Not that I’d been picturing Trey in a room, in a bed, naked in the shower. Not at all.
Quinn lounged on the sofa, flicking through an ancient Playboy magazine. It was weird that so much stuff at this school – from the teachers’ laptops to the magazines to that condom wrapper someone threw at Greg – was a decade or two out-of-date.
Quinn’s eyes were still so swollen he had to hold the practically against his nose. One look at my face and he flashed his lopsided heart-melting smile. “So you’ve seen, then?”
“Put down your scratch and sniff porn mag and tell me what’s going on,” I demanded. “Why do I suddenly have 500 extra merit points?”
“Because we gave them to you,” Trey said.
Simple. Just like that.
I folded my arms. “Why would you do that?”
Trey’s eyes flicked to the door. Quinn suddenly appeared very interesting in Paris Hilton’s cleavage. Okay, now we’re getting somewhere. They’re nervous. The Kings of Derleth are actually nervous around me. But why? Do they think I’m planning another itching powder stunt?
“Let’s wait until Ayaz gets here,” Trey said. He moved to the kitchen and opened a large stainless steel fridge that looked more like a food replicator from the starship Enterprise. “Want a drink?”
“No thanks. I prefer not to drink anthrax this early in the morning.”
Quinn snorted. Trey cocked an eyebrow as he filled the coffee machine with beans. “Suit yourself.”
I leaned against the counter, watching the muscles in Trey’s shoulders contract as he pulled frozen croissants from the freezer and shoved them in the oven. “So if you won’t tell me why you did this, will you at least tell me how?”
“We broke into Hermia’s office last night and hacked the list,” Quinn said. “Ayaz did the actual programming. His kind are whizzes with computers. That’s why his people man all the call centers.”
From behind me, I heard a sigh. “You’re thinking of India, bro.”
I whirled around. Ayaz leaned against the doorframe, his eyes raking over my body like he was a hunter and I was a tiger ready to pounce. I wondered if he wanted me to pounce.
“India, Turkey, potato, potahto.” Quinn flipped a page.
“Name one person who actually says potahto,” I said. Quinn grinned.
Ayaz moved into the kitchen and made his own coffee in a tiny cup. When he poured it out, it was so thick and dark, it looked like tar, which reminded me uncomfortably of what Courtney did to my hair. The guys all looked relaxed in this gleaming room, like they hung out here all the time. Which I guessed they did. The place was bigger than any of the other student rooms I’d glimpsed. It dwarfed the entire dining hall.
I glared at Ayaz, still thinking about the tar. “Are you the one who’s been breaking into my room and locker?”
He stared at the floor. “I stole your keys from you when I dumped those maggots in your breakfast, made a copy in the art studio, and then returned them to you. Fucking Courtney’s got the key now, though, so I’d put something heavy in front of your door before you sleep if I were you.”
Great. Yet another thing to worry about. “If you didn’t have my key until then, how did you get my journal?”
Ayaz jabbed his thumb in Trey’s direction. “Trey paid the maid to bring him anything she found that looked personal.”
My face flicked over to Trey, flushed with anger. At least they both had the decency to look sheepish. “Amazing that a Derleth King would resort to petty breaking and entering. So what’s this latest torture about?” I demanded. “Let me guess. You’re going to tell the headmistress I stole all those points from Trey, and have me kicked out. Fine, whatever. I don’t care anymore. I have bigger problems. My roommate is missing.”
“Not missing,” Trey said. “She’s gone.”
“What do you mean, gone?”
Trey sipped his coffee. “I mean, that’s she’s no longer here at Derleth Academy.”
“That’s what the headmistress said, but I don’t believe her.” I told them about how Loretta’s stuff was in our room one minute, and gone as soon as I returned from speaking with Headmistress West. “She didn’t take her things with her.”
“Loretta had the lowest score of all the scholarship students at the school. That means she has to leave,” Trey explained. “They eliminate one scholarship student each quarter, so at the end of the year, only one of you graduates with the rest of the class. You don’t understand just how deep hatred of the scholarship program goes.”
“I…” Did they tell me that when I enrolled? I don’t remember anything about having to compete to stay at Derleth. I was pretty out-of-it when the scholarship officer visited, but I think it’d remember that.
“It’s a secret,” Ayaz said, his eyes flaring with anger. “You can’t let on that you know about it, or they’ll send you away, despite your ranking.”
“But…” My heart thudded in my chest as I realized what they were saying. “But yesterday, I had the lowest score.”
“And now you don’t,” Ayaz growled.
I stared at the three of them, struggling to form words. “Why would you help me? You hate me.”
“That so, Hazy?” Quinn pressed his body against me, his eyes dancing over my neck. God, the way he touched me in the grotto, at the library… I wished then, as I wished every time I laid eyes on him, that I could be loved by a guy like Quinn. I had a feeling that once you cracked him open, a lot of goodness and vulnerability would pour out.
