Chosen (9781742844657) by Shayla Morgansen Page B

Renatus’s office.’
    â€˜Renatus can enter?’ Sterling asked excitedly, her bright eyes shining.
    â€˜I’m sure the keys ‘ave already been tested but it would not ‘urt to check,’ Emmanuelle continued as if Sterling had not spoken, ‘so once you’re inside, pull the door shut behind you. It will lock automatically. Then the next person can check that their key works, too. Hiroko?’ I could hear the French sorceress make a concerted effort to pronounce the h at the beginning of Hiroko’s name. ‘Would you like to go first? You’re the eldest.’
    â€˜I am?’ my friend asked, surprised.
    â€˜Yes,’ Emmanuelle said, equally surprised that Hiroko hadn’t worked it out herself. ‘The girls in Dormitory Two are predominantly sixteen-year-olds – the four youngest female students. You are the next four, and so forth.’
    I realised that the Prescott twins must be older than Hiroko and me. I doubted it was by much.
    Hiroko did as she was told. She unlocked the door and pushed it open. I could see a good-sized room beyond it, with plush beds, and a pile of suitcases and bags on the floor in the middle. She walked through and shut herself in. 
    The Greek girl silently slid her key into the lock, turned it, and walked in. Sterling went next. Her key was perfectly fine. I desperately hoped that mine was, too. When the oak door shut behind her, I drew in a breath and slid my key into the lock. It fitted. Good. I slowly turned it but there was resistance on my arm. I felt myself stiffen, panicking. Was I going to be rejected from my own room? But then I realised that the resistance was Emmanuelle’s hand on my elbow. I sighed, relieved.
    â€˜You needn’t worry about things like your key not working; you are meant to be ‘ere,’ Emmanuelle said. She smiled and let me go. ‘If you ‘ave any questions, remember that you and the other three can always come to me. Alright?’
    I nodded and smiled back, then entered the dormitory. Was everyone on the White Elm a telepath, or just scarily intuitive? I saw Emmanuelle turn away just as I took my key back. The chain, still hanging from the silver key, swung around my fingers as I turned and pulled the door closed. Hiroko, Sterling and Xanthe were disentangling their possessions from the pile in front of the door. My blanket and book were right on the top.
    The first thing I noticed was that my new room had no windows, giving it a timeless feeling. How would I know day from night here? The room had four beds, all with the headboard against the same wall as the door and with a round little reading table to the left of the pillow. Four beds, four tables, four desks at the foot of each bed, four chairs, and four closets. There were two other oak doors, one on each side of the room.
    Sterling and Xanthe had chosen the beds of the right side of the room (the beds that had been on my left when I first entered the dorm) and Hiroko had the far left one, so I took the bed between her and the door.
    â€˜Just check that your key fits that closet,’ Sterling suggested, pointing to the wardrobe opposite my bed. ‘Ours all fit these ones. When’s your birthday? Xanthe thinks they’re in age order too and I just thought it would be a good idea for us to have the bed that corresponds with the closet we’ve been given.’
    â€˜July,’ I said as Sterling tipped a suitcase out onto her chosen bed.
    â€˜Then that one should definitely be yours, because you’re between my birthday and Hiroko’s,’ she confirmed. ‘Just check though.’
    I did as she suggested, and found that my key fitted this lock perfectly, too. So this was my wardrobe. That was my new bed. This was my desk.
    This was my new home.
    For about twenty minutes we unpacked our clothing into the closets opposite our beds, discussing our lives. Xanthe didn’t talk much, but she told us