“Thanks, Miley. I hope it is a hoax,” Elena says, and there’s nothing but agreement all around.
Aeron rushes over to us and seems to stop himself from reaching out to me.
“Is everyone okay?” he asks, and we all nod our heads in unison.
“A little shaken, but we’re dealing. What’s going to happen now?”
Aeron grabs me and D and leads us into the ballroom, before closing the door. I turn when I hear another door close, and then Tom appears within my line of sight.
“The guards are back, and there will be more this time. Class will continue as normal, but I suspect other changes will be made. It’s just a precaution though. It’s a hoax.” He tugs at his hair, and I wonder who he’s trying to convince. Us or himself?
Darius’ tracker is hidden inside my Doc Martens, and I don’t see any point in using it now that he’s back. This whole situation has everyone too scared to leave their rooms, and the mess hall has never been quieter. Those with a kitchen in their room, like me, are eating in there every chance they get. They have cancelled the extracurriculars until school starts back up, and all we are leaving for is class. We still have to attend those, our finals are in two weeks and we can’t start slipping now.
I keep telling myself it is a hoax, even though I don’t believe it. Lying to myself is the only thing keeping me sane, and for now, that will have to do.
“How are you doing?” Tucker asks, as he walks me back to my room.
“I’m okay, I just keep thinking about the pool house, and I keep wondering if they’ll try again. I know it’s unlikely, but I can’t stop my mind from going there.” He drops his hands onto my shoulders, and starts kneading the muscles, while I get my door open.
“Nothing is going to happen, you have more than enough people keeping their eyes on you. I’m even relaxing the restrictions a little. I have a lot of tests coming up, and I don’t want you to be left alone.”
“You don’t need to do that, Darius is here,” I point out.
“Yes, but I can’t spend every night with you, and I’d prefer it if someone was here when I can’t be. So, who’s it going to be? Tom, Aeron, or Emmet?”
“No, I can’t make that choice. Tucker, I can’t. Please, don’t make me.” I beg him, and I’m not ashamed to admit it.
“Okay, I’ll choose then. I can do tonight, and I know Emmet is free tomorrow. As for the other two, we’ll figure something out. Just don’t let them touch you. My freedom still comes with some strings,” he grinds out, before his hands fall away, and he walks straight into my room.
Oh well, this should be fun.
I follow him inside and curl up on my side of the bed. He wraps his arm around my middle and pulls me closer.
“It will be okay, Tiny One. We’ll find this bastard.”
“Do you think it could be a girl? In my head, it’s a guy, but it’s not unlikely. Is it?”
“In my head, it’s a guy too, but I do not understand why. I guess it could be a girl. The sooner we catch them, the better. At least then we’ll finally get some answers.” He rests his head on my shoulder, and we both drift off.
I wake to a noise coming from the other room, and I extricate myself from his hold. There isn’t anyone in here, but there is a piece of paper on the floor.
Star,
Meet me by the pool on our last night here. There are things I have to tell you, but I can’t yet. I can’t order you, but I can ask.
Your Prince
Oh no, I am not falling for that again. Even if it turns out to be genuine, there is no way I am going anywhere without checking first. And I won’t keep this from Tucker. Once he’s awake, I’ll show him.
“Tiny One? What’s going on?”
I spin around, with my hand clutching at my chest.
“You nearly gave me a heart attack, I thought you were asleep,” I say breathlessly, and he walks further into the light.
“I woke up when you got out of bed. What’s going on?”
“Someone left this for me, it says Emmet, but then again, so did the last one.” I hand it over, and I can hear his teeth grinding from here.
“We’ll sort this out, but for now, let’s just go back to bed.” I follow behind him, and strip off my clothes before climbing under the sheets and losing myself in his warm embrace.
35
One Last Girl
The last round of finals has arrived, and so has the day I am supposed to meet ‘Emmet’. He swears black and blue he didn’t leave that note, and I’m not the only one who believes him. I mean, he’s spent nearly every night in my room, Tucker wouldn’t allow it if he thought he was lying.
“Stop worrying, you’ll be fine,” Emmet says, as he eats one of my breakfast muffins.
“That’s easier said than done. If I fail, then I’m gone. There’ll be no saving me this time.” I put my hair into a braid, just so I have something to do, and he shakes his head at my antics.
“You will not fail. You are more than ready for this. Just have a little faith.”
“I know, I know. I’m trying, I can’t even eat anything. My nerves have destroyed my appetite.” I throw myself down onto the sofa, and he smirks at me.
“Come on, it’s time we get going. And remember, if you’re unsure, just leave the question. You can go back to it at the end.”
He puts his bowl away, and then we head out. He walks me to my room, before heading off to his own, and I can’t help but watch as he walks away. The Devil has a heart. I wonder how many people know this about him.
I shake off my thoughts and take my seat. Maddox is already in his seat, but we haven’t got time to talk. I need to get myself in the zone and concentrate. Everything else has to wash away, at least until the hard part is over.
I sit on the steps with Maddox and watch as people pass us by. We should be in our rooms, but we are both feeling cooped up. Besides, we have two guards watching our every move, so we should be safe.
“At least it is finally over, now all we have to do is wait,” he says it so casually, and I wish I could adopt the same mindset.
“The wait is going to kill me. I want to know now.”
“Trust me, I doubt you’re alone in that feeling. The time will fly by though. Besides, we’ll all be off doing our own things. You won’t even think about it once you leave this place.” I hope he’s right. I could do with a good distraction.
“I thought D would have been here by now, do you think she went to her room?” I ask, as I look around, hoping that I’ll spot her somewhere.
“She shouldn’t have. She definitely said she’ll meet us here. Maybe we should go look for her,” he says, and he doesn’t need to say it twice. Especially where D is concerned.
I walk over to Darius so I can tell him what’s going on, when he holds his hand up and speaks into his mouthpiece. His eyes pinch up around the corners, and his mouth falls flat. A sense of dread is filling me, which is irrational. Just because D isn’t here, doesn’t mean that anything has happened. But something is screaming at me that it does, and I don’t know what I’ll do if I lose D.