I shake my head, a small laugh breaking through. “These rich kids live on another planet.”
Nora rolls her eyes. “You think that’s wild? The Cartel boys tried to buy out a food truck. Bribed the staff for imported coffee.”
I snort. “Only at Blackstone.”
We laugh. It’s small, but real. The kind of sound that keeps you human, the kids I wish I had more off.
“What about you?” she asks softly. “You’ve been quiet.”
I hesitate. “Just tired.”
She nods, no questions. “If you ever want to rant about family politics, I’ve got popcorn and darts.”
I smile. “Perfect.”
She tosses a pillow at me. “Trivia night’s coming. You’re our Irish rep, and you’re smarter than the rest of us.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“And don’t forget the Heir’s Ball,” she adds.
“How could I?” I murmur. The words taste like dread.
We stay like that, talking nonsense, school, gossip, the way Blackstone kids act like they already rule the world.
It’s nothing, but it’s something.
A breath of quiet in a storm that won’t stop turning.
For a moment, I let myself pretend I’m just a girl in school, laughing with her roommate.
Even if I know the war is only just beginning.
Chapter 25
Matteo
Words are your weapon and ruin.
What do you say when silence is betrayal?
Who do you protect, and who do you sacrifice?
It’s done. No warning.
Leo woke me at two in the morning, dragged me to the trial room without a word.
By the time the sky turned gray, it was over.
I leave the stone room clean, no blood, but something darker crawling under my skin.
Boots echo on the stone as I walk back to the dorm. The silence isn’t suffocating this time. I didn’t break. I walked through fire and kept every word buried where it belongs.
They tried.
Whispers about my parents. Hits about my brothers. Promises of pain. The kind of psychological knives that twist just slow enough to make you believe you’re cutting yourself. The things they were saying made me grip the chair, to stop me from killing someone for talking about my family the way they were. The bright light in my eyes the whole time they wantedinformation about my family, the loud banging noise made me lose focus on the task.
But I never spoke. Because no matter what, I don’t betray blood.
