Chapter 22- Adar
I watched as the guys rushed in the direction of the living quarters, my heart aching that I was not able to do the same. I wanted to be there for Una, but I knew I wasn’t welcome. It had felt so right comforting her in her time of need. Holding her close as she sought comfort in my arms. I knew deep down that she had felt something too, but I had messed it all up when I let myself get tricked by that damned sorceress and her harpy friend. If Una hadn’t wanted to talk to me before then, she certainly didn’t want to now.
I knew the headmaster had announced that all of the rules must be strictly followed and I was bound to get in trouble for not doing so, but I didn’t care at the moment. It’s not like I would have been able to focus anyways. Not only was my mind racing with thoughts of that poor woman that had died on the floor of the classroom, but the fact that it could have easily been me if Professor Chan had not come to my rescue in time.
The realization hit me, if something like that happened, I was all alone. I had no one to notice, nor anyone to care if I even lived. I didn’t want that kind of life for myself. Even my friends from the palace were not truly friends, they were merely people hanging around me because I had a title and money that came along with it. I was beginning to realize exactly how shallow and unfulfilling my life had been up to this point. The sad part was, I couldn’t even blame the Evil Queen for all of it. Sure, she had guided me and pointed me in this direction, but ultimately, the choices had been mine.
The image of Una came to mind, and I knew that somehow, I needed to figure out how to make things right with her. Something about her made me want to be a part of her life, be closer to her. Her mates had made it more than clear that she wanted nothing to do with me, and I needed to back off. I should respect that, but deep down, I knew I could never move on until I fixed things with her.
What I didn’t know was how the hell I was going to make that happen. I ran my hand over my face trying to clear my mind. I still felt weak and foggy since sleeping off the pixie dust and I couldn’t wait for it to pass. The Professor had assured me that the effects would wear off in a few days. In the meantime it served as a reminder of how stupid I had been.
I looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps and groaned inwardly as I saw Alayna and Carmen sauntering toward me.
“What are you doing out here, Prince Adar?” Alayna cooed.
“I could ask you the same thing,” I met her gaze flatly.
“Taking care of something,” she replied cryptically as she circled me and ran her finger over my shoulder. “Want to have some more fun? This time we will make you forget all about that fishy bitch.”
I shook her off, “Not really my kind of thing.”
“You seemed to really enjoy it last time,” Carmen sneered as Alayna wrapped her arms around her waist. “Bet we could make you enjoy it more.”
“You fucking tricked me and you know it,” I snapped out.
“Ooh feisty. I like it,” Alayna laughed as she kissed Carmen and looked at me gleefully. She took a vial from her pocket and held it up. “Let’s have some fun.”
“I’ll pass. And in the future, stay the fuck away from me,” I went to walk around them but Alayna put her hand against the wall, blocking me.
“You don’t want us as your enemy, Prince Adar,” she glared at me.
“I don’t want you as my friend either,” I stated evenly. She glowered at me for another moment before she dropped her arm and I pushed past.
“You will regret this. You think that mer-bitch will want you after what you did?” Alayna called after me.
I spun around and faced them, my stride taking me back in front of them quickly in my anger, “You will not speak about her like that. Even if she never spoke to me again, I would be much better off than associating with the likes of you two. Consider yourselves warned,” I said darkly as she narrowed her eyes at me.
“Come on, Carmen. There are better guys to fuck with. We don’t need a hopeless, lovesick Prince,” she hooked her arm in Carmen’s and they walked the opposite direction.
I turned, surprised that her demeanor had changed so quickly. I honestly thought she would have put up more of a resistance to being denied. As I started down the hall I glanced up and found the source for her backing down. Professor Chan had stood in the doorway of his classroom, watching our exchange.
As I passed him he only nodded his head and ducked back in his classroom. I wasn’t sure what it was all about, but I also wasn’t going to question the fact that he hadn’t hauled my ass off for skipping class.
The bell rang, signaling lunch, and while my stomach was still queasy from the effects of the dust, and sedative after, I was hoping I could at least catch a glimpse of Una. Maybe seeing her interact with her mates and friends would give me some sort of idea on how to approach her. How to apologize before she shut me down again.
I ignored the people that called to me to join them for lunch, I was not in the mood for company and preferred to brood in silence. I grabbed a tray to not gain attention and sat at an empty table, facing the door, aimlessly pushing my food around.
Every time someone came through the entrance I looked up, hopeful Una was with them, disappointed when it wasn’t her. At last I decided I was better off just heading to the next class, staying here was only putting me on edge even more.
I disposed of my uneaten food and put my tray on the counter before leaving for class. As I reached the exit, Una and her guys were coming in, laughing about something with another girl I didn’t recognize. My gut clenched at the sound coming from her, so happy and free as she tossed her head back and laughed at whatever they said to her.
She glanced my way, her eyes still bright with humor and I gave her a small smile before continuing on. It would be way too obvious if I headed back into the cafeteria and just sat and stared at her.
