AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A knock at the door cuts through my thoughts.
Alexander opens his eyes at the sound, his gaze immediately finding mine. He releases a breath when our eyes meet, some of the tension leaving his shoulders.
He’s a man focused. His eyes are like shards of topaz, his lips pressed into a hard line. There’s a stirring in my abdomen as his stare heats my blood, and I’m a bit embarrassed that now—in the middle ofsucha serious moment—I find myself wishing we were alone in the room.
The door opens, and there’s a Kingmaker Aide standing in the doorway. He’s dressed in the simple uniform that most of the House staff wear—gray slacks with a white button-down shirt under a black vest emblazoned with the Kingmaker House crest.
“The votes have been tallied, Mr. Duke, sir,” the aide says, a tense smile on his face.
I know you’re not supposed to read into things, but why doeshelook so tense? Should we be worried? My pulse speeds up, and I cast a nervous glance at Ezra. He holds out a hand, directing me to the exit. Alexander has already slipped into the hallway.
The sound of our footsteps echo in the narrow hallway as we make our way toward the auditorium. Everything is so quiet. Quiet enough for me to hear my breath and my heartbeat. I fumble with the fringe of my woolen jumper, hoping to distract myself.
Ahead of me, Alexander’s steps are confident, his head held high, his broad shoulders pulled back. He doesn’t look like a man whose entire future is about to be defined by whatever happens in the next two minutes. No, he looks composed, unshakable.
I’m in awe. I am probably more nervous than he is.
Nearly all the members of Kingmaker House are assembled in the auditorium. I’m the only girl here, and I feel their eyes on me as we file into the first row. My seat is beside Alexander’s, with Vance and Ezra to my left.
On the stage in front of us, the Chancellor stands with the ballot boxes nearby. There are a few aides behind him. Just the sight of him brings back all the bad memories, and he has the nerve to smile at me when we make eye contact. I look away quickly.
Alexander rests his hand on my knee, stilling my leg.
When I turn to look at him, he’s staring at the Chancellor. They’re locked in a tense stare-off for a few seconds, before the Chancellor steps closer to the microphone and begins to speak. Alexander gives my leg a squeeze.
I put my hand on his.
Gosh, I hope he wins this.
“Thank you for your patience,” the Chancellor says. “We’re all filled with anticipation, so I won’t hold things up any longer. The votes are in.”
I scrape Alexander’s hand off my leg to lace my fingers with his, squeezing as hard as I can. There’s a soft chuckle from him, but he lets me take out my anxiety on him. It’s so fucked up that it should definitely be the other way around, but he doesn’t seem to mind.
“In third place is Cesare Esposito, with one-hundred-and-two votes.”
My grip on Alexander’s hand tightens.
“In second place, we have Liam Keller with two-hundred-and-thirteen votes."
The feeling is gone from his fingers by this, with how tight I’m squeezing.
“Your Head Kingmaker for this academic year is Alexander Duke, who received eight-hundred-and-eighty-eight votes.”
There’s an uproar in the auditorium, or maybe it’s just me, I can’t really be sure cause I’ve jumped from my seat to hug Alexander, shouting. He stands with me in his arms, kissing me so deeply my head spins.
He did it.
He fucking did it!
My heart feels too big for my chest. I hold on to him as tight as I can for as long as he’ll let me. When he sets me down, there’s a huge smile on his face and he’s visibly more relaxed. A crowd has gathered around us too, people crowding him to offer their congratulations.
It feels like a complete one-eighty.
They don’t hate him anymore. They respect him enough to vote for him to be their leader for another year. It’s because of the kind of person he’s shown himself to be—patient, strong, tenacious. Even when it seemed like public sentiment was against him, Alexander was able to turn the tides.
I’m so proud of him.
I try to weasel away to the sidelines so he can soak up all the attention, but he won’t let me. He holds my hand firmly, pulling me to his side.
