When I wake up the next morning I forget where I am. It startles me for a moment before everything comes rushing back. I'm in the City of Fire because I'm a Red not a Black. Maybe the more I tell myself that lie, maybe I'll start to believe it and so will the people around me. The room around me is simple. A dark wood dresser against one dark wall and a desk against the other. I must say, the ginormous bed I'm lying in is very comfortable. More comfortable than my bed at home. I still wish I was back home with my wooden desk and my sketches. Sunlight peeks through the curtains beside me. At least I have a window. I saunter out from my bed and open them. I squint through the bright light and peer down at the city of red. The city seems to be filled with people. In the distance I watch the smoke from the trains rise into the air and disappear. I can't help but stare at the mountains that break from the horizon and wonder what else is out there.

A knock breaks my focus. Sounds of the guards waking us up echoes through the hallways. I see a stack of clothes on my dresser. Training clothes. Dale's words echo through my head. Be careful. I gather my clothes in my arms and head into my private bathroom. I check for cameras and then shut the door. I quickly change into my red training top and black pants. I braid my snow-white hair behind my head and brush my teeth with the toothbrush provided. When I come out of the bathroom, I put my grey dress in the bottom drawer of my dresser, so I don't have to look at it anymore. I slip my shoes on and tuck my necklace under my shirt. I pause before opening the door. Everything will be fine.

When I go downstairs for breakfast Kim is waiting for me at a table with a plate of food for me. I walk towards her and sit down.

"There you are, I thought you got lost," she says pushing the plate of food towards me. "Eat up." I smile and start eating. When I look up from my plate a girl and boy have both taken their seats across from Kim and me.

"I'm Ava," the girl says. Kim rolls her eyes.

"I know." The girl glares at Kim.

"I wasn't talking to you," she sneers. I set down my fork.

"I'm Octavia."

"This is Jeremy," Ava gestures to the blonde boy next to her. He winks at me.

"Ava, and I were in the same class, every year." I raise my eyebrows. Every year?

"I like your hair, Octavia," Ava says ignoring Kim.

"Thanks," I say taking another bite of food.

"Ever thought of cutting it?" I almost spit my food out. I raise my eyebrows at her and turn to Kim. What is her problem? Passive aggressive much?

"Ignore her. This is just what she does. She's a bi-."

"You shouldn't listen to Kim. We could be friends, Octavia," Ava interrupts Kim. I look at her closely. She's pretty. Auburn hair and hazel eyes, but I can see right through her. She is no friend. I can't trust anyone. Not even Kim.

"I don't think so," I state. Kim smiles beside me as Ava and Jeremy stand up.

"Come on Jeremy," she says glaring at us. They walk away and Kim giggles.

"For a second I was afraid you were actually considering being her friend," Kim laughs.

"You know what they say, keep your friends close and your enemies closer." I say taking one last bite of my food. She gives me a lopsided grin.

When breakfast is over everyone breaks into two groups and we head to the training group. Kim and I are in the same group, and so is Ava. Great. The training rooms are massive. There are tons of equipment lined up on each of the walls. A large target sits in the centre of the room. The prince walks in and takes his place in the center of the room.

"My name is Max. It's not, 'Your Majesty.' I will be your instructor today. Before we get into the real training, we will all do some quick laps around the room." Everyone watches him with anticipation. "Go." Max breaks out into a sprint and we follow him. My legs move swiftly to catch up.

"He's so hot," Kim says beside me. I stifle a laugh.

"Come on Kim, he would never go for you," Ava says running up beside her. Kim rolls her eyes and speeds up to pass her. Max slows to a stop and we do the same. He lets us catch our breath for a second and then makes us form a line. Ava is at the front and Kim and I are farther back.

"Alright, settle down." I stop talking to Kim and turn my focus towards him. "See this target? Today, every single one of you will be lighting it on fire." Fear spreads through me. I feel like crawling in a hole.

"You're first," Max says to Ava. She smirks at him and draws her hand up. In a matter of seconds sparks fly out and hit the target. I frown. The target goes up in flames and everyone claps including Max. How did she do that so quick? A Blue woman standing on the side diffuses the fire with her ability so it's ready for the next person. She walks away and the next person lights up the target. As the line moves up, I get more anxious. How am I supposed to light up that target when I have three other abilities coursing through my veins? I don't know how to use them yet control them. When it's Kim's turn, I can tell she is nervous too as she takes a step forward and holds up her hand. A small flame lights up the target, but it's enough to gain Max's applause. I'm next. I take a step forward and lift up my shaky hand. Nothing happens. A million things run through my head.

"Stop holding back. You're too tense. Focus on the target and let go." Max's words register in my brain and slowly my hand relaxes, and I focus on the target in front of me. Suddenly I feel it. Energy floating under my skin. Bright sparks release from my hand and land on the target. The target goes up in a huge flame. I take a step back from feeling the heat rise off of it.

"Good," Max says and then claps with everyone else. I release a breath and walk towards the back where Kim is standing.

"That was amazing!" Kim exclaims. I give her a small smile.

"Nice job Octavia," Ava says in a flat tone while standing beside me. I say nothing. I'm pretty sure I just became her competition.

"The next exercise you will not be able to master today. It will be something to work towards," Max stands in front of a machine. He nods to the Blue woman. Five bright neon tennis balls shoot out of the machine. Max burns each one in a matter of seconds with his hand. My jaw almost drops. Everyone claps and I look at Kim. She has the same expression as me. Ava's face is determined.

"I'll split you up into pars and you will each take turns on your machine." Max starts pointing to people and when he comes to me, he points to Ava. I mentally groan as she purses her lips at me at me. We take our place at one of the machines.

