Nolan shot her a half smile. “It’ll be okay, sis.”
Leaning down he wrapped her in a quick hug, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “Don’t wait up for me.”
From where I stood, it looked like Mattie was clenching her teeth, her eyes spitting her anger at him, but she didn’t say anything else. She did watch his back as he walked the short distance to those guys before disappearing into the crowds.
And I could have sworn that the entire time, until he was no longer in view, Rafe had his eyes locked on me, the blue darker than ever.
Dread and something unnamed swirled in my stomach. Trouble was brewing with that particular royal, and I wasn’t sure I’d survive the fallout.
Chapter 7
“What was that all about?” I asked Mattie when she finally calmed down. It took a good twenty minutes of dancing before her face relaxed and the green of her eyes softened until they no longer resembled jade stones.
Thankfully this Drake guy had spared no expenses on his party, and I’d been steadily filling my belly with delicious canapes every time a smartly uniformed waiter wandered past.
“What do you mean?” she asked, and it felt like she truly had forgotten what happened.
“Where did Nolan go?”
Some of the tension returned. “Don’t even worry about it. Just a stupid fucking thing the male royals like to do occasionally. I’ve tried to talk Nole out of it before he gets badly hurt, but as always, his ego is larger than his brain.”
She was worried about him. Genuinely worried. When she didn’t say anything else, I let it drop, recognizing that we weren’t at that friendship place yet where I could push her like I would have with my bestie back home. But I wouldn’t forget. There was something going on here, something that Arbon probably wouldn’t like—judging by all the secrecy—and I was going to uncover it.
No!My inner voice snapped a fucking command at me.No drama.
Ugh, it wasn’t in my personality to just let things sit untouched. If there was a thread, I had to unravel it. A secret, I would uncover it. But I was out of my depth here. Way out. Maybe, just for this one time, I should let it go and focus only on school.
The entire reason I was here.
* * *
When light firstfiltered through my shiny Arbon Academy windows, a groan escaped from my parched, cracked up lips. What in the fuc—? A cough burst from me, and it was almost painful as I wheezed through the pain in my head and the deadass taste in my mouth.
What had happened last night? Had I been assaulted and then blasted in the face by a skunk?
My eyes appeared to be half glued shut, caked on by a nice layer of crust, and as I tried my best to pry one open and double-check that I was even in my room, memories from last night started to filter through my hazy, thumping brain.
Party. Mattie. Green drinks of death.
Holy fuck. My first day at Arbon I’d gotten shitfaced and danced with a princess. How was this even my life?
A heavy knocking sound on my door sent sharp, shooting pain through my brain, and if I could’ve killed that person without moving, I would have.
“Violet Spencer, you are requested in the dean’s office in thirty minutes for your introductory meeting. Please do not be late.”
The stern, female voice sounded through the door, and I was pretty sure it was the stuffy woman from yesterday. I’d already forgotten her name because I was not the best at remembering names. I was much better with faces.
Wait!Did she just say thirty minutes?
Fuck.
Holy fucking fuck.
I couldn’t even lift my head without wanting to hurl, but I knew there was no way I could miss this meeting. The first, proper introduction. And with the dean, who was the father of Brandon, asshole of the year.
I’d seen said asshole a few times at the party the night before, but thankfully he’d been face-first in some chick and hadn’t even noticed me. Small favors.
Dragging my ass out of bed, I swallowed a few times, both trying to find some saliva and hoping to prevent any vomit before I made it to the bathroom. I was used to a way less palatable liquor than I’d had last night; I had not expected to wake up feeling like this.
