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She didn’t lose her amused smile. “My father did the interdominion program when he was young. He told me what to expect. He also told me that when someone shows you who they are, believe them.
“Out of everything said about me, you were the only one to appreciate my form for the beautiful gift from the goddess that it is. Also, you defended me when you believed I was being treated unfairly. You’ve shown me you’re kind and without prejudice, so I’ll believe it. You and I will be friends.”
I shared her smile. “And you just spent half an hour trying to cheer up a girl you didn’t even know. I believe that’s who you are too.” I held out my hand. “Friends.”
She shook. “Friends.”
“Now that we’re friends,” I began, the two of us following after Nitsa. “Would it be okay if I asked you absolutely everything about what it’s like to be a werewolf and about your pack?”
She laughed. “Sure. Ask away.”
Pretty sure she regretted saying that five seconds later. I pelted her with questions as we topped the stairs, needing to know everything about her and the dominions. Alexander used that word more than once, but I never thought to ask.
The only thing that shut me up was stepping inside.
There’s no reason I should’ve formed ideas about what existed behind the white doors, and those expectations were blown all the same.
I spun on the atrium’s polished floors, and the mammoth statues of the twelve Olympian gods spun with me. With one hand, they palmed the ceiling. With the other, Zeus threw lightning, Hera held a babe, Artemis drew her bow, Poseidon raised his trident.
“Come on,” Nitsa called. She and Daciana waited in front of another, albeit smaller, pair of doors. “The map says the Sisyphean dorms are this way.”
“Do we have to call it that?” I jogged to catch up. “Just because they named us Sisyphean doesn’t mean we have to as well.”
“I’ve decided I won’t let it bother me either way.” She raised her chin. “No one is going to tell me that I’m useless to my home. If I’m fighting for it, I can never be useless.”
Daciana pushed open the door, spilling us into a long marble hallway. The two of them consulted the way while I looked around, memorizing my escape route.
I hadn’t seen guards outside, and so far, none inside. That was one point in the place’s favor.
“Nitsa, does it say anything in the book about a curfew?”
“Course not. We’re not children. But we also train from sunup to sundown, so whatever midnight fun you’re planning will have consequences in the morning.”
Alex flashed through my head, making me hide my face. “No one said anything about midnight fun.”
I looked even harder at my shoes when I caught her knowing look.
“This door.” We stopped in front of the third one at the end of the hallway. “This leads to the dormitory wings. That leads tothe food hall and the classrooms. That one leads to the training rooms. We’ll explore after we dump our bags.”
We entered another hallway, the near opposite of the one we left. Stone packed us in, drawing us shoulder to shoulder. Doors lined the left side, going down and twisting around the corner. They were labeled simply “Sisyphean Dorm One.” “Sisyphean Dorm Two.” Etc.
I drew ahead to the end of the hall and craned my neck around the corner. One side had more Sisyphean dorms. The other side had a single staircase entrance with a golden sign above that read “Titan Wing.”
“This one looks nice. Aella, check it out.”
Their calls drew me to Sisyphean Dorm Eleven. A low whistle cut through my lips.
“Not bad at all.”
One grand circle lay before me with ten alcoves starting and ending where I stood. Each alcove boasted a stone, curved archway that granted us a glimpse of the bed, desk, bookshelf, and dressing table on the other side. In the middle of it all was a sunken common area of squashy couches and cushions.
Nitsa flung herself on one. “If our rooms are this nice, imagine how incredible the Titan dorms are. My brother said that each one came with a beautiful personal attendant who caters to you and rubs your feet.” She flashed me a flat look. “As you guessed, they’re idiots and I’ve learned to ignore everything they say.”
I laughed. “Let’s go find out for ourselves, then. The entrance is right down the hall.”
“Better we don’t get in trouble on the first day.” Daciana tossed me her welcome book. “Sisypheans aren’t allowed in the Titan wing.”
“It doesn’t really say that, does it?” I flipped through and there it was—word for word. “Never mind. I need to unpack and find the showers. I feel like I’ve been traveling for years.”
