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Back Legendborn Save as PDF
Chapters (68)
  1. Dedication
  2. PROLOGUE
  3. THREE MONTHS LATER
  4. PART ONE ORDER
  5. 1
  6. 2
  7. 3
  8. 4
  9. 5
  10. 6
  11. 7
  12. 8
  13. 9
  14. PART TWO DISCORD
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. 17
  23. 18
  24. 19
  25. 20
  26. 21
  27. 22
  28. 23
  29. 24
  30. 25
  31. PART THREE ROOTS
  32. 26
  33. 27
  34. 28
  35. 29
  36. 30
  37. 31
  38. 32
  39. 33
  40. 34
  41. 35
  42. 36
  43. 37
  44. 38
  45. 39
  46. 40
  47. PART FOUR SPLINTER
  48. 41
  49. 42
  50. 43
  51. 44
  52. 45
  53. 46
  54. 47
  55. 48
  56. 49
  57. 50
  58. 51
  59. 52
  60. 53
  61. 54
  62. 55
  63. 56
  64. 57
  65. 58
  66. AUTHOR’S NOTE
  67. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  68. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

All I can do is watch her walk away.

5

ANGER CASCADES THROUGH me so entirely I can taste it.

I make it halfway back to Old East before I have to pause to catch my breath on the steps of a library. At the edge of Polk Place, it seems like all of Carolina’s almost thirty thousand students are rippling across the quad in a steady wave, heading to their first class of the semester.

Before, Alice and I’d talked about EC like a grand adventure we would conquer together. Now, watching all the other students walk to their classes with purpose, it feels like I’m here on my own. A sly, bitter voice appears from a dark corner: Maybe that’s how it should be. One less memory of Before-Bree to live up to. I swallow against the quiet, raw satisfaction that surfaces, but it doesn’t go away. Right now, alone feels… good.

My phone buzzes in my pocket. A text from a number I don’t recognize.

Hi, Briana! This is Nick Davis. Dean McKinnon gave me your number so we could get started today. Want to meet up after classes?

The babysitter already. I swipe it away. Then my phone buzzes again. A call. The name on the screen makes my throat go tight, but I answer it anyway.

“Hey, Dad.”

“There’s my college kid.” My father’s voice is warm and familiar, but my pulse quickens. Did the dean call him already?

“It’s not real college, Dad.” I sit on the stone veranda behind one of the library’s massive columns, tucking myself away from the eyes of passersby.

“It’s a real college campus,” he retorts. “They take my real college money.”

Damn. No comeback there. What I said to Norris was true: I did earn a merit award. My parents weren’t rich, but they’d been good about saving. Even still, the small pot of money they’d saved for my college tuition wouldn’t be enough to pay for a four-year bachelor’s degree without loans. The only reason Dad could afford the two years of EC was because that partial academic award cut the price in half. He doesn’t say as much, but I know he’s gambling that the investment in EC now will help me get into colleges later, and maybe earn scholarships, too. I wince, still smarting from Alice’s comment about my class choices. “S’pose that’s right,” I mumble.

“Mm-hmm.” He chuckles. “How was your first night in a real college dorm?”

My dad doesn’t traffic in subtext. With him, what you see and hear is what you get. If he’d gotten a call from the dean, he’d have let me know by now. Loud and clear. I release a quiet sigh.

“First night here? Quiet,” I lie. It doesn’t feel great, but I don’t feel great right now.