnaturedly. "So, I saw you having breakfast with Shelby this morning. She your
roommate?"
Luce nodded. "Speaking of nice Nephilim girls," she joked.
"Well, I know she's kind of, um ..." Miles hissed and made a clawing motion with
one hand, causing Luce to crack up again. "Anyway, I'm not the star student here or
anything, but I've been around a while, and half the time I still think this place is pretty
crazy. So if you ever want to have a very normal breakfast or something--"
Luce found herself bobbing her head. Normal. Music to her mortal ears.
"Like ... tomorrow?" Miles asked.
"That sounds great."
Miles grinned and waved goodbye, and Luce realized that all the other students
had already gone back inside. Alone for the first time all morning, she looked down at the
sheet of paper in her hand, unsure how to feel about the other kids at Shoreline. She
missed Daniel, who could have decoded a lot of this for her if only he hadn't been--where
was he, anyway? She didn't even know.
Too far away.
She pressed a finger to her lips, remembering his last kiss. The incredible embrace
of his wings. She felt so cold without him, even in the California sunshine. But she was
here because of him, accepted into this class of angels or whatever they were--complete
with her bizarre new reputation--all thanks to him. In a weird way, it felt good to be
connected to Daniel so inextricably.
Until he came for her, it was all she had to hold on to.
37
THREE
SIXTEEN DAYS
"Okay, hit me, what's the weirdest thing about Shoreline so far?"
It was Wednesday morning before class, and Luce was seated at a sunny breakfast
table on the terrace, sharing a pot of tea with Miles. He was wearing a vintage yellow Tshirt with a Sunkist logo on it, a baseball cap pulled down just above his blue eyes, flipflops, and frayed jeans. Feeling inspired by the very relaxed dress code at Shoreline, Luce
had swapped out her standard black getup. She was wearing a red sundress with a short
white cardigan, which felt kind of like the first day of sunshine after a long stretch of
rain.
She dropped a spoonful of sugar into her cup and laughed. "I don't even know
where to start. Maybe my roommate, who I think snuck in just before sunrise this
morning and was gone again before I woke up. No, wait, it's taking a class taught by a
demon-and-angel couple. Or"--she swallowed--"the way kids here look at me like I'm
some legendary freak. Anonymous freak, I got used to. But notorious freak--"
"You are not notorious." Miles took a giant bite of his croissant. "I'm gonna tackle
those one at a time," he said, chewing.
As he dabbed the side of his mouth with his napkin, Luce half-marveled, halfchuckled at his occasionally impeccable table manners. She couldn't help picturing him
taking some fancy etiquette course at the golf club as a boy.
"Shelby's rough around the edges," Miles said, "but she can be cool, too. When
she feels like it. Not like I've ever witnessed that side of her." He laughed. "But that's the
rumor. And the Frankie/Steven thing weirded me out at first, too, but somehow they
make it work. It's like a celestial balancing act. For some reason having both sides present
gives students here the most freedom to develop."
There was that word again. Develop. She remembered that Daniel had used it
when he first told her he wouldn't be joining her at Shoreline. But develop into what? It
could only apply to the kids who were Nephilim. Not Luce, who was the lone full human