The Fiery Heart by Richelle Mead

asked Jill about her swimming team. All Amberwood students needed to participate in a sport outside of classes, and swimming was the perfect choice for her since most meets were indoors and because her elemental specialty was water. Personally, I wasn’t a huge sports fan, though I did like Super Bowl parties, especially if I didn’t have to watch the game. I had gone to a few of Jill’s swim meets and found it was worth enduring the overexcited parents to see her excel.
    Even now, there was happiness on her face as she described achieving a new personal best, and it was a pleasant distraction from the storms continually brewing in my mind. She’d had a lot of difficulties adjusting to Amberwood, and I was glad to see something going her way. The interlude was ruined when she turned to Neil with shining eyes.
    â€œNeil’s on the wrestling team. He’s really amazing. The best one. He wins all his matches.”
    I leaned back in the chair, feeling no more qualms about going after him if she insisted on bringing him up. “Well, of course he does. Any dhampir is going to dominate over a human. It’s nature.”
    Neil thought this over as he chewed his souvlaki. “I suppose so,” he said at last.
    â€œHardly seems fair,” I continued. “I mean, they make adjustments for weight class, but there’s no regulating something like that. You’re playing with people who can in no way keep up with you.”
    Jill shot me a warning look. “Well, there’s nothing he can do, seeing as Amberwood doesn’t sort by human and dhampir teams.”
    â€œYou could always throw the matches,” I told Neil.
    He blanched. “Throw a match? I couldn’t do that! It’d go against my personal code of ethics.”
    â€œWhere does taking out people who can in no way defeat you fit into your ethics?” I asked. “If you ask me, that’s the real moral transgression.” I wished Sydney were here because I think she would’ve appreciated my use of
transgression
. “But I mean, it’s your life. I don’t judge, and honestly . . .” I gave a light laugh. “I tend to always err a little too much on the side of morality. It’s one of my few flaws.”
    Even Neil wasn’t oblivious enough to buy that. He narrowed his eyes. “I somehow must have missed that. Tell me more about your views on morality.”
    I waved him off. “Oh, we don’t have that kind of time. But you know who you should talk it over with? Castile. There’s a guy who understands the right thing to do. He faked spraining his ankle to get out of most of the basketball season so he wouldn’t have to deal with the, uh, ethics of competing with humans. Now that’s someone who really walks the line.”
    While I still couldn’t gauge Neil’s interest in Jill, I knew beyond a doubt he regarded Eddie as a rival in life. Eddie wasn’t quite as bad, but he had a competitive streak as well. I guess there could only be one alpha dhampir at Amberwood.
    â€œLying isn’t exactly honorable either,” said Neil hotly.
    â€œNo, but humility is.” I sighed as dreamily for Eddie as Jill often did for Neil. “He’d rather face the humiliation of being out of the game than reap glory he doesn’t deserve.”
    That might have been going too far, judging from the anger flaring in Neil’s eyes. “Neil,” Jill said quickly. “Will you go up to the counter and order me some baklava to go? Walnut. And pistachio.”
    Jill was truly becoming my pupil. Pistachio wasn’t one of this place’s common types, so they didn’t usually keep it on display. Making Neil wait while they hunted some down would buy us time.
    â€œYou’re so mean,” she told me once Neil was gone. He didn’t take his eyes off us as he waited, but at least he was out of earshot.
    â€œYou can do better,