“Hey, I have an important question,” Nolan said when we stopped to eat the food we’d ordered up from the kitchens. There were numerous perks to being a student at Arbon Academy, and room service was just one of them.
“Go on,” Jordan invited, taking a huge bite of pizza. The pizzas at Arbon were out-of-this-freaking-world good.
Nolan frowned thoughtfully, chewing his own mouthful. “How come Rafe isn’t here with us?” He arched a brow at me, and the food stuck in my throat. “I know you guys have had your issues but I figured you’d... uh… worked through those?”
My face heated, and I did everything possible to avoid Jordan’s intense stare. Despite my plan to speak with him about his confession, we hadn’t broached the subject. It was just sitting there like this giant pink elephant in the corner of the room that we’d both been ignoring. Still hadn’t stopped the occasional accidental-on-purpose touches as he’d helped me navigate my palm reader more efficiently.
“Wait, when did you work through things with Rafe?” Mattie asked, and I froze.
Fuck. I hadn’t told her…
Clearing my throat, I wiped my hands off on a napkin. “I’m sure Rafe has better things to do than help the poor little charity case with her boy troubles.”
That was probably unfair. He’d been nothing but understanding with me after watching me suck face with the enemy in the hall. But I was barely holding it together around Jordan. Add Rafe into the mix, and I might end up committed. Or naked.
My cheeks burned hotter—if that was even possible—as fantasies of Jordan, Rafe, and me naked flashed across my mind, and my thighs clenched involuntarily.
“Besides, I think we almost have this worked out. Right?” I gave Nolan a very clear shut-the-fuck-up glare, which he probably understood.
He took another bite of his pizza, seeming to let the matter drop.
But then… “Are you guys avoiding each other ’cause you fucked?”
I choked on my pizza, and Mattie started laughing.
“What? Violet and Rafe? As if!” She snickered, then sobered when she realized no one else was laughing. “Wait, what?”
I cringed. Hard. What the hell had I been thinking? I mean, obviously I hadn’t been—at all—at least, nothing beyond my need to wash Alex off my skin and out of my heart.
“Well, this is awkward,” Nolan commented, oh so helpfully. “So I guess Violet forgot to tell you about how Jordan kissed her, too?”
“Dude!” Jordan exclaimed, and I dropped my face into my hands with a groan.
“Wow,” Mattie spluttered. “I’m not sure if I should be impressed or jealous. I mean, Rafe and Jordan.”
She flashed a sweet but nasty smile at her brother. “You didn’t throw your dick in the ring too?”
Nolan was not perturbed by her question. “Nah, I think Violet already has her hands full. I mean, I’ve seen the size of those two monst—”
Jordan punched him in the shoulder, hard enough to all but knock him off the bed. I worried at first he’d choked on his pizza, he was coughing so hard, but it was mainly laughter. Dumb fuck.
Mattie turned her full focus on me. “Are you really okay? I mean, Alex is a lot to deal with, but throw in Rafe… I’m worried about you.”
I swallowed hard. “The heartbreak is one thing. I was the idiot who didn’t read between the lines, so caught up in the ‘romance’ he was wooing me with. I’m sure I’ll be over it soon, though. It wasn’t like we were together very long. And Rafe… that was just quick”—Jordan cleared his throat but didn’t say anything. It really hadn't been quick, to be fair—“revenge sex. I needed to cleanse the palate so to speak, and Rafe was both convenient and strong enough to handle my rage.”
“Violence has anger issues,” Nolan added in another unhelpful little tidbit. “She nearly killed her opponent in her last fight.”
Mattie’s face was now the color of a very ripe tomato, and she kept opening and closing her mouth as she looked between the three of us.
“Why?” she finally choked out. “You know those fights are resistance led. You know that people die and if any of our parents found out, they would probably disinherit us. Why do you keep doing it?”
“They’re resistance led?” I cut in before anyone could answer her. “What do you mean?”
The resistance was like a fairytale wrapped in a nightmare. This group was out there fighting against monarchies, trying to bring some balance back with at least a basic set of rules the royals had to follow as well. Rules to protect the rest of us.
