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SEVEN<br />
I ANGRILY PUSHED THROUGH THE double doors that led into the Moroi dorm. Snow<br />
swirled in behind me, and a few people lingering on the main floor glanced up upon my<br />
entrance. Not surprisingly, several of them did double takes. Swallowing, I forced myself not to<br />
react. It would be okay. No need to freak out. Novices got injured all the time. It was actually<br />
rarer not to get injured. Admittedly, this was a more noticeable injury than most, but I could<br />
live with it until it healed, right? And it wasn't like anyone would know how I'd received it.<br />
"Hey Rose, is it true your own mother punched you?"<br />
I froze. I'd know that taunting soprano voice anywhere. Turning slowly, I looked into the deep<br />
blue eyes of Mia Rinaldi. Curly blond hair framed a face that might have been cute if not for<br />
the malicious smirk on it.<br />
A year younger than us, Mia'd taken on Lissa (and me by default) in a war to see who could<br />
tear apart the other's life most quickly—a war, I should add, that she started. It had involved her<br />
stealing Lissa's ex-boyfriend—despite the fact Lissa had decided in the end she didn't want<br />
him—and the spreading of all sorts of rumors.<br />
Admittedly, Mia's hatred hadn't been entirely unjustified. Lissa's older brother, Andre—who<br />
had been killed in the same car accident that technically "killed" me—had used Mia pretty<br />
badly when she was a freshman. If she weren't such a bitch now, I would have felt sorry for her.<br />
It had been wrong of him, and while I could understand her anger, I don't know that it was fair<br />
of her to take that out on Lissa in the way she did.<br />
Lissa and I had technically won the war in the end, but Mia had inexplicably bounced back. She<br />
didn't run with the same elite that she once had, but she had rebuilt a small contingent of<br />
friends. Malicious or not, strong leaders always attract followers.
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