I look away, angry at the lapse. She’s a Drakeward. She’s a job. She’s a headache that could get us all killed. I don’t have the luxury of noticing how blue her eyes are.
“Hurry up and eat,” I grunt. “Mandatory Ed in twenty.”
“Mandatory what?”
Fucking Elites.“Education, Princess. Classes.”
“Here?” She says it in that superior, scoffing manner, but there’s a tremor in her voice she can’t quite hide. “What are they going to teach me? Advanced Shanking? How to speak fluent Thug?”
I swallow down the last of my food. “General studies,” I tell her, grabbing a clean undershirt. “Every Tuesday and Thursday. The facility keeps its funding by providing ‘Reform through Knowledge.’ It’s total bullshit.”
“Of course you’d see education as a waste of time,” she snipes.
I don’t argue. I try to pull the shirt over my head, but a sharp flare of agony from my ribs makes me hiss through my teeth.
“You should get that looked at.” She’s right there at the bars, her eyes roving over my bare torso with a flash of genuine concern that I definitely didn’t see coming. And I definitely don’t want IT.
“I’m fine,” I snap, finally yanking the shirt down. “Get your shoes on. We’re moving.”
Jensen watches my back as we head to the “Learning Center.” It’s just three windowless rooms with flickering lights and whiteboards covered in permanent marker graffiti.
A complete joke.
What isn’t funny are the classmates. Guild and Diggers mixed together. A room full of people who hate each other, separated by bored guards who are probably betting on who’s going to swing first.
The Guild look smug in their prison blues. The other half, my half, look tired and beaten.
A few No-men huddle at the back in their red scrubs, looking like they want to disappear into the floorboards.
And at the front of the room sits Hennessey.
He’s slumped behind his desk, smelling of gin. The man clearly gave up on life a long time ago. It’s obvious this is the only job he could get.
I nudge Aurora toward a seat.As we pass the Guild section, Dimitry’s number three, Thad, grins, runninghis eyes over Aurora in a way that makes me want to reach across the aisle and smash his head against the desk until it’s pulp.
Fucking Thad.
But she falters, her gaze locking onto the girl perched next to Thad. It’s Dimitry’s “girlfriend” Odessa. I use quote marks because who the fuck knows how that weird relationship works.I often think that tiny thing is Dimitry’s puppet master, and she’s very adept at pulling his strings.
She is watching Aurora with a look of predatory recognition. Aurora’s spine goes rigid, her eyes narrowing as she scans the girl’s face. Fuck, I bet she knows the bitch. They both have that high-society ballroom bullshit written all over them.
"The Drakeward Diamond turns out to be cubic zirconia," Odessa purrs, “I can’t say I’m surprised. But choosing to spend your time in the gutters, Aurora? Fascinating.”
Aurora doesn’t reply, but I can feel the heat of her fury radiating off her in waves.
Odessa’s eyes dance as they track the bruises on Aurora’s face. "It’s such a poetic downfall, darling. From a manor to a sewer. I’ll be sure to write to Cosmo and tell him how well you’ve found your level.”
Another one of the Guild twats, Sterling, laughs, then shoves his foot out, trying to trip Aurora. I kick his ankle—hard, then push Aurora down next to Imran.
She obeys my command, knuckles white where she’s gripping the desk. She’s rattled. Odessa gives her one last, mocking wink. Interesting that this Elite girl can make the Princess more infuriated than all Layla’s mocking.
And my…control.
“Sit the fuck down,” I repeat, and she comes out of her stupor and slumps next to Imran.
The kid gives her a small smile. Aurora snaps out of it, her eyes widening as she takes in his hollow cheeks and the gray tint to his skin.
Then she shakes off the Guild bitch and smiles back.
