The drive to the academy parking area only takes a few minutes. Once we step out, I murmur a quiet thank you to the driver before the car disappears into the night.
Adelaide unlocks her Porsche and slides behind the wheel while I take the passenger seat.
She wastes no time pulling away from the academy grounds, the engine purrs smoothly while we follow the winding forest roads of Elaris Island.
The trees blur past the windows, and despite everything, a sense of nostalgia washes over me.
We used to do this all the time.
All five of us.
Together.
It doesn’t take long for the forest to begin thinning, the small town slowly coming into view beyond the trees.
I look over at Adelaide.
“So who’s the man fighting?” I ask, breaking the silence.
She smiles.
“The Thirteen Circle is hosting a boxing match tonight.”
“I gathered as much,” I reply. “Considering you needed to be here and your man’s the one fighting.”
She looks at me briefly before turning her attention back to the road.
“The Ferrum Syndicate requested the match. And apparently I’m here to please them and make all their little wishes come true.” She scoffs softly. “Might as well enjoy it and watch my man beat the living crap out of theirs.”
My heart stutters at the mention of the Syndicate, and I resent my own reaction to it.
But what I hate even more isn’t the way my body reacts to him.
It’s the fact I keep telling him to stay away from me, yet when he ignores it, I never push him away.
Ilethim close.
And when he finally learns the truth, he’s going to hate me even more for this.
For the deception.
Chapter 13
Piper
The second we walk inside, noise hits us from every direction.
People shout over one another, cheer from every corner.
The crowd feels unhinged.
Half the academy seems to be here.
Possibly more.
The Thirteen Circle hosts these matches every now and then. Sometimes for entertainment, sometimes to make an example out of someone.
The line between the two tends to blur.
