Fate's Exchange (Twisted Fate, Book 1)

Chapter One

Alyssa

I heard them before I saw them, but by then, it was too late.

For the first time ever, I cut out of study hall early and followed a shifty-looking group of students I didn't know as they crept out of the library unseen. Miss Carmichael, the college student completing her final practicum before becoming a real teacher, was too engrossed with texting her fiancé from her perch on a stool behind the check-out counter to even notice us slip past. I didn't see another teacher as we quietly made our way through the halls that lead us out of the school.

As soon as we cleared the back door of Royal Academy, I broke from the group to head straight while they rounded the side of the building, out of sight. I was grateful that spring had arrived with a smiling sun to melt the remnants of snow hidden between the trees in the woods that lay just past the sports fields ahead. After being grounded for a week, the first day of the weekend marked freedom. Not even the chill from the not-so-warming breeze could ruin my good mood.

With the conclusion of my favorite series, Fallen, by Lauren Kate, in my hand, I hurried through the dampened, ankle-deep grass that had yet to be cut since the change of seasons. The open greens behind Royal Academy were large enough to fit two football fields with ease, with running tracks surrounding them to look like a figure eight. At the edge of the field where the grass ended, the dense woods that separated our school from Elixir High School began. It was barely a kilometer thick, but it was the perfect place to escape. The treehouse that I loved to go to read and be alone, shutting out the world, was just behind the first bunch of trees. It was secluded, surrounded by nothing but woods, and mine.

With a smile, already starting to feel the full-body pleasure that engulfed me when I was able to turn off my brain to live in a fictional world, I ran until my shoulders throbbed from the jostle of my heavy bag and I was left breathless. Almost there. The lawn brushing my ankles shortened and turned to brown, the muddy, rock-ridden ground too harsh for planting. Just another hundred meters and you'll be surrounded by trees, closer to the treehouse and unseen by the world. My smile grew, and I exhaled.

"Hey! Honey!" a guy shouted from behind me.

I peered over my shoulder and felt my breath hitch. Just as quickly, I turned forward and kept my gaze on the ground, picking up my speed. Irrationally, my heart began to race.

Five Elixir High School students—three boys and two girls—were following me, though I had no idea why they were coming from my school and not theirs. Or had they cut through the woods and doubled back when they saw me walking alone? I was so eager to leave that I hadn't been paying attention, and their heavy footsteps had been masked by the sound of my heart as I ran across the field. Now, I felt each step as it drummed a beat beneath me as though the earth was hollow. They blocked my way back to Royal Academy, leaving me one direction to flee: forwards, into the woods. Every other direction was fenced off.

My heart raced. Just ignore them and they'll go away.

But somehow, I knew there would be no ignoring this bunch. Maybe I could, if I wasn't alone, but now? Alone? No, they looked like the reason the new program—some delinquent outreach thingamajiggy—had been integrated into their school. With another shoulder-check, I saw smoke curl into the air, the tip of the joint they shared glowing red as each took a puff. The breeze carried the stench forward, so strong it was like I could feel myself turning green, and my stomach rolled. I focused forward and tried to move faster, gaining much-needed distance without being obvious.

This felt bad. They hadn't even done anything, I knew. My gut told me that I shouldn't trust them, though, and I was too scared to turn back the way I came. Even the thought of stopping to unzip my bag to grab my phone made me want to hurl. They can't catch up to me if I don't stop. I bent my head and continued forward.