“Wait a second,” I said, my brain finally catching up to what Alex was doing. “No, seriously. We’re not kicking anyone out to take their seat.”
Confusion marred the golden prince’s face. “Uh, why not? He doesn’t mind, right?”
He turned back to the boy, who was already standing. “Nope. Not at all, Prince Alex. I was done anyway. Table is all yours.”
Holy fuck. This was why I hated royalty. This was why I’d hesitated, despite my attraction to Alex. This bullshit pissed me right the fuck off, and Alex didn’t even understand why what he’d done was so wrong.
“I think I’m going to just study in my room tonight,” I bit out between clenched teeth. “I’m not feeling that great, so I’ll have to take a rain check.”
He opened his mouth to say something, but I spun, following the same path as the young student he’d rudely turfed out of the seat.
“Violet,” Alex called, not caring that everyone turned to look at us. Thankfully I was almost out the door at that point, and picking up my pace, I rushed through the school.
My face felt hot as I fumed and dwelled on my own stupidity. Why had I thought Alex was different? Why didn’t I trust my instincts?
Shallow bitch, my subconscious reminded me. It was partly true, but I’d thought I saw something better in him as well.
Guess I’d been wrong.
In my blind fury, I hadn’t been watching where I was going, and I almost charged right into Rafe. Stopping just in time, I sucked in some deep breaths, my chest hammering for multiple reasons. My emotions were a shitshow of fucked up right now, and I was probably going to say something really bad in reply to whatever asshole thing was about to leave his mouth.
Only he didn’t say a word. He just let that enigmatic gaze rest on my face, no doubt seeing a ton of stuff I wished he wouldn’t, and then he straightened and continued on down the hallway.
It was only after my brain caught up to me that I realized he’d been dressed entirely in black, and had that been a black balaclava clutched in his hand? Not to mention that look on his face … It had been focus and determination. An expression I’d recognized from my many years with Master Shensei.
But what did that mean? Could Rafe possibly be…
Spinning on my heels, I raced after him, intent on figuring out exactly what was going on in this school. Despite the fact I was full on sprinting, there was no sign of the prince. And considering his size and the general open lengths of these halls, I was at a complete loss as to how he’d disappeared so fast.
Frustrated, I turned back the way I’d been going originally and finally made it unscathed to my room. Despite the roar of my thoughts, so many of them swirling until I actually felt sick, I somehow managed to get the last of my homework done. By no means was any of it amazing, and I hadn’t caught up in classes yet, but it would get me through another day. Maybe tomorrow Alex wouldn’t act like an arrogant dick, and I’d be able to get his help.
That night sleep was hard to grasp, and when I finally dozed off, it was to faceless giants all dressed in black who kept slipping through my fingers every time I chased after them.
Fucking Rafe. Not only did that asshole bother me during the day, he was now starring in my dreams. I needed a mental health check, stat, because this was not okay.
A quick shower helped revive me, and because I had some extra time, I blow-dried my hair dead straight, again marveling at how long it had gotten. Master Shensei had advised me more than once that it would be better to cut it short so my gender wouldn’t be so hard to conceal, but I couldn’t seem to part with the golden tresses. Vanity, thy name was Violet.
Still, a girl had to have something.
The knock on my door came as I was dressed and about to leave the room. I swung the door open expecting it to be Alex, apology in mouth, but it was Mattie.
“Girl,” she said, checking me out in a long slow sweep that almost made me blush. “You’re looking hot as fuck today. What’s the special occasion?”
I snorted. “Uh, not being hungover with ten minutes to get my ass to the dean’s office?”
Mattie shrugged. “Makes sense.”
She stepped back so I could leave the room, and I made sure it was locked before we started down the hall.
“So, I have kind of noticed that you’re lugging that heavy bag around everywhere,” she started, and I hoisted said backpack higher because she was right about how heavy it was.
I blinked as she thrust her hand out, a small, familiar device sitting in it. “This is purely selfish,” she added in a rush, no doubt seeing the no on my face before I even voiced it. “I hate not being able to message you on a whim, and it’s safer if we know where you are, especially with the vultures in this school.”
My throat felt unexpectedly tight, and I tried to think of a time anyone had offered me anything for such a caring reason.
“It’s too much,” I choked out, knowing the cost of one of those. “I’m going to try and get a part-time job and earn enough to buy my own.”
I knew that I’d probably have to work for approximately fifteen years part time to afford one, but maybe a princess wouldn’t realize that and she’d be happy to wait.
Grounding to a halt, Mattie grabbed my hand and snapped the small device onto my wrist.
It was almost the size of a normal watch, until you started pulling out all of the attachments, and I must have been in shock as I stared down at it for a few beats.
“I programmed in my and Nole’s numbers, along with Jordan’s because he’s always good to have around if you’re in trouble.”
Blinking at her, I willed the damn fire burning my eyes to go away. Last thing I needed was to bawl and smudge my carefully applied makeup. “I don’t know how to thank you,” I murmured huskily, “and I will get a job and pay you back for this.”
She waved a hand at me. “Come on, I told you it was selfish. You’re doing me and my lazy ass a favor.”
We both knew that was a lie, but not wanting to appear ungrateful, I didn’t try and throw her gift back at her. I wanted to, but I didn’t.
“Do you need any help on how to use it?” Mattie asked as we started walking again, heading to the dining hall for breakfast.
I nodded, a laugh escaping. “Yeah, that is probably a good idea. I’ve never used one before.”
We were some of the first in the hall, and before any of her friends arrived, Mattie ran me through the basic functions of the palm reader. I loved how easy it was to log into my classes and pick up the syllabi and the simplicity of messaging my friend whenever I needed to ask her something.
“This is going to make my life so much easier,” I said, staring down in awe at it. “It feels too good to be true.”
For a second I wished I could take back that very personal statement. I didn’t need Mattie’s sympathy, in fact, I would be pissed as hell if she felt sorry for me, even if the truth was that nothing in my life had ever been easy or free. I’d been gifted nothing but my weapon, and even that I’d had to pay a lot of blood to get.
Her hand landed on my arm, and thankfully her smile was full of warmth and caring, without an ounce of sympathy present.
The moment was interrupted by the arrival of Nolan, who pressed a kiss to his sister’s head before moving on to do the same to me. I almost flinched at the overly familiar gesture, but for some reason, Nolan managed to get past most of my defenses. I never felt weird, even when he was kissing me.