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Chapter 19
The movie ends, and I check the time. It’s been two hours since my uncle said he’d make things right at the academy, and he still hasn’t called back. Maybe not even he has the power to get the students to be nice to me—not when I’m the daughter of Drake Ayers.
Bash lets out a little snore, and I smile. He’s adorable when he sleeps. I find a blanket and cover him, then turn off the movie. The news appears, and I’m about to turn it off when I hear my uncle’s name. I can’t help but be curious. Are they still talking about his press conference, or have they moved onto something else?
A blonde anchorwoman turns to a brunette. “What do you think of his request? Is there more to it? Or is it as simple as it seems?”
I scoot closer to the screen, not wanting to turn up the volume and wake Bash.
The brunette looks deep in thought for a moment. “I’m not sure what to think. On one hand, she is his niece, however she’s also Drake’s daughter.”
They both scowl at the obvious mention of me, then the blonde speaks again. “I don’t know how anyone can look at her and not think about how close she is to Drake the snake.”
My stomach knots, and I have my answer. Uncle Tiberias can try to get people to be nice to me, but the fact is, I am Drake’s daughter—and that’s all the people of Valora will see me as.
The brunette anchorwoman taps a perfectly manicured red nail. “But she’s not Drake. She could be kindhearted like our true king. Why else would he request we treat her as well as we’d treat him?”
I lean forward, clinging to a ray of hope.
“Maybe she’s tricked him.” The blonde takes a sip from a wine glass. “I think she’s still working for her dad, but our king doesn’t realize it yet.”
And just like that, my hope is dashed.
“We’ve never met the girl, so all we can do is speculate.” The brunette’s face lights up. “However, we can speak with someone who does know her.”
Please be Halen. Please be Halen.
The brunette turns to the camera. “We have in studio three of Marra Ayers’s classmates.”
I clasp my hands. Three? Maybe Halen and her friends, or some of the band members.
“Please join us, Earwyn, Cove, and Vanya.”
Earwyn and her dogfish? There’s no way this can end well. No possible way. Not even my uncle will be able to undo whatever damage those three are about to unleash.
The three of them strut over to the desk, giving parade waves and plastic smiles before sitting on either side of the two anchorwomen.
I’m not sure I can stomach watching this. Yet I can’t pull my attention away. It’s like looking at an accident on the side of the road—I know I shouldn’t, yet I can’t stop myself.
They introduce themselves and laugh with the two women before the blonde asks Earwyn to tell her about me.
Earwyn turns to the camera and gives her biggest doe eyes, clearly pleading for sympathy. “My friends and I used to live in the suite in our dorm of the Royal School in the Dark Sea Academy. We’d worked our tails off our first three years, eager to earn the suite. We all had nearly perfect grades and had each excelled in at least two extracurricular activities. But then Marra Ayers returns from years on the land and takes that away from us her first day back in Valora. Didn’t ask us how we felt about it or anything.”
Cove scoots closer to Earwyn. “That’s exactly how it went down. The first-year just marched in like she owned the place, demanding to have the best of everything just because her dad was the new king. The first night, in the woods, she threatened us.” Tears fill her eyes. “It was just awful, and I can’t get the image out of my head.”
Rage runs through me. Lies, all of it! Where’s the mention of them dragging me into the forest at knifepoint? The fact that I didn’t ask for the suite? I’d have gladly taken a normal dorm room on the first-year floor.
Vanya looks at the camera. “And it’s only gotten worse with time. She’s more demanding than ever. Always showing off. And what’s up with that hair? I can’t believe she’s allowed to get away with pink hair! Everyone says she thinks she’s Queen Sirena. Marra thinks she’s better than everyone else, and now she’s got King Tiberias asking everyone to bend over for her again. Is that fair? Is it?”
Earwyn leans forward. “It makes me wonder what she said to her uncle to get him to say that. Did she threaten him too? She’d know just where to strike. And she’d do it. That’s just how she is.”
I’m so angry, I’m shaking now. I ball my fists, and tiny sparks of green lightning appear.
The screen goes black.
“Why are you watching that?”
I spin around. “Turn that back on! I need to know what they say.”
