“Hello,” she called in a singsong voice. “I know you’re in here, Crescent girl. I’ve come to save your sorry tail from an alpha heir beatdown.”
I chuckled—couldn’t help it. Is that what the others thought? That Rage would actually hurt me? I mean he was a total asshole of the highest order but … beatdown?
No way. She must have been outside just now and caught my little spat with Rage.
A young woman about my age stepped through the doorway, and her expression of disgust melted into a grin. “There you are.”
She was several inches shorter than I, maybe five and a half feet, with auburn hair and fair skin dusted with freckles. She wore a green dress, full-on medieval-times attire, and her hair was pulled up into a fancy twist with a crown of flowers. The three-quarter moon mark stood out on her forehead.Harvest Clan.
With a smile, she crossed the black and white tiles of the kitchen floor and extended her hand to me. “My name is Kaja. I’m from Harvest Clan.” Shaking her head, she added, “Please spare me the farmer jokes.”
I snorted. “Wasn’t going to go there. I’m Nai.”
We shook hands briefly.
I never dreamed I’d actually make a friend here. I thought it was a kill-or-be-killed kind of mentality on the island.
“The way you told Prince Courage off like that …epic.Had to meet you and save you from dying of dust inhalation.” She indicated the thick layer of grime that rested on everything.
I chuckled. “Sometimes, men need to be put in their place.” Then I pointed to the nasty kitchen. “What’s up with this? Does my cousin seriously live like this?”
Her face suddenly became somber, “Well, we all get maids and stuff paid for by the crown. When your pack got … uh… ”
I understood her message, loud and clear. We no longer had the luxuries of a clan that was accepted here.
“Are we supposed to wear a costume?” I asked, indicating her outfit and changing the subject. What had the boys said on the way in? Something about things being more formal…
Kaja laughed and then waved her hand up and down, pointing at my body. “Tonight, we are. Aren’t you going to change before the opening ceremony?”
Crap. I’d forgotten. “Yeah, totally—”
“You don’t have Alpha Academy-approved dresses, do you?” She flattened her lips and snorted.
“Nope.”
She frowned. “Did they send you the supply list and dress code?”
Anger flared between my shoulder blades like a searing poker right through my back. “No. They didn’t.”
She grabbed my wrist and tugged. “Come on. If we hurry, we might still make it before the High Mage Council arrives. I’m not letting Midnight sabotage you. You and I are going to be bestie-pals, just so we’re clear.”
A grin pulled at my lips, and I followed along, letting her drag me out of the kitchen while she chatted me up.
“Why are you being so nice to me?” I asked when she took a breath. “Not that I’m not grateful, but you don’t know me.” Technically, we were all in competition with each other for the alpha king position. I’m sure it was assumed Rage would take it, but rules stated any one of us could fight for it after we graduated.
She glanced my way with her eyebrows raised high. “First of all, I’m tenth in line to be alpha, and I have eight more siblings at home. So I’m just here to make my mom happy in case my entire family dies overnight.”
I snort-laughed. Eighteen heirs! I couldn’t imagine that many siblings.
“Second, the Midnight heirs disappeared this morning, and there was a big freak-out. The whole island was locked down—andyoucame back with them, bringing fireworks with you. I don’t need to know any more than that.”
“Well, I’m grateful to have a friend,” I told her honestly. This girl was a bit forward, but I’d take that any day over stuffy and priggish.
“Excellent. Me too. Now, what size dress do you wear?”
The next thing I knew, I was in the north-facing dorm amidst a swarm of Harvest girls. Despite my protests, Kaja bullied me into an ankle-length blue dress the same color as the sky at dusk. The dark material was a stark contrast to my pale skin, but apparently it met the high mage dress code for formal events by covering my knees.
Who knew?
