Jordan's face pulled into concerned lines. "Is that a good idea? What if he knows you..." He trailed off, not wanting to mention Brandon here.
I shrugged. "If he knows, best I find out now so I can watch my back around him as well. I doubt he could, though, no one was around to witness the attack. It was chaos."
Jordan didn't look convinced; if anything his concern only grew the longer he stood there and contemplated what I'd said.
"When's your appointment? One of us should be there."
Starting to walk again, I checked my palm reader. "Haven't had a confirmation message yet. I'll let you know when I do."
Jordan, again, did not look satisfied by that, but he didn't argue with me. Instead he tightened his arm across my shoulder, keeping me anchored to his side. Between Jordan, Rafe, Mattie, and Nolan, I'd been alone exactly zero times today. I didn't like that they were jeopardizing their own educations, though, by missing classes to be in mine, but they assured me that they had it all worked out.
When we got to our table, Rafe was there alone, on his palm reader. I was pretty used to seeing him like that, but usually it was with a dark scowl on his face. Today he was smiling, and when I took the seat next to him, he flashed me the image so that I could see the twin’s newest drawings. The budding artists loved to send their big brother all their creations.
"How's everything back home?" I asked, sad that we were no longer there. Everything felt safe in their compound, protected from the world.
"Good," Rafe said shortly, dropping his hand and focusing fully on me. Having his attention like this was enough to send heat dripping through my veins. "Dad said the meeting has already been initiated through diplomatic channels. They should have an official date within the week."
His eyes darkened as he finished because I was clearly only halfway paying attention. Despite the important conversation. "You're distracting," I muttered. His stare was measured, those eyes fucking slaying me.
He looked like he was about to lean over and kiss me, when Mattie dropped into the chair opposite mine. "Girl, I'm so ready for wine and pizza."
This was enough distraction that I managed to pull myself together. No matter how comfortable the three of us were with our relationship now, the rest of the world wouldn't be. And I didn't need the drama. Not today.
"Well, at this rate I might as well ditch the rest of my classes," I told Mattie. "There's no possible way I can catch up. Not even if I study all night every night for the rest of the year."
Nolan was the last to arrive, just as I uttered my morbid words. "New Girl, I will legit do all your assignments for you if it means you don't leave," he said, shooting puppy-dog eyes at me. "You're the yin to my yang."
I snorted. "You know the yin is the darkness, right?"
Nolan smiled. "Of course. And I stand by what I said."
Jordan cleared his throat. "I think if we can get a modified schedule going for Violet, and the rest of us help her study, we can catch her up."
Rafe leaned back in his chair, muscles stretching his dress shirt as he stretched his arms behind his head. "I already spoke with Morgan, and he agreed to a new schedule. The files should arrive—"
My palm reader beeped, interrupting his speech. Annoyance unfurled in my chest as I let out a deep breath. Flicking the screen up, I blinked at the files transferring to each of my classes.
"You just have to finish these assignments and learn this course work for end-of-term exams," Rafe continued, not realizing how pissed off I was.
"Dude," Jordan whispered from the corner of his mouth, trying to get Rafe to shut up. Apparently "Good Samaritan" was on a roll, though, and needed to get all his good deeds out.
"And you're going to get all the credit for class attendance since it wasn't exactly your choice to be absent..."
He trailed off as I got to my feet. Trying to keep my voice low, because I didn't want to create a scene, I lifted a shaking hand. Fuck. I was really angry about this. I couldn't tell if I was overreacting or not, but I wouldn't let myself be railroaded by my princes. Not even when I loved them.
"I never asked for you to interfere," I bit out, staring him down. Rafe didn't look surprised; if anything he was ready for my attack. Bastard knowing me was not going to get him out of it.
"Maybe you missed it while we were fucking this morning," he said, not keeping his voice fucking quiet. "You're mine, Violet Spencer."
Mattie's eyes got super wide, and the bitch looked like she wanted some popcorn to go with this show.