"I'll go first," she says, taking her place in front. I stand behind the machine and hover my finger over the button. I hit the button and her powers spring to life. She manages to hit one ball and the rest hit the ground. I look around and watch as most people get one or two balls.

"Again," I nod and press the button a second time. The balls come flying out and she hits two just as Max walks by.

"Nice, Ava." The prince comments. Ava smiles in victory.

"Let's see you try." I roll my eyes as she passes me. I take my place in front of the foreboding machine. It's not that hard. You'll be fine. Ava hits the button. The balls come flying but nothing ignites from my hand.

"You actually have to hit the balls Octavia," she says. I sigh and glare at her. She gives me a twisted smile and hits the button again without warning. The balls fly towards me and bounce off my body onto the floor. Ava laughs.

"Ava, I think you're done with the exercise today." Ava stops laughing as Max comes to stand beside her. I press my lips together to hold back my smile as she stands aside. Max takes his place near the button. My hands start to tremble.

"Don't be afraid of the balls. They won't hurt you. You hurt them." I slightly nod and he presses the button. The ball soars towards me and a single flame from my hand burns four balls in one take. The last one flies behind me. Max chuckles as I stand there shocked.

"That was good. I don't think I've ever seen someone do that." He takes a step towards me. "Next time, remember to fire at each one individually." Max walks away and Ava gets back behind the machine with her jaw clenched. I smirk at her as she presses the button.

"All right, I think we've done enough training today. Keep working on this," Max says dismissing us. I breathe a sigh of relief. I am exhausted after my many attempts to burn each ball individually. Luckily Ava shut up the rest of the time.

"I saw what you did earlier." Kim comes up beside me.

"Yeah, I burned four of them with one fireball," I scoff.

"It was cool. No one else did it," she says trying to make me feel better.

"How did you do?" I ask her as we head out of the training room and down the hallway.

"I could only get one," she says disappointed.

"One is good." I reassure her.

"How was Ava?" I roll my eyes. "That bad, huh?" I nod. Not only was Ava being mean and annoying, but she was winning. She thinks she can take everyone down using her words and power, but she has no power over me. If only she knew.

Once we get to the grand hall everyone is talking and eating, grateful for the break. My stomach rumbles when I see the food on the table. I quickly sit down, so does Kim. We both shove our mouths full of food.

"I have never been hungrier in my whole life." I smile at Kim and keep eating. "Is every day going to be like this?" We only just started using our powers today. I think there is a lot more to cover.

"I think it's only going to get worse." I admit.

After I ate dinner, I left the grand hall early because I wanted to explore a little bit. I want to know where things are, but I can't get caught. I slip past the guards and head into a dark hallway towards the East wing. The voices from the hall drown behind me as I move further away. Dark wooden doors line the halls. I wonder what each of them hold. As I walk past the doors, I notice one is cracked open. I look around to see if anyone is coming and slip inside the room. In front of me I find floor to ceiling shelves full of books. Wood tables line the room. The library. I've never seen a library this big. Lori's dad had a collection of books in his office and we would always take them down and look inside them. We couldn't understand what they meant at the time, but we tried our best. I wondered if any of these books could tell me more about my powers.

I walk up to them and examine the spines of the books. Most are old and dusty, and some are falling apart. I scan the books for anything relating to Blacks or powers, but nothing. I finally get to the last book and off to the side of the shelves is a door. The metal sign on it reads Restricted. I grab the door handle and try to push it open, but it doesn't budge. Crap, it's locked. All my answers could be on the other side of this door. I run my ringers over the keyhole and take a step back.

"I didn't know you could eat in the library." I jolt and turn towards Prince Max standing in the doorway with his hands in his pockets. I'm so busted. Is he trying to be funny?

"I was just-" I start but he cuts me off.

"Exploring?" I give him a slight nod. He steps inside the room and suddenly I feel like he can see right through me. "It's okay, every year I catch someone wandering the halls. You're lucky I'm not my mother. She would have your head." I can't tell if that was a joke, but he doesn't reassure me it is.

"I like reading," I lie. Max nods and looks down.

"You can take as many books as you like," he says. I raise an eyebrow. Not the restricted ones.

"Am I allowed to?" He chuckles.

"No, but it can be our little secret," he says. Is he flirting? No, Octavia. A boy has never flirted with you and never will. Now is not the time.

"It's okay, I don't want to get you in trouble."

"Fair enough, but at least allow me to escort you back to your room." I feel heat rising in my cheeks.

"Okay," I say. I quickly try to make my cheeks stop blushing while following him out of the room. He shuts the door behind me and walks beside me down the dark hallway. His hands are now crossed behind his back.

"How did you like training today?"

"It's fine...I guess. I'll have to get used to it." I admit. He nods. Everyone seems to have retired to their rooms because the castle is quiet. I like it better when it's quiet.

"Your friends, Ava. She likes competition." I raise my eyebrows and force a smile.

"I've noticed, and she's not my friend," I say in a-matter-of-fact tone. His laugh echoes through the hallway as we climb up the stairs. I make note of the heat between our bodies right now. I think it's a Red thing. I wonder what it would be like to touch his skin. Would it be hot? Will people notice if my skin isn't hot?

"Well, she is trouble, that's for sure." Tell me about it. I don't need her on my case right now.

"This is me," I say as we approach my room. He examines the number 64 like he's trying to memorize it. My eyes linger on his face for a second too long when he turns his head.

"Well, if you ever need any books you can always come to me," he says turning towards me. I give him a half smile. He shifts his hands from behind his back into his pockets like he's nervous. I stand completely still hoping to not draw in anymore attention.

"Thank you, Max." His dark brown eyes glisten when he smiles at me.

"Good night, Octavia." I take one last look at him, surprised he remembered my name. I open the door to my room, step inside, and let out a sigh of relief. That was way too close.