Spark (Legends of the Shifters) by J.B. North Read Free Book Online

asked Natalia.
    “ She’s
probably getting in some extra practice,” she said. “Some
people like the training after they’ve done it for a while.”
    “ How
long has she been here?”
    At
that point, the other girl came out from behind the screen. Before
Natalia went behind it, she answered, “About two years and a
quarter.”
    Roselle
had told me that people only stayed in training for three years at
most. January wouldn’t be here for much longer.
    As I
waited for Natalia to finish, I pondered over what the training would
be like. I hoped that I would be able to manage it.
    Roselle
and the other girl that I hadn’t seen came in and waited behind
me. I took one look at the girl, who undoubtedly slept on the bunk
above mine, and swallowed hard. She had a black eye and her nose
looked as if it had been broken a couple of times. She was very thin.
Other than that, there was nothing extraordinary about her
appearance. She and Roselle looked almost as if they could be
sisters. Like Roselle, this girl had brown hair and brown eyes,
although slightly darker.
    “ So
you’re the new girl,” she said unenthusiastically.
    “ Yes,”
I replied.
    “ I
have some advice for you,” she said. It seemed as if everyone
had advice for me. “Do whatever it takes to do what they want
you to. If you don’t, you’ll regret it.”
    Natalia
came out from behind the screen. “No. I don’t agree,”
she said. “Do whatever you are capable of. Don’t push
yourself too hard, or you’ll just get hurt.”
    The
girl glared at her. I watched them both warily before going to
change. I trusted Natalia more than the other girl, but I wasn’t
excited about finding out what they meant. I changed clothes fast,
and when I was done, I came back out from behind the screen and into
the sleeping room.
    The
girl who had been smiling was already gone, and Natalia was heading
out the door already. I lagged behind to wait on Roselle even though
I was eager to go down to breakfast for our survival tests. My
stomach was complaining audibly.
    Once
Roselle came out fully clothed, we headed down together. “Why
did that one girl have a black eye?” I asked.
    “ Oh,
Angelica? She always has some sort of injury. I think her reflexes
must be too slow.”
    I
stayed deep in thought until we were almost to the dining hall. Right
before we got there, Niko came out the door, and walked straight
toward us, breaking me out of my reverie. He looked angry and I
fought not to cower or run for cover.
    “ You,”
he shouted before we reached him, making my heart leap. “Roselle,
is it?”
    “ Yes,
sir?” she said, her voice coming out as a squeak.
    “ I
told your trainer that I’ll be training you today,” he
said. “To see if the level you were given was accurate.”
    She
flicked her eyes to me, and then back. “Yes, sir,” she
answered, her nervousness prominent in her voice.
    Niko
cast me a glance before moving on toward a different building.
Roselle stood there for a little while, silent. Other students milled
around us blearily.
    I
tried to change the subject.
    “ Why
do we even have a dining hall when we don’t really eat there?”
I wondered aloud.
    My
attempt at conversation snapped Roselle out of her stupor. “Well,
we have to have some place to gather, and we do eat snacks at
lunchtime and dinner,” she reminded me. “And to tell you
the truth, I don't think they used to have survival tests.”
    “ I
wish they still didn’t,” I muttered under my breath.
    Roselle
laughed, but I could tell it was halfhearted. “Tell me about
it…but then again, it will come in handy when they send us on
quests.”
    “ What
kind of quests do they send us on?”
    “ This
and that. I’ve never really been on a quest. You have to be
here for a full year before they send you on one. Often, students who
go on quests don't ever come back. They're either imprisoned or
killed.”
    I
looked at her in surprise. “Why are they allowed to go on
quests that they