"You don't think I'm capable of handling my own shit?" I asked, my voice and resolve shaky. He was fucking wearing me down already, not to mention having half-announced to our friends that we were fucking this morning. It was throwing me off my game. "You think me weak and beneath you?"
Rafe was on his feet now too, towering over me. No way could we continue this conversation here; it was drawing too much attention considering how we were supposed to be keeping our relationship under wraps. I needed to end the argument quickly.
I poked him in the chest, my eyes narrowed. “Back the fuck off, Angel,” I growled under my breath. “You crossed the damn line and you know it.”
With a scathing glare, I spun on my heel and hurried my ass out of the room, knowing one of them would be right on my tail. As I'd said earlier, I went nowhere alone. I loved that they were protective, but Rafe had taken it a step too far. I needed to handle my own shit, my own way.
Deciding I would find Dean Morgan and make my own arrangements, I headed in the direction of the administration wing. Ducking through a few halls, I passed the soccer field and wondered when the guys were playing next. They'd missed a couple of games and apparently the big tournament was soon, but neither had mentioned if they were going to be playing in it.
I sensed movement a second before a hand shot out to grab me. Not fucking today. Spinning around, I shot my leg out, kicking them in the side, satisfied with the thump and groan.
"Ms. Spencer," a familiar voice said, and I straightened from my fight pose.
"Sorry, Mr. Wainwright," I told him, hurrying forward to help him up. "I'm a little on edge. Call out to me next time or something."
He waved me off, hands on his knees like he was trying to catch his breath. I probably had knocked the wind out of him. "I'll know better next time," he said, nodding at me as he finally straightened. "I wanted to talk to you about something."
"Okay," I said, stepping back a little.
"It's Alex," he continued. "As we said in Felipe's office, he is being much more reasonable than his parents, but after Felipe’s people sent out the invitations to all ruling monarchs, Alex has responded with a request."
I had a bad fucking feeling about this request.
"He wants you to be there when the vote happens. But he’s also insisting that his invitation be hand-delivered by you."
I stared at the older man, trying to wrap my head around this fuckery. "Why?"
He shrugged. "Honestly, I don't have a clue. There was nothing else in his request."
My brain ran over a multitude of possibilities. Was Alex working for Uriel? Was he up to something even more sinister? I already knew he was capable of a lot. "I'll be at the vote anyway," I said slowly, "so that's easy enough. As for the invitation... if it means he will be part of changing history, then I'll deliver the damn thing." I leaned closer. "You tell him though, that if he votes against this change, I'm going to murder him in his sleep."
Mr. Wainwright's lips curved into a half smile. "I'll leave that to you. I'm sure you'll get the point across much better than I would."
If I got my point across as well as I wanted to, Alex would not be happy. Since we needed him on our side, I'd have to dig deep for some acting skills.
"Okay, when do I have to see him?"
"He’s in Australasia at the moment, but I’ll find out his schedule. Probably in the next week."
I nodded. "Yep. I'll be here."
There was an awkward pause, and I sort of danced on my feet. "Okay, well, I'm going to head off to find Dean Morgan. I need to get my schedule all adjusted."
Mr. Wainwright seemed confused, his eyebrows drawing together. "Rafe already spoke with him, I believe. You should have your new schedule by now."
"Rafe overstepped," I shot back. "He thinks I'm weak."
The confusion faded, and the older man shook his head. "You should consider that the prince's actions had very little to do with thinking you weak and everything to do with caring about you. When you care about someone, you want them to be happy and successful. He wants you to live your best life and graduate from school as you planned."
His words hit me hard, and I swallowed. Alex had talked only of knocking me up and locking me in his Australasian palace. Rafe, on the other hand, had gone out of his way to ensure I could stay in school.
He'd been trying to give me what I wanted. And I'd basically thrown it in his face.
Fuck. I was a piece of work sometimes.
Chapter 21
I didn't end up going to Dean Morgan's office. After my reality check with Wainwright, I took a closer look at the new schedule and assignment info that had been sent to me. It wasn't hard to see that, although it would allow me to catch up and stay at the Academy, it wasn't a free pass.