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lip, I take in a few short breaths, then say, “I swear.”
    Arthur removes his hand, and I try to pull away as well, but for some reason, I can’t seem to move. The gem beneath my fingers takes on a glowing red tint, turning my hand translucent fora moment; then it dies down, and whatever pressure kept me locked on it releases me.
    As if burned, I yank my hand away quickly. “What was that all about?” I ask Arthur, cradling my hand to my chest protectively.
    “You just sealed your oath,” he says. “Now bow.”
    We both bow before the altar, then join the rest of the assembly as it files out. Everyone’s all smiles again.
    Everyone but me.

 
    The moment we step into the nave, the beautiful girl who’d witnessed my near drowning grabs Arthur’s arm, casting me a disdainful look as she pulls him away.
    “There you go,” Bri says to me with a big smile. “Now you’re one of us!”
    “Who is that?” I ask, pointing with my chin to the blonde girl’s back.
    “You don’t know Jennifer?” Bri asks.
    “Only the hottest girl in the whole wide school!” Owen says.
    “You don’t say,” I mumble.
    “And a member of KORT,” he adds.
    “By association,” Bri says. “But I guess it’s the prerogative of the president’s fiancée.”
    “She’s engaged to the president of the United States?” I exclaim.
    “The president of KORT, of course,” Owen says, holding the door open for us.
    “Didn’t they say your name was Pendragon?” Bri asks me.
    “So?”
    “So aren’t you related to Arthur?”
    “He’s my brother,” I admit, pulling a face.
    “You’re kidding!” Owen exclaims.
    “Trust me,” I say, “it’s really nothing to be excited about.”
    “You’re joking right?” Owen asks, his voice reaching unmanly octaves. “You’re related to the head of KORT, who also happens to be the youngest president in three centuries, and you think it’s nothing? Do you even know that he fought his first battle, and won it, at the age of seven? That he’s set a record of elemental captures just over the summer, and that he has the ear of most of the Board?”
    I back away under this verbal assault; not only is this way more information than I’d ever wanted on Arthur, but all that jargon is giving me a headache.
    “Hold on,” I say, then lower my voice so no one else can hear me. “What’s this court you’re talking about? Is there a king or something like that down here?”
    “KORT stands for Knights of the Round Table,” Bri says before either of the two boys can voice their obvious shock.
    “You’re his sister and you didn’t even know he was the president?” Jack asks.
    “She didn’t even know he was engaged,” Owen adds.
    Bri punches him in the shoulder. “She’s new here. Be nice.”
    I stumble to a halt as the coin finally drops. “You mean…you mean that my brother’s engaged, and to
her
?” Not that I care who has the bad luck of being stuck with Arthur, but I don’t want to end up being related to someone who, with a single word and a twist of the mouth, makes me feel like I’m no better than bat droppings.
    “They had their handfasting this Lughnasadh,” Bri says.
    “It’s a trial marriage,” Jack says before I can ask. “If they choose to, they can annul it after a year and a day. Otherwise, they stay married.”
    I knew that my family was weird, but this proves it.
    “Wait,” Bri says, stopping Jack from entering the school.
    “Now what?” Owen asks.
    “You’re telling us you really don’t know
anything
about this place?” Bri asks me. “Your parents never talked to you about it?”
    I swallow hard—my parents never talked to me, period. I shake my head, hating how conspicuous this makes me.
    To my surprise, Bri’s face lights up. “Then you need a tour!”
    Jack and Owen groan, but Bri shushes them. “Come on, guys. At least we got to go through orientation.”
    “But there’s hardly any time for breakfast—” Owen starts.
    “It’ll be