This was my best, and probably only, chance to speak with Alex without my well-meaning princes hovering. They wanted to protect me, and I understood that. But Alex wasn't a threat to me, not now that his parents were gone. The more I'd thought on it, the more confident I was that King Steve had been the one pulling all those strings from behind the scenes. The Alex that I'd dated and started falling for... that was the real Alex. Everything else had been out of fear of his father. Then again, he had been sleeping with Claudette. So there was that.
I didn't waste any more time with the Dean—we'd already wasted enough, and the longer we were gone from the guys, the more anxious I grew. What if Uriel had people still here? Brandon had been here for years, undetected as a radical. Mr. Wainwright was operating right under everyone's noses, keeping an eye on the future leaders of the world and probably using whatever he discovered here to help the Society. So... Uriel's men—and women—could be anywhere.
We needed to hurry.
Picking up Mattie, who had waited just outside the door, we all but ran through the corridors toward the guest apartments. We should have just gone straight there to check, but with so many people visiting for the Honor Cup, it could have taken ages to find the right floor.
"Rafe's going to murder us when we get back," Mattie muttered as we ran up the four flights of stairs to the rooms Alex had been given.
I grimaced. "So will Jordan. Rafe's possessive bullshit is really rubbing off on him these days."
Mattie snickered. "No shit. It's hot as hell, though, isn't it? I mean, not them, 'cause they're basically my brothers and I couldn't ever think ofthemlike that, but, like, in general. It's hot."
Grinning, I shook my head. "Shh, let's get this over with." I raised my fist and knocked quickly on the door of the apartment.
There was a pause as we waited for someone to answer, and movement caught my eye from the stairwell we'd just come from. I frowned, craning my neck to see what had just snagged my attention, but the door opened right at that moment.
"Violet," Alex's familiar voice hit me like a bucket of ice water. "I wondered how long it'd take you to show up."
I scowled. "Yeah well, I lost your number when I was kidnapped and tortured for a month. Had to go old school and visit the Dean to track you down." I was flippant as fuck, but he cringed at my words nonetheless.
He stepped back, holding the door open for me to enter.
"Thanks, Matisse, you can wait out here," he said, blocking Mattie when she tried to follow me inside. Okay, so maybe he wasn'ttotallya nice guy without his father's influence. But how much of someone's shitty personality could be totally attributed to their upbringing? That kind of molding didn't just disappear overnight, no matter how much someone wanted to change.
Still, no one talked to my bestie like that.
"Quit being a fucking douche-wad, Alex," I snapped. "Mattie isn't going to wait in the fucking hallway. We don’t trust you enough to be alone with you." I rolled my eyes dramatically and pushed him aside so my friend could come into the apartment with us.
A small smile touched his lips, but he didn't push the issue. Instead, he closed the door and turned to face me with his hands tucked in the pockets of his pants.
"You look good, Violet." His voice was calm and... strange. Sincere? Maybe that was it.
I cocked my head to the side, perusing him back. "So do you, Alex."
That wasn't a flirtatious comment; it was the truth. He was polished and put together in an expensive, tailored suit without a tie, and the top couple of buttons on his shirt were open. His blond hair was impeccable, and he seemed to be freshly shaven. But it was more than that... He seemed calmer. The whole time I'd known him, Alex had carried a level of tension. A deep-seated anger and resentment toward the world. All of that was gone now.
Mattie cleared her throat dramatically. "This is cute and all—by the way, I also look amazing—but we're kind of on the clock here." She gave me a pointed look, and my cheeks heated. Apparently I'd been staring at my ex for way too long.
It wasn’t due to any deeper feelings, though, just genuine curiosity.
Alex's smile turned slightly mocking. "Of course, you wouldn't want to keep your guard dogs waiting. I'm amazed you managed to sneak away for this long."
I let out an annoyed sigh. "Alex, cut it out. You asked me to come here in person, so here I am. Let's make this quick."
Alex indicated that we move over to the seating area and poured us drinks. I took a polite sip of mine before placing it back on the table and clearing my throat.
"Okay, let's cut to the chase. There's a meeting between monarchies this coming Tuesday at which there will be a vote to create a People's Court which will give the Society a voice and a vote in any world politics or human rights issues."
Alex didn't say a word while I spoke, just sipped from his drink and eyeballed me like he was examining my fucking face in a police lineup. When I finished getting all the information out, he still remained silent.
My trigger-fast temper, something I'd had trouble controlling ever since I was detained by Uriel, started to rear its ugly head. Thankfully, before I murdered my second arrogant male in a month, he spoke.
"You are a good match for me."
Gag. "We were never a match," I told him. "It was all manipulated by the extremists because I was finally the right age to enter the ballot."
Alex cleared his throat, lowering his glass back to the table. "Be that as it may, we were still a good match. I didn't even have to try that hard to enjoy your company."
