7/25/2019 Pale Kings and Princes (Tales From Shadowhunter Academy #6)

1/3

What I Did on My Summer Vacation

By Simon Lewis

This summer, I lived in Brooklyn. Every mornin I ran throuh the !ark. "nemornin, I met a ni#ie who lived in the do !ond. She had$

Simon Lewis !aused to consult his %thonian&Enlish dictionary 'or the word 'or()lond*$there was no entry. +!!arently words relatin to hair color were a nonissue'or creatures o' the demon dimensions. Much like, hed discovered, words relatin to'amily, 'riendshi!, or watchin TV. -e chewed his eraser, sihed, then )ent over the!ae aain. ive hundred words on how he s!ent his summer was due to his%thonian teacher )y mornin and a'ter an hour o' work he had writtena!!ro#imately . . . thirty.

She had hair. +nd$

$an enormous rack.

(/ust tryin to hel!,* Simons roommate 0eore Lovelace said, reachin overSimons shoulder to scrawl in an endin to the sentence.

(+nd 'ailin misera)ly,* Simon said, )ut he couldnt su!!ress a rin.

-ed missed 0eore this summer, more than he had e#!ected to. -ed missed all o'it more than hed e#!ected$not 1ust his new 'riends, )ut Shadowhunter +cademyitsel', the !redicta)le rhythms o' the day, all the thins hed s!ent monthscom!lainin a)out. The slime, the dank, the mornin calisthenics, the chitterin o'creatures tra!!ed in the walls . . . hed even missed the sou!. Simon had s!entmost o' his 2rst year at the +cademy worryin that he was out o' !lace$that, anyminute, someone im!ortant would reali3e theyd made a terri)le mistake and sendhim )ack home.

It wasnt until he was )ack in Brooklyn, tryin to slee! )eneath Batman sheets withhis mother snorin in the ne#t room, that he reali3ed home wasnt home anymore.

-ome, une#!ectedly, ine#!lica)ly, was Shadowhunter +cademy.

4ark Slo!e wasnt 5uite the same as he remem)ered, not with the werewol' cu)s'rolickin in the 4ros!ect 4ark do run, the warlock sellin artisanal cheese and love!otions at the 0rand +rmy 'armers market, the vam!ires lounin on the )anks o'the 0owanus, 6ickin ciarette )utts at strollin hi!sters. Simon had to kee!remindin himsel' that theyd )een there all alon$4ark Slo!e hadnt chaned7Simon had. Simon was the one who now had the Siht. Simon was the one who6inched at 6ickerin shadows and, when Eric had the mis'ortune o' sneakin u!)ehind him, instinctively yanked his old 'riend o8 his 'eet and slammed him to theround with an e8ortless 1udo 6i!.

7/25/2019 Pale Kings and Princes (Tales From Shadowhunter Academy #6)

2/3

(Dude,* Eric as!ed, olin u! at him 'rom the !arched +uust rass, (standdown, soldier.*

Eric, o' course, thouht hed s!ent the year at military school$as did the rest o' theuys, as did Simons mother and sister. Lyin to almost everyone he loved9 That was

another thin di8erent a)out his Brooklyn li'e now, and may)e the thin that madehim most eaer 'or esca!e. It was one thin to lie a)out where hed )een all year,to make u! hal':assed stories a)out demerits and drill sereants, most o' themcri))ed 'rom )ad eihties movies. It was another thin altoether to lie a)out whohe was. -e had to !retend to )e the uy they remem)ered, the Simon Lewis whothouht demons and warlocks were con2ned to the !aes o' comic )ooks, the onewhose closest )rush with death involved as!iratin a chocolate:covered almond.But he wasnt that Simon anymore, not even close. May)e he wasnt aShadowhunter, not yet$)ut he wasnt e#actly a mundane anymore, either, and hewas tired o' !retendin to )e.

The only !erson he didnt have to !retend with was %lary, and as the weeks !assed,

hed s!ent more and more time with her, e#!lorin the city and listenin to storieso' the )oy he used to )e. Simon still couldnt 5uite remem)er what theyd )een toeach other in that other li'e, the one hed )een maicked into 'orettin$)ut the!ast seemed to matter less and less.

(;ou know, Im not the !erson I used to )e either,* %lary had said to him one day, asthey nursed their 'ourth co8ee at /ava /ones. Simon was doin his )est to turn his)lood into ca8eine, in !re!aration 'or Se!tem)er. The +cademy was a co8ee:'ree3one. (Sometimes, that old %lary 'eels 1ust as 'ar away 'rom me as the old Simonmust 'rom you.*

(Do you miss her

7/25/2019 Pale Kings and Princes (Tales From Shadowhunter Academy #6)

3/3

around to the slim !ossi)ility that their mundane !eers could have somethin too8er, there was a whole new class now, and Simon didnt relish teachin them thelesson all over aain. Still, as his desk chair decided whether or not to s!lit in hal'and somethin 'urry and ray scam!ered !ast his 'eet, he wondered i' it was toolate to chane his mind.