I pushed through the door to the stairwell and let it close with a loud bang behind me. My next class was situated on the third level of the castle and I preferred to take this set of stairs as I could stop and look out of the window, the only sort of freedom I would know for quite some time.
I leaned against the stone wall and gazed out the window, across the flat rocky land before it dropped off into nothingness. A dragon flew by the window, his large eye peering at me even through the glass and I watched in awe as it flew off across the grounds of the island. We had all been warned about the danger of the dragons, if we should try to escape, but seeing him, like this, I didn’t feel like they were as dangerous as they were made out to be. Then again it could just be because there was a window separating us, and he couldn’t incinerate me.
A door below me opened and closed and I figured that was my cue to head to class. I started up the stairs as a loud alarm echoed through the stairwell, followed by the clicks I had learned meant the doors were locking. My heart pounded as I raced for the door, hoping I had misheard and I could still get out. The door was locked tight though and I was stuck.
Through the wails of the alarm going off, I heard banging against one of the doors below me and it reminded me that I was not alone. Maybe if I talked to whoever it was, we could figure out something together. I descended the stairs quickly as the pounding continued, and my heart went to my throat as I spotted the purple hair.
She pounded on the door, now yelling at it too, “Damn it!”
I went up behind her and grabbed her fist mid swing toward the door, “Banging on it like that is only going to get you hurt,” I said gently.
She spun on me, and I dropped her hand as she did so, the rage at being trapped clear in her eyes, “What the fuck are you doing here? What the hell happened?” she demanded.
I held up my hands, “I have no clue what’s going on. I was just headed to class.”
She looked at me suspiciously before she relaxed. “Fucking Frost,” she muttered.
“I’m sure we won’t be locked in here long,” I reassured her.
She let out a frus
trated growl and dropped to the ground next to the door. I took a seat on the steps opposite her and watched her close her eyes and lean her head back against the wall. Her purple hair haloed around her head, the tight curls springing out all around her as she settled, her long neck curved back and exposed as she relaxed and my mouth went dry and my dick hard at the same time.
My mind raced with all the things I could say to her, that I should say, but instead I remained quiet. She seemed upset enough at the moment, I didn’t want to add to it. Not to mention, being stuck with a pissed off Una was not my idea of a good time.
I looked out one of the windows above us, watching the clouds pass, hoping to see a dragon again as we both lost ourselves in our own thoughts. The time passed and no dragons flew past, which I thought was a bit weird as they normally were pretty regular from what I could tell in my short time here.
“Why are you so nice to me?” she broke the silence at last and drew my attention back to her.
“I don’t know what you mean?” I replied, as more of a question than a statement.
“I have been nothing but pissy to you since you arrived. With good reason, but still, you have been nothing but kind. Even when I pushed you away.” Una watched me closely as I thought of the best way to answer her. Telling her I had been obsessed with her since she rescued me on the beach, and now the Evil Queen wanted me to murder her, was probably not the best conversation starter.
“You saved my life, for one,” I answered, knowing it was a lame response but it was better than what I could have said.
“And two?” she asked.
“I like you,” I shrugged. She might as well know some of the truth.
She laughed, “You don’t even know me.”
“I know what there is to know. You are kind, even though it doesn’t seem you like to show it. You look out for the well being of others, despite the risk to yourself. And you have morals, that’s something I have rarely come across. What is there not to like?”
“Including in yourself,” she threw back at me.
“I know you have heard things about me. Hell, seen things for that matter. Things I am less than proud of, since I arrived here. I am not going to say none of that was my fault, because I made conscious decisions that led to each of those things happening. I will say though, I made poor decisions based on what I knew, or what I thought I knew. Decisions I will not be making again in the future.” It was hard to admit I had been wrong, but I felt that of all people, I needed to confess it to her.
“I get that,” she replied. “We all do stupid shit, it’s how we fix our mistakes that counts.” Quiet fell over us again as we both looked through the window above us. “I never said thank you, you know for before, with the girl?”
“I’m glad someone was there for you, Una. Even happier that someone was me,” I gave her a small smile. “I guess I never thanked you properly either, for saving my life that day.”
“I wish I had been able to do more,” she said sadly.
“You did as much as you could. Without you, I wouldn’t be here.”
She gave a laugh, “Can you honestly say that you’re glad I saved your life, only for you to end up in prison?”
“I can now, because it got me stuck in here with you,” I replied.
She chuckled, “Smooth talker aren’t you?”
“When I have to be,” I gave her a small wink. “It is the truth though, Una. Can we start over? I would like to be your friend.”
“Okay, to friends,” she leaned forward and held out her hand. I reached out and shook it, both of us jumping back as a loud roar came from just outside the walls. I helped her up and we both ran up to the next floor to see out of the window better, hopefully able to spot what was going on.
Two dragons soared across the singed field toward a man that was sprinting toward the cliff, stripping his clothes off as he went. They roared again as fire flowed from their open jaws in a line straight toward the prisoner. He let out a loud wail, audible even through the castle walls as the larger of the two dragons swooped down and gripped him in his talons before flying off in the distance with him gripped in his claws.
