“Is the First Daughter dating THREE fraternity brothers??”
“The President’s daughter just became my hero”
“This is the most chaotic political family drama I’ve ever witnessed”
And underneath it all, speculation. Questions. Theories about what this means, what we are to each other, and what happens next.
“You’re viral,” Talon says, reading over my shoulder.
“We’re all viral,” I correct, showing him a video of the four of us leaving—the way Dredyn’s hand rests protectively on my lower back. The way Talon walks close enough that our shoulders brush. The way Jasper positions himself behind us like a sentinel.
We look like what we are: together.
“Your father is going to be furious,” Dredyn says from the front seat.
“Let him be.” I lean back against Talon’s shoulder, exhaustion finally catching up to the adrenaline. “I’m done living my life based on his approval.”
“What about consequences?”Jasper signs.
“What can he do? Disown me? Lock me up again? Try to force another engagement?” I shake my head. “I’m not that girl anymore—the one who bends and breaks and does what she’s told. He created this version of me when he sold me to Chase, now he gets to live with her.”
Talon’s arm wraps around my shoulders, pulling me closer. “We’ve got you. Whatever comes next.”
“I know. That’s why I could do it.”
My phone buzzes again. This time it’s a call, not a text.
Dad
I stare at the screen for a long moment, then decline the call and power the phone off completely.
“Fuck. You just sent the President of the United States to voicemail,” Dredyn says.
“Technically, I just turned my phone off on the President of the United States.”
“Even better.”
The drive to the private airfield takes twenty minutes through empty D.C. streets. When we arrive, a sleek white jet sits on the tarmac, engines already warming up, stairs extended.
Jasper’s doing, clearly. His father’s company owns a fleet of corporate jets, and Jasper must have called in a favor—or more likely, just used his access without asking permission.
“Buckle up. Forty-five minutes and we’ll be home,” Talon says, guiding me into a seat.
Home. Indiana. The safehouse. Away from D.C. and cameras and my father’s reach.
I sink into the plush leather as the plane begins to taxi. Dredyn takes the seat beside me, Talon and Jasper across the aisle. The engines roar to life, and then we’re lifting off, leaving the Capitol behind us, rising above the city lights until they’re just scattered stars below.
“We really did it,” I say quietly, watching D.C. disappear beneath the clouds. “Declared war in front of the entire political establishment.”
“Yeah,” Dredyn agrees.
“No going back now,” Talon adds.
Jasper signs,“Wouldn’t go back even if we could.”
The plane levels off, and the pilot announces we’re free to move about the cabin, but none of us do. We just sit there in the humming silence, processing what we just did, what it means, and what comes next.
TWENTY-NINE