Everyone who wasn’t royal had high hopes that one day they might succeed. But we’d also heard of their inhumanly violent raids, inflicting torture and attacking innocent children. Their leader was as out of control as any royal. They’d razed entire villages to the ground to maintain control over the few neutral—not under monarch rule—territories that remained.
Sometimes I was on the side of the royals because at least it was the evil I knew. The other was too unpredictable.
“Both resistance, regular people, and royals fight,” Nolan reminded his sister. “There’s no evidence that it’s orchestrated by the resistance.” He cleared his throat. “Not that I fight. I’ve actually never heard of it.”
For the second time in five minutes he got punched. This time by his twin.
With a sigh, she turned to me. “Please just promise that you’re being safe.”
Her eyes flicked to Jordan and then back to me. “With everything. Please be safe. And let me know when you need backup, because I will straight up destroy anyone who tries to mess with you.”
I believed her. Leaning across Jordan, I wrapped my arms around Mattie. “I promise. I’ve been through a ton of shit in my life, and I’m not about to allow Alex or Arbon Academy to take me down.”
Mattie pushed the pizza box aside so she could shift closer to me. Her palm reader was out in the same instant. “What’s our plan of attack?” she asked, all business. “These assholes can’t be allowed to get away with this. We need to take them down and make it hurt.”
An image appeared on her palm; it looked like old-school lined paper. Names were written on it: Alex, Claudette, Brandon.
“Anyone else we need to add?”
She was serious, and my heart swelled. I’d never had anyone in my corner, not like this. My sensei had guided me, but he’d made me fight my own battles. Always. He’d also come down hard on me when I didn’t live up to his very rigid expectations. It had been the discipline I needed, but it meant that unconditional support was a gift I did not expect. These fuckers were gonna make me cry.
Discreetly, I cleared my throat and blinked away any moisture that was trying to make an appearance. Crying was not a luxury I allowed myself. At least it hadn’t been before I’d won the princess ballot.
Mattie noticed, squeezing my hand, and then we were back to planning the demise of three people.
“Claudette is tricky,” she started.
“Because of Rafe,” Nolan cut in.
“Right.” She nodded. “Rafe’s betrothal to her is causing him no shortage of political headaches, and he’s been unable to move his parents on their stance.”
“It’s not just his parents,” Jordan added. “They’re usually pretty agreeable. It has to be Claudette’s. They’re holding something over King Felipe and Queen Jacinta—something large enough that if Rafe’s parents forced the dissolution of this betrothal, it could upset the political balance in an extreme way.”
“Does Rafe know what it is?” I asked.
Nolan and Mattie shook their heads. Jordan did too, but there was a beat of hesitation before he did.
“Jords?” I pushed, slipping into the nickname zone. “Give me something, America.”
His eyes darkened, the brown turning into a burnt toffee, delicious and mesmerizing. When he focused on me like this, it was as if no one else in the world existed. And I legit should not be having these dark, sexy thoughts when I’d just found out about Alex and the scale of his betrayal.
But damn, I was only human.
“Rafe suspects what it is,” Jordan confirmed, “from some shit Claudette told him when he broke off their betrothal, after you got hurt. She pointed out that if it weren’t for the support of the Britains, Rafe’s parents would not have so much control over former Europe. He thinks it’s because of their warships and satellite technology.”
“Arghh!” Mattie actually growled. “We should have destroyed that archaic bullshit a long time ago. The Guays’ technology is so much more sophisticated, and thankfully it’s slowly seeping into the rest of the world.”
“But so many of our royal protocols still work off the original series of satellites—satellites owned and controlled by Britain,” Nolan finished.
“So, how can we usurp their control over the Swiss province?” Mattie mused. “Without causing an international incident.”
“You have a way that would cause an incident?” I asked.
She smiled. “Why, yes. Our technology can obliterate theirs, and I’ve been wanting to do it for so long because they do nothing but abuse their power.”