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Chapter Fifteen
Alex
With the academy back open and students filing in after staff through cramped security checkpoints, gossip buzzes at the edge of every group. My ears prickle with the sound of common knowledge—how Macedon is under the watchful eye of a Big Brother type who seems to know everything—while people actively avoid looking at me.
Am I surprised? Hardly. But school is the last thing on my mind, with the most recent conversation I had with Soren circulating my brain. The line moves slowly, giving me time to think—and maybe a little too hard, too.
His hesitance to make a vow to me and his friends rings in my body. The hollow way he held me reminds me how angry he is with me, though I’m not quite sure how I can soothe those wounds if he won’t allow me to try. Getting him on board with Tomas and Parker is the best way to make sure he stays safe.
Just a week ago, I wouldn’t have imagined myself trying to ally with these boys who once held me on the edge of a string like a toy. But now, I can’t picture the future without their support. And I hope to the heavens that they feel the same way about me.
I tighten my arms over my chest when a group of girls looks at me and giggles. What are they talking about? My fall from fame? It seems to be a weekly thing here to be under the critical eyes of the girls in this academy. If they spent half as much time protecting themselves as they do talking about me, then maybe their friends wouldn’t have died the way they did last year.
Then again, most of that was my mother’s doing, wasn’t it?
Tolerating the slow lines leads to hunger. I pluck one of those protein bars that Soren shoved into my bag after I failed with flying colors to collect on debt properly. His insistence that I keep protein bars on me—because, and I quote, “Forgetting to eat is a sin of its own”—makes me wonder if his tentative reflection of my request is genuine.
Will he join us? Or will he just sit back and watch us implode?
Fuck. I can’t do this without him, I think as I approach the steps leading to the entrance. A group of boys is getting rowdy at the front, inviting the attention of the extra security. I can’t do this without any one of them.
By the time I get through the metal detectors, I’m late for my first class. Students and staff alike are annoyed by the extra steps to get into the school, chattering about how proper precautions should have been taken from the very beginning to avoid such a mess. Though I loathe speaking to any of the girls in my math class, I find myself agreeing with them.
The headmaster calls a special assembly over the loudspeaker, the crackle of his voice barely breaking through the thrum of conversation buzzing through the room. Our teacher waves us toward the door where we flood the hallway with everyone else, shuffling toward the auditorium where our headmaster waits on the stage flanked by multiple security guards. Arguments rise from the front of the crowd about why our guards can’t be brought onto campus.
Many of the students complain about the metal detectors, the extra guards, the random pat-downs.
“We should be treated well for how much we pay you,” someone calls out.
A group of students cheers in a show of support. I linger in the back of the auditorium, searching for the boys in this ridiculous mess. I’m sure Tomas is enjoying the chaos while Parker is annoyed by the crowd. Soren is likely amused despite the fact that he’s being inconvenienced.
While a debate erupts between questioning students and the headmaster, I locate my boys sitting like kings in one of the second-floor VIP booths. Their eyes observe the swarming chaos below and imbibe every detail that makes itself evident. It’s interesting to watch how they respond to the disorder below, as though they’re deities curious about the dealings of humans.
To me, they’re nothing close to godly, but they’re the strongest support I’ve ever had in my life after my father died. If I had said that to myself six months ago, I would have been shocked. Now, it just seems logical. Those boys are what I need—and they need me, too. Soren might not see clearly just yet, but Tomas and Parker are each distinctly aware of what this alliance could do for us.
Besides, the sex is amazing. Who wouldn’t want that arrangement?
I notice Tabitha and John Trotter, their hands locked together, with a hint of alarm. Next to them is the usual fan base that flocks around John and his group. Beyond the higher elite students are the ones who earned their way into the academy on scholarship.
And then I see Evelyn.
Concern rips through me like a bolt of lightning. I need to speak to her privately, but I can’t risk either of us getting harmed. She’s too precious to me to lose. After all these years of being alone without any siblings, I finally have one. And I’m not going to ruin my chance of being a good family member.
Amos can’t be the only supposed family I have left. Evelyn is my key to happiness in a lot of ways, the girl who could potentially strengthen my kingdom and my alliance with the three strongest families in Macedon. I’m trying to be good about our friendship and keep my distance, but she needs to know the truth.
Or else the truth might kill her.
“The extra security is for your safety,” the headmaster explains while I sneak toward the doors. “No exceptions will be made!”
Once I’m clear of the chaos in the auditorium, I head toward the bathroom, hoping to catch a break from being watched. Being forced to leave the security detail assigned to me by Parker in the parking lot makes me nervous. What if someone tries to attack me here? It’s not like school security would be able to intervene in time.
I shake the paranoia from my shoulders as I wander into the bathroom. The empty stalls are squeaky clean, shimmering from being scrubbed sometime last night. Porcelain white tiles shimmer on the walls, and a vent above the stall farthest away from me spews cold air into the room.
A chill skates over my skin. I’m alone, but I still feel like I’m being watched. Leaning against one of the nearby sinks steadies me as I meet my reflection in the mirror. Behind me, the same pair of eyes as mine studies my face.
“Hi, Evelyn,” I whisper. I nod toward the sink next to me. “Sorry I’ve been keeping my distance from you.”
She offers a gentle smile and then approaches the sink beside me, resting her hands on the sparkling white structure. “I thought you were upset with me over what I said about Parker.”
