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Rianne rolled her eyes, throwing herself on her unmade bed and crossing her long, slender legs at the ankles. She lifted her hands and rested them behind her head to give herself a cushion, and her sweater raised slightly, showing a hint of a flat stomach. The confidence she had in who she was made me look away. I didn’t like comparing myself with anyone, let alone my best friend, especially since I was well-aware my life was filled with advantages others didn’t have, but I wished I could feel that level of comfort within my own skin. How she managed it, I didn’t know, and I was too shamed to ask.
“You always need to get away,” she pointed out. “Who was smothering you this time? Pierce? Symon? One of your many admirers?”
I whipped around. “Come on, Rianne,” I said. “We both know why they’re interested in me.”
“Because you’re beautiful, smart, and could kick their ass, especially as the she-wolf you have inside of yourself?” Rianne asked, lifting her brows.
“Because I’m my father’s heir,” she said. “And even if marrying me would make them a Consort rather than the true heir, they’d rather take the power in any way they could get it.” She sighed. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they tried to tell me how to do a job my father had been raising me for since I was in the crib.”
“Yes, well.” She lifted a shoulder, sitting up slightly at an angle, hands behind her now. “No one said men were all that bright, but we need them, so…”
I slid down on the foot of my bed, picking at a seam. “My father wants me to figure out who I wish to marry,” I said. “He spoke to me about it at dinner.” I shook my head. “He’s insistent that this Marriage Law is going to go through, and once it does, he won’t be able to protect me. But I don’t want to throw myself at someone because there’s a chance somethingmighthappen.”
Rianne pursed her lips together, eyes sliding over the window. Though it was closed, we could still hear the soft rattle of the autumn wind knocking on the glass.
“You know,” she said slowly, “you really are lucky, Adrya. Your father is giving you the freedom of choice. Not every girl, whether in your position or not, gets that. Perhaps you should look into who would catch your eye.”
I scowled.
“Someone just popped into your head, didn’t they?” she asked. She snickered. “Obviously not someone you would want to marry.”
“Look, I don’t want to think about marrying someone I don’t know let alone talk about it,” I muttered, hoping my hair had fallen out of its braid enough to mask my face. Rianne had this uncanny sense of knowing things simply from looking at me, and I didn’t want to give her any more than what she might have already picked up. “Let’s discuss something else.”
“Okay,” she said, leaning forward. “Did you hear? A new girl showed up.”
“A new girl?”
“Human.”
I tilted my head to the side. The fact that she was human wasn’t actually all that surprising. Bloodmoon Academy was the only academy in the continent that allowed humans access to attend as students.
“There are rumors about her,” Rianne continued. “Though…I’m not sure if they’re substantial enough to even waste my breath on them.”
“You’re being dramatic again,” I pointed out.
“Says the girl who sneaks out of the academy grounds because you needed to get out,” she shot back.
Touché.
“Anyway,” Rianne continued, “I heard she’s some kind of legacy. Like her parents went here or something. But I also heard something pretty sinister.”
“Sinister like what?”
“Like, she killed her mother.”
I opened my mouth to respond, shut it, then shook my head. “There’s no way.” I stood up and headed over to our bureau across from where our beds were placed. “No way does Master Grey let someone in who killed their mother.” I grabbed a brush and took a seat on the chair before I began to slowly brush out my hair. “Do you know what pack she’s going to be assigned to?”
Rianne shrugged. “Captain Byron was seen bringing her in,” she said.
Ah.
Now I understood why he hadn’t been out there himself. It was probably a blessing.
“You need to promise me something,” Rianne said suddenly, catching my gaze in the mirror and holding onto it. Rarely did she sound so…serious.
“Okay.” I gave her a look, my lips smiling even though I was sure she could see the blatant confusion in my face. “What is it?”
“No matter what happens, you and I will be friends,” she said. There was so much earnestness in her voice, I wanted to pat her shoulder, maybe even hug her. Why she would even question such a thing was beyond me. I didn’t think anything could have come between us, even a man. We had too much history for that. She was the only person who knew me, who cared enough about me to get to know me.