Trey and Ayaz exchanged a look I couldn’t read. I shoved Quinn away, gently, and shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t understand you guys at all.”
“Good,” Quinn grinned, then winced as if the action hurt his swollen eyes. “We like being mysterious.”
I turned to Trey, trying to focus on the guy who had tried to kill me, not the one who had kissed me like I could cure all his pain. “You’re no longer top of the school.”
He shrugged. “Some things are more important than that.”
“Like keeping me here at Derleth?”
No answer. Hmmm.
Above our heads, the bell rang through the intercom system. The guys ignored it. What were three tardy points to them? I guess three points meant little to me now, too. I was safe, for now. I was here at least until next quarter.
But what did that mean? Why would the school force the scholarship students to compete like that? Why would they not even tell us?
I folded my arms across my chest. “I need more than this. I need answers.”
“Have a croissant instead.” Trey pushed a plate of hot croissants across the table. I hesitated. He laughed, and for the first time, his laugh had none of its usual cruelty. “I promise I haven’t spiked them. My Dad’s chef has them flown in from Paris. They’re amazing. You’ve never had anything like them.”
I took a croissant and nibbled off the tiniest corner. Omigod, that’s divine. Hot buttery goodness melted on my tongue.
Trey threw his blazer over his shoulder. “We should get going.”
The guys scrambled for jackets and ties. “This talk isn’t over!” I yelled. No one paid any attention to me. God, they’re so infuriating.
Trey leaned over and pecked me on the cheek, his lips leaving a red-hot mark. Ayaz glared at me as he followed Trey into the hall, but the glare held an odd kind of possessiveness that made my heart do all sorts of flips in my chest.
“You’ve got to be careful out there, Hazy,” Quinn whispered, draping his arm over my shoulder. His breath caressed my earlobe, and I almost missed what he said.
Almost.
“Careful of what?”
Quinn pointed to the massive television, which nearly covered one whole wall. It displayed the school rankings, with my name highlighted in the middle of the table, sandwiched between two average rich students and miles above my fellow scholarship kids.
And miles above Quinn, I couldn’t help but notice.
“So? I’m ahead of yo
u. Get used to it.”
“Not that.” Quinn pointed to the shield emblem above the boards. “This school… there’s something going on that we can’t tell you about, but it’s some dark shit. We’re trying to keep you out of it, but you can’t keep getting yourself into trouble and leaping in where you shouldn’t be. If you become too troublesome, they won’t stick to the protocol. They won’t care that they’ve already taken Loretta this quarter.”
“What do you mean, ‘taken’ Loretta? I thought she got kicked out? What could I do that might be troublesome?”
Trey sighed from the corridor. “Just… keep your head down, do your schoolwork, try not to draw attention to yourself.”
I glared between him and Quinn. “Your girlfriends are making that difficult.”
“We’ll handle Courtney and Tillie,” Quinn said, his voice angry. “If they give you any more trouble, let us know.”
I rubbed my temple, where a headache was blooming. “I still don’t understand why you’re suddenly been so nice to me.”
The three guys exchanged a glance – long and hard and full of hidden depths. Ayaz stepped forward. He wrapped my hand in his dark, sensuous fingers. When he spoke, his voice was silk and butter. “Because you’re a breath of fresh air in this stuffy, hellish place. Because when you’re around, you make us all feel alive. Now stop talking so damn much, and get to class before you lose all Trey’s points.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
“You’re really keeping Trey’s points?” Greg leaned against the piano, resting his cheek in his palm. We’d just finished an hour of rehearsal for our main duet in the audition. We sounded fucking tight, which meant we could allow ourselves a bit of gossip time.
“Apparently so. Trey’s talked Professor Atwood into saying that he converted them to me because he sabotaged my assignment. Even though Courtney was actually the one who did it.” I slammed my palm against the keys. The piano emitted a discordant shriek. Greg jumped. “Trey’s parents are being notified. His dad is going to be even angrier with him. It’s a big fucking deal and I just don’t understand why they did it. Why do they care that I’m not the one being kicked out?”
Greg whistled. “Check you out, honey, winning the heart of the most eligible bachelor at Derleth.”
“That’s the other thing,” I groaned, letting my elbow fall on the keyboard. Greg jumped again at the loud note. “Trey’s not even a bachelor. I don’t want to steal anyone’s guy, not even a bitch like Tillie.”
“Didn’t you hear? Trey broke up with Tillie at lunch today. Apparently, he said he didn’t care what their families wanted, he was doing his own thing. It’s quite the coup.”
My stomach flipped. “He… he did?”
“Yup. So your King is a free man.”
Trey was single? Butterflies fluttered in my stomach. “I don’t care. He tried to kill me.”
“Oh honