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"Roland!" she shouted, thundering down the last ight of stairs to the ground and breaking into a jog He stood where the path ended and the blu dropped down to steep and craggy rocks

He was standing so still, looking out at the water Luce was surprised to feel butter ies in her stoan to turn around

"Well, well" He smiled "Lucinda Price discovers peroxide"

"Oh" She clutched at her hair How stupid shetoward her, u ng her hair with his ngers "It suits you A hard edge for hard ti here?"

"Enrolling" He shrugged "I just picked up my class schedule, met the teachers Seems like a pretty sweet place"

A woven knapsack was slung over one of his shoulders with so out of it Following her eyes, Roland switched the bag to his other shoulder and tightened the top ap with a knot

"Roland" Her voice quaked "You left Sword and Cross? Why? What are you doing here?"

"Just needed a change of pace," he o ered cryptically

Luce was going to ask about the others--Arriane and Gabbe Even Molly Whether anyone had noticed or cared that she'd left But when she opened her mouth, what came out was very di erent fro about in there with Francesca and Steven?"

Roland's face changed suddenly, hardened into so older, less carefree "That depends How much did you hear?"

"Daniel I heard you say that heYou don't have to lie to er until he comes back? Because I don't think I can--"

"Come take a ith me, Luce"

As aard as it would have felt for Roland Sparks to put his arm around her shoulders back at Sword & Cross, that was how co it hen he did it that day at Shoreline They were never really friends, but he was a re to nohen he did it that day at Shoreline They were never really friends, but he was a re to now

They walked along the blu 's edge, around the breakfast terrace, and along the west side of the dorarden Luce had never seen before It was dusk and the water to their right was alive with colors, re ecting the rose and orange and violet clouds gliding in front of the sun

Roland led her to a bench facing the water, far away froed set of stairs carved into the rock, starting just belohere they were sitting, and leading all the way down to the beach

"What do you know that you aren't saying?" Luce asked when the silence began to get to her

"That water is fty-one degrees," Roland said

"Not what I ht in the eyes "Did he send you here to watch over me?"

Roland scratched his head "Look Daniel's o doing his thing" Heht he cocked his head toward the forest behind the dor to take care of"

"What? No, I don't have a thing I'hed "We all have our secrets, Luce Mine broughtyou out to those woods"

She started to protest, but Roland waved her o , that ever-cryptic look in his eyes

"I' for you" His eyes moved past her, out to sea "Now, back to that water It's frigid Have you been in it? I know you like to swim"

It struck Luce that she'd been at Shoreline for three days, with the ocean always visible, the waves always audible, the salt air always coating everything, but she still hadn't set foot on the beach And it wasn't like at Sword & Cross, where a laundry list of things were o -limits She didn't knohy it hadn't even occurred to her

She shook her head

"About all you can do with a beach that cold is build a bon re" Roland glanced at her "You ed "A few"

"Bring theht, after dark" He pointed to a narrow peninsula of sand at the foot of the rocky stairs "Right down there"

She peered at Roland sideways "What exactly do you have in rinned devilishly "Don't worry, we'll keep it innocent But you kno it is I'm new in town; I'd like to make my presence known"

"Dude Sto to have to break your ankle"

"Maybe if you weren't hogging the entire beaht up there, Shel, the rest of us could see where ere going"

Luce tried to sti e her laugh as she followed a bickering Miles and Shelby across campus in the dark It was almost eleven, and Shoreline was pitch-black and silent, except for the hoot of an owl An orange gibbousBetween the three of theht (Shelby's), so only one of them (Shelby) had a clear view of the path down to the water For the other two, the grounds--which had seeht--were now booby-trapped with fallen bristlecones, thick-rooted ferns, and the backs of Shelby's feet