Chapter 3

Sterling Meadows looked the same, yet everything felt different.

I found them in the main courtyard, near the statue of the academy' s founder.

Mr. Finch, Ethan, Liam, and Chloe.

They were laughing, celebrating.

Chloe, her arm linked through Finch' s, was recounting some story, her voice bright and animated.

"And then Mr. Finch said I was the bravest rider he' d ever seen!"

The area was decorated with flowers.

Lilies.

White, funereal lilies, their scent cloying and heavy.

The world tilted.

My mother' s accident. The smell of lilies crushed underfoot. Her broken body.

I recoiled, a gasp escaping me.

Chloe saw me. Her eyes, usually wide and innocent, sharpened for a split second.

She ran towards me, pulling me towards the group. "Sarah! You' re back! We were so worried!"

She pulled me right into the thick of the lilies.

Their scent was a physical blow.

Chloe stumbled, a theatrical cry. "Oh! My ankle!"

She crumpled to the ground, clutching her leg.

Ethan and Liam rushed to her side.

"Sarah, what did you do?" Ethan snarled, pushing me back.

"Can' t you see she' s delicate?" Liam held Chloe gently.

Chloe looked up, tears in her eyes. "It' s okay, Liam. I' m sure Sarah didn' t mean to... to startle me."

She made it sound like I' d attacked her.

I stood there, trembling, the scent of lilies choking me, the memory of my mother' s death a vivid horror in my mind.

The world swam. The lilies seemed to grow, to press in on me, their white petals like shrouds.

Mr. Finch walked over, his face a mask of disappointment.

"Sarah," he said, his voice cold, authoritative. "Apologize to Chloe."

I stared at him, at the man who had been like a father to me.

He didn' t believe me. He didn' t even ask.

His trust in me was gone, replaced by blind faith in Chloe.