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1
ALINA
When people think you’re made of glass, the last place you should be is probably a university for assassins. And to be fair, I can’t really argue with that logic. But it was the only way that I could carve out some freedom for myself.
“Alina! We’re leaving.”
I heave a sigh.
Carve out some freedom, yes. But with massive emphasis on some.
The door to my bedroom vibrates in its hinges as a fist pounds impatiently on it.
“Alina. Now.”
“Yes,” I reply, not bothering to hide the irritation in my tone. “I heard you the first time, Mikhail.”
Brushing my hands down my shirt, I walk over to the door and open it.
My eldest brother, Mikhail, is standing right on the other side, his blue eyes locked on me and his pale brows raised expectantly. I’m half a second away from snapping at him that I’m actually ready with two minutes to spare, but I manage to suppress the impulse.
Pissing off Mikhail is a bad idea. Especially today. Since he is the eldest, he is in charge of the rest of us Petrovs here at Blackwater University. And if he decides to start limiting my already limited freedom here, all of this will have been for nothing. Not to mention that we’re about to head back to our family home in the city for a family meeting where we will discuss whether I should stay at Blackwater or not, which is a meeting I’m dreading terribly.
So instead of taking that out on Mikhail, I drop my gaze. “I’m sorry.”
His voice softens as he replies, “It’s alright. You do actually have one minute to spare.”
I look up to find him smiling at me. It’s a smile that few other people ever get to see. Mikhail is one of the best hitmen in the senior year, and most people give him, and our entire family, a wide berth. Especially now that there are five of us on campus. No one wants to risk angering the Petrov family. Well, except for the Hunters, of course.
“Mikhail! Alina!” Anton calls from downstairs. “Are you coming or what? The twins are threatening to drive if you don’t get down here soon.”
“Over my dead body,” Mikhail replies. “Which is exactly the state we will all end up in if either of them is driving.”
My twin cousins, Maksim and Konstantin, let out a terrifyingly synchronized evil laugh from somewhere below.
Mikhail shakes his head in exasperation before jerking his chin at me. We start down towards the front door.
We’re renting one of the freestanding houses in the residential area of Blackwater University. All students live here, so the entire area is filled with houses as well as larger buildings that contain apartments or dorm rooms. While I would have preferred to rent a place of my own instead of sharing it with my two brothers and my two cousins, I have to admit that our house is beautiful.
The floor and walls are made of pale wood, there are white marble countertops in the kitchen, and arched windows to let in the light. Around the house is a small lawn with some bushes and trees that provide privacy from our neighboring houses as well as from the main road.
I glance out the window and towards the car out by the curb as Mikhail and I reach the hallway where Anton and the twins are waiting. Dread rolls through my stomach again.
“Ready?” Anton asks.
“Yes,” I reply, keeping my voice casual.
Anton’s gray eyes search my face for a long second. He can probably tell that I’m nervous. But thankfully, he doesn’t comment on it.
“Alright, then let’s go,” Konstantin says.
After slapping his brother on the arm, he throws open the door and strolls out. Maksim follows him. Mikhail heaves a sigh and shakes his head once more before he and Anton walk out as well. I pause for a second, getting that awful dread back under control, before doing the same.
The front door lets out a click as I lock it. My brothers and cousins are already halfway down the stone path that cuts through the lawn and leads to the street, but I don’t hurry to catch up with them. Instead, I study them as I walk.
To the east, the sun is just barely rising, tinting the sky and the rest of the world with a bit of red. The faint light plays over the four men walking ahead of me. I look like them, and at the same time, I look nothing like them.
Konstantin and Maksim are not identical twins, so they’re easy to tell apart. But both of them have brown hair and brown eyes. Anton has that same hair color too, courtesy of our father and theirs, who are brothers. But Anton got our mother’s gray eyes. I did as well. I got her blonde hair too. As did Mikhail.
