Firelight by Sophie Jordan Page A

day.
    I spot her across the crowded lunchroom. Holding her tray, she stands with another girl. She looks so confident. So self-assured. I’ve never seen her this way.
    I fidget in my chair. Push a frizzy, coarse lock back behind my ear. Watching her, I scratch a bit desperately at my arm, at my suffocating skin, and wince when it starts to sting. I glance down at the splotchy, irritated flesh. I’ve been this way all day. Uncomfortable, slightly ill. The butterflies in my stomach definitely not the good variety. Except during gym today. I’d felt good then…around Will.
    Tamra sees me, registers that I’m sitting with people, and looks relieved. Permission granted to sit wherever she wants. She nods to me as she joins a table crowded with beautiful, well-dressed teenagers. Clearly the cream of Chaparral High. Brooklyn is among them, of course.
    My dose of her in third period supported everything Catherine told me. Apparently she heard about Will sitting with me yesterday and took exception. Every time Mrs. Schulz turned to the black-board, Brooklyn would swivel in her seat and level me with a killing glare. I wonder if she knows he talked to me during PE.
    I suppose a glare like that would send most girls whimpering into themselves. I didn’t care. I have bigger problems.
    I haven’t seen Will since PE. As I haven’t decided whether to go out with him, it’s a relief. Yes, being around him feeds my draki, and it’s all about that right now. About me doing whatever I can to keep that part of myself alive. But he’s everything I should avoid.
    For a draki, he’s death. Ironic, huh? To keep that part of me alive, I have to be close to that which kills it.
    I scan the lunchroom but don’t spot him. He must have another lunch period. Regret stabs my heart.
    And then I’m angry for that. Confused. My fingers fumble with a packet of ketchup.
    At least I haven’t seen his cousins. There’s no confusion when it comes to them. They should be avoided at all costs. Xander with his sly eyes and Angus with his curling lip. I don’t know how I would have handled Tamra sitting at a table with them. Brooklyn is one thing. But them?
    “Your sister fits right in,” Catherine comments.
    “Yeah,” I murmur, popping open my soda can, fighting hard to look okay with that. Because I am.

    I am.
    It makes sense. She should fit in around them. She’s practically human herself. She always loved the trips into town—anywhere we ventured in the outside world, away from the pride. “She’s good at that,” I murmur.
    “What?”
    “Fitting in,” I reply, sipping my orange soda. The kind of junk drink Mom never lets us have. The citrus burn-tickles my throat. The tangy aroma fills my nose.
    “Why aren’t you over there with the beautiful people?”
    I shrug.
    “You could be,” Brendan quietly interjects, picking at the crust of his sandwich, a shy, half-smile bending his lips. “You’re as pretty as she is.”
    “Well, duh.” Catherine playfully nudges him in the side. “They’re twins.”
    My lips twist into a smile. I pause with a potato chip halfway to my mouth. “Is that all it takes? You just have to be attractive to hang out with that crowd? You’re pretty. It must involve more than that.” Biting into my chip, I open my hamburger and examine the questionable patty. Wrinkling my nose, I place the bun back on the burger.
    “Anyway, your sister should be careful.”
    Brendan-of-few-words adds, “They’ll make her one of them.”
    Like they’re vampires. Still, his portentous words send a small chill through me.
    Then I shake it off. Tamra and I are sisters. We love each other. We would never hurt each other.
    Nothing will change that. Maybe it’s finally her turn to belong somewhere.
    Catherine nods, tossing her too-long bangs out of her seawater eyes. “He’s right. You don’t want her to become one of them.”
    I don’t want a lot of things. I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to lose myself in