caused it...”
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KAILIN GOW
Chapter 3
The Aeros Academy was one of the most beautiful
building I had ever seen. Unlike the schools in California,
which had been built in the high-tech Post-Erosion style so
common among the American Islands, this school had a
distinctly historical charm. The building was whitewashed
stone with a terracotta roof. But its main beauty was its
location. At the foot of a collection of ripe, verdant
mountains, the Aeros Academy site looked out over the sea,
which appeared bluer than ever in the early morning light.
The foam sprayed softly on the shore, and as my mother
drove me up to the steps I could spy a few students –
evidently on a free period – sitting and sunning themselves
on the rocks, their toes dragging in the bright surf.
For a moment, I almost had hope. But as I bid
farewell to my mother and entered the hallowed halls of
Aeros, it became almost instantly clear to me that I was
36
Princes of Paradise (M.A.G.E. #1 )
absolutely out of my element. The students here weren't like
the simple, middle-class kids I had known at Angel High; my
bright orange sundress, although the height of fashion on the
Island, was here in sharp contrast with the meticulously
plotted outfits on the lithe, tanned bodies of the students
here. The sort of outfits that looked as if they had been
chosen, just like the perfectly-highlighted color of the girls'
hair, by their personal family stylist. I shuddered as I looked
down at my simple dress. Would they mistake me for the
maid? It was clear that my background wasn't anything like
theirs – I couldn't even recognize half the designer labels
sticking out so prominently from every perfectly tailored
object of clothing, but I knew enough to know that they were
expensive.
How had my mother managed to send me here?
I shuffled my feet to the receptionist's office, where I
reluctantly handed her my forms. She waved me into the
principal's office without so much as a word.
“Dr. Newton, my forms...”
The principal peered at me over her red polka-dotted
glasses. “Miss Mackenzy Evers,” she said, nodding as she
37
KAILIN GOW
looked me up and down. “Congratulations,” she said.
“For what?” My heart started beating faster. The last
thing I wanted to do in this new school was stick out – for
better or for worse.
“Why, the Cutter Scholarship, of course!”
“The Cutter Scholarship?” I repeated in a dull voice.
My mother had announced to me that the money to send me
here came from a lucky inheritance. She certainly hadn't told
me anything about a scholarship.
“It's not every girl that Antonio Cutter picks out to
send here,” said the woman. “I can only remember the award
being given out once or twice in my lifetime. And I've been
here a long while, my girl.”
Antonio Cutter was paying for my education? I
shivered, cold all of a sudden. Why would my mother's boss
pay for me to go to some expensive private school? And –
more worrying still – why wouldn't my mother tell me about
it if he had? My mind flashed back to Antonio's suddenly
solemn face when talking to me about Chance. What was I
doing here – really? And what did it have to do with Chance
Cutter?
38
Princes of Paradise (M.A.G.E. #1 )
“Hey there, new girl!”
I whirled around to see a bronzed, ruggedly
handsome boy lounging on the chair behind me. I almost
gasped at the sight of him. He had long almost white blonde
hair that curled ever so slightly at the base of his neck, hair
streaked by the sun with natural shimmers of white and gold.
His skin was beach-darkened, and his hair and clothes were
sopping wet. Evidently he too had partaken in the Aeros
morning ritual of a pre-class swim. His shirt clung tightly to
his body, and through the damp spots I could see his tight,
firm muscles.
He was, I thought, reaching out a hand to steady
myself on the edge of the principal's desk, one of the most
handsome men I had ever seen. Powerful and beautiful, like
a god.
“I guess I'm taking you around for orientation this
morning.”
“Don't get so excited, Cutter,” drawled the principal
in a dry voice. “There's another one coming.”
“Cutter?” I took a step forward towards the boy,
noting for the first time his impossibly blue eyes – the color,
39
KAILIN GOW
I thought, of the ocean whose sparkle I could still see shining
in his hair.
“Varun Cutter, at your service.” He leaped up and
crossed the room, shaking my hand and lingering only a
second too long at the greeting. “I don't mind if it's only
you.”
“I'm sure you don't,” Dr. Newton muttered under her
breath.
“It's nice to meet you,” I said. “Are you related to
Antonio Cutter?