“Holy shit,” I said out loud.
“That was intense,” Una stated. “I guess we know why the sudden lockdown. Frost doesn’t want to take any more chances on people escaping I guess.”
“What do you mean?” I looked at her. The way she had phrased it sounded like someone actually managed to get out of this place. Without the dragons catching them on their way out.
“Not long ago some prisoners escaped. It has Frost on edge and pissed at the world. It’s quite humorous actually.”
“They really escaped, beyond the dragons and everything?” I asked, surprised.
“Yup. That's why all of the rules are enforced now. He thinks it will actually keep people here,” she shook her head with a chuckle.
“And you don’t?” I questioned.
“Honestly, if you could find a way out of this hellhole, rules or not, wouldn’t you?” she reasoned. I nodded in response, thinking she was hiding something. The alarm quieted and the mechanical click of the doors unlocking reverberated through the stairwell. “That’s our cue,” Una beamed at me. “Thanks for hanging with me, friend,” she winked and darted back down the stairs. I was sure to join her mates and make sure they were okay.
As I watched her go through the door, I realized the pull to bring her to the queen was lessening. I also realized I was falling in love with her. Now what did I do about it?
Chapter 23- Una
I ran to the cafeteria where I had left the guys and Ry, hoping they knew something about the guy that had run out of the castle like his ass was on fire. No pun intended, as he probably literally had his ass lit on fire. The guys had insisted on coming with me to get my books before class, but I knew they were probably hungry, so I told them to finish and I would catch up with them in the next class. Looked like I was wrong.
They met me halfway down the hall, both of them wrapping me in a hug before Jet finally spoke, “We were so worried Frost pulled some stunt to get to you alone again.” He kissed me soundly before I could answer.
“No. Though I bet he questions me about that guy's escape attempt,” I said dryly before standing on my toes to kiss Beck also.
“What do you mean?” Beck asked as he linked his fingers in mine.
“We were locked in the stairwell, so we had a clear view of some guy running from the castle, ripping his clothes off as he sprinted away. I wonder what made him do it?” I thought about it. I hadn’t recognized him, but then again we were two stories off the ground, he had been a little small.
“We?” Jet questioned.
“Yeah, I was shut in with Adar,” I replied as I saw anger flash across Jet’s face. “It wasn’t as bad as it sounds. It was actually good. We came to an understanding. Everyone made mistakes and we are moving past it as friends.”
“He didn’t try anything?” Beck asked, his brow raised.
“Not at all. In fact, he barely shook my hand when we agreed to put our past behind us and be friends.”
“No one that looks at you like that wants to be just friends, Una. Trust me, I’m an expert on the subject,” Beck smirked.
I laughed, “Well, he can look at me however he wants, friends is all it is.”
The loudspeaker crackled and everyone fell silent as the person spoke, “Everyone is to report to the cafeteria immediately, no exceptions.” The man repeated himself before it crackled again and turned off. The buzz of everyone as they started talking all at once filled the hall as we began to shuffle back to the cafeteria. Announcements like this never happened, so whatever it was had everyone curious.
“What do you think it is?” Jet linked his hand in mine as well as we walked down the hall.
“No clue. But I bet it has something to do with what just happened,” I mused out loud.
We filed in with everyone else and took a place against the back wall. Th
e room filled up quickly with more people than I even realized attended this school. Guards lined the rails across the second floor balcony, stationed every five feet apart, tasers in hand as they scanned the growing crowd.
I spotted Adar entering the cafeteria and he pushed past the crowd to join us against the wall. The guys looked over at him, but thankfully neither said anything to him. We really didn’t need to cause a scene, not with so many people or guards crammed in here.
“There are so many people,” Beck said, as surprised as I was.
I glanced up again as I felt someone watching us, knowing already who I would find. Frost’s ice blue eyes met mine and he sneered before leaning over and talking to the guard at his right. He held up a hand and the room quieted, everyone looking up.
“Thank you all for joining me,” he started, as if we had a choice in the matter. “You are all well aware of the lockdown that just occurred. This was in direct response to someone attempting to escape the school. The gentleman that tried to escape was doing so under the influence of pixie dust and has been dealt with, and taken care of, accordingly,” he paused letting his words sink in. There was no doubt from his tone that he meant the person had been killed. I certainly had no doubt as I had watched him get carried off.
“Further, please know that the use of pixie dust will be done strictly at your own risk, as life supporting measures are no longer authorized. To use it, will be at your own peril.” He scanned the crowd as if searching for someone to give something away before he spoke again. “We will not tolerate this sort of behavior here. Keep in mind, you are all here for a reason, and mishaps like this will not be tolerated.”
“Lastly, we are still on the search for your fellow students who did manage to escape. If any of you know anything about their whereabouts, you are strongly encouraged to step forward. There will be severe consequences for any student found aiding them, or harboring information about them in any way,” his gaze met mine through the crowd and I couldn’t help but smirk. It was satisfying to know he had no clue where they were and had resorted to scare tactics.
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