Mattie and Nolan had joined us before lunch, and we’d filled them in on everything. Good thing, too, because she’d arrived all red-faced with anger and accusing me of being brainwashed. Apparently Alex had been making sure the entire school knew we were “still together” and “totally in love.” Gag.
“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 clearshut-the-fuck-upglare, 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? Asif!” 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, RafeandJordan.”
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.
