That night sleepwas hard to grasp, and when I finally dozed off, it was to faceless giants all dressed in black who kept slipping through my fingers every time I chased after them.
Fucking Rafe.Not only did that asshole bother me during the day, he was now starring in my dreams. I needed a mental health check, stat, because this was not okay.
A quick shower helped revive me, and because I had some extra time, I blow-dried my hair dead straight, again marveling at how long it had gotten. Master Shensei had advised me more than once that it would be better to cut it short so my gender wouldn’t be so hard to conceal, but I couldn’t seem to part with the golden tresses. Vanity, thy name was Violet.
Still, a girl had to have something.
The knock on my door came as I was dressed and about to leave the room. I swung the door open expecting it to be Alex, apology in mouth, but it was Mattie.
“Girl,” she said, checking me out in a long slow sweep that almost made me blush. “You’re looking hot as fuck today. What’s the special occasion?”
I snorted. “Uh, not being hungover with ten minutes to get my ass to the dean’s office?”
Mattie shrugged. “Makes sense.”
She stepped back so I could leave the room, and I made sure it was locked before we started down the hall.
“So, I have kind of noticed that you’re lugging that heavy bag around everywhere,” she started, and I hoisted said backpack higher because she was right about how heavy it was.
I blinked as she thrust her hand out, a small, familiar device sitting in it. “This is purely selfish,” she added in a rush, no doubt seeing thenoon my face before I even voiced it. “I hate not being able to message you on a whim, and it’s safer if we know where you are, especially with the vultures in this school.”
My throat felt unexpectedly tight, and I tried to think of a time anyone had offered me anything for such a caring reason.
“It’s too much,” I choked out, knowing the cost of one of those. “I’m going to try and get a part-time job and earn enough to buy my own.”
I knew that I’d probably have to work for approximately fifteen years part time to afford one, but maybe a princess wouldn’t realize that and she’d be happy to wait.
Grounding to a halt, Mattie grabbed my hand and snapped the small device onto my wrist.
It was almost the size of a normal watch, until you started pulling out all of the attachments, and I must have been in shock as I stared down at it for a few beats.
“I programmed in my and Nole’s numbers, along with Jordan’s because he’s always good to have around if you’re in trouble.”
Blinking at her, I willed the damn fire burning my eyes to go away. Last thing I needed was to bawl and smudge my carefully applied makeup. “I don’t know how to thank you,” I murmured huskily, “and I will get a job and pay you back for this.”
She waved a hand at me. “Come on, I told you it was selfish. You’re doing me and my lazy ass a favor.”
We both knew that was a lie, but not wanting to appear ungrateful, I didn’t try and throw her gift back at her. I wanted to, but I didn’t.
“Do you need any help on how to use it?” Mattie asked as we started walking again, heading to the dining hall for breakfast.
I nodded, a laugh escaping. “Yeah, that is probably a good idea. I’ve never used one before.”
We were some of the first in the hall, and before any of her friends arrived, Mattie ran me through the basic functions of the palm reader. I loved how easy it was to log into my classes and pick up the syllabi and the simplicity of messaging my friend whenever I needed to ask her something.
“This is going to make my life so much easier,” I said, staring down in awe at it. “It feels too good to be true.”
For a second I wished I could take back that very personal statement. I didn’t need Mattie’s sympathy, in fact, I would be pissed as hell if she felt sorry for me, even if the truth was that nothing in my life had ever been easy or free. I’d been gifted nothing but my weapon, and even that I’d had to pay a lot of blood to get.
Her hand landed on my arm, and thankfully her smile was full of warmth and caring, without an ounce of sympathy present.
The moment was interrupted by the arrival of Nolan, who pressed a kiss to his sister’s head before moving on to do the same to me. I almost flinched at the overly familiar gesture, but for some reason, Nolan managed to get past most of my defenses. I never felt weird, even when he was kissing me.
“How are my favorite girls this morning?” he asked, slumping into the chair on the other side of Mattie. “It’s too damn early to not have a coffee in front of me.”
Waiters appeared, coffee in hand, and I was going to guess that this was how Nolan started every morning and they were very familiar with his needs.
I placed my order, intrigued by the fresh juice selection. I’d never had a “cold-pressed juice.” Now seemed as good a time as any to find out what that was.
