Fallen 2. Torment(19)

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