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“I like it,” Mare remarked. “I wish I could get my actual name out in the open, honestly. Lian did you a favor, even if you don’t realize it now.”
My face heated further. “His name is Calian.”
“Even hotter than Lian, somehow,” one of the girls muttered.
“Lucky bitch,” another one of them sighed dramatically. My gaze flicked to her, and lingered. She was the one who had been in the doorway, and my eyes widened slightly when I saw her, only because she looked so much less human than the rest of us. “I’m Sunny,” she offered. Her hair was black at the roots but faded to gray, and then white by the time it reached the ends. She’d pulled it up into two puffs on top of her head, reminding me of the space buns that had been in style when I was in high school, which I’d never been brave enough to try. Her skin was dark brown, and her lips were painted black. One of her eyes was silver while the other was the same shade as her lips.
My face was fucking burning when I realized I’d been staring.
Staring could get a girl fucking shanked.
“It’s okay, I’m used to it.” She shrugged. “I’d stare at you if you were as fucking stunning as I am.” She gave a little half-twirl that made me snort.
“Some of our appearances seem to be more affected by the magic than others,” another girl said. “I’ve got this massive tattoo over my back and arm. It appeared a few weeks after I got here.” Her skin was the same pale shade as mine, but she had more freckles than I knew was possible. Her hair was a bright golden color that mine sure as fuck didn’t resemble, even though the colors probably belonged to the same family. Mine was a solid dirty-looking blonde.
“I’m Dots, by the way.”
“I’ve always wanted a tattoo,” I admitted. “Never had the money.”
“Maybe you’ll get lucky with the magic, then,” she suggested.
“Unlikely.” The last girl whose name I didn’t know pushed past me. “Good luck with the king, dead girl.” I didn’t get a great look at her, but from what I could see, she was pale and thin. She was wearing a high-necked long-sleeve shirt, as well as leggings and socks. With her long, thick black hair swaying around her face, I barely saw an inch of her skin.
“That’s North. Don’t let her offend you; she just hates being here. She hated Earth too, though. She’s a hellhound and has patches of burnt-looking skin everywhere her scars used to be. She had alotof scars,” Dots explained in a hushed voice.
Fuck, I hoped they didn’t always gossip like this. I shuddered to think what they’d say about me.
I’d be on board with burn marks, though. At least then, my appearance would tell people to fuck off without me saying any actual words.
“None of us had good lives, back on Earth,” Mare murmured. “I’m sure you were in a shitty boat too. For some of us, this is the second chance we always hoped for. For others, it’s another hell. You get to choose how you see it.”
She looped her arm through mine, and the sudden touch made me jerk a bit.
It wasn’t terrible, though.
It was actually kind of… nice.
How long had it been since anyone touched me?
Other than Calian, who I hadn’t wanted to touch me?
How long had it been since I actually sort of trusted someone?
I didn’t want to think about that.
“Come on, let’s get you settled in your new room. Ana went crazy with the cleaning spray while you were gone. As suspicious as that girl is about everything, she never hesitated to do her part around here,” Mare said cheerfully, tugging me down the hallway by my arm.
“I’m going to miss that crazy bitch,” Sunny remarked, as she and Dots walked alongside me.
The fact that they were going to miss her told me plenty about her. She might have been a little insane, but she had to have been a decent friend—because there were very, very few people that had ever treated me well enough for me to actually miss them after they were out of my life.
Then again, I’d grown up the grumpy, sad girl in the foster system. I wasn’t one of the cute little ones who bounced back from the shit they went through and found forever homes—I was one of the temperamental ones who moved around and never found her place.
Maybe now that I was out, and free, that would change.
As long as I could stay away from Calian, that was.
“Here we are,” Dots announced with a flourish of her hand. “Home sweet home. It’s nothing fancy, but definitely a hell of a lot more comfortable than the forest outside.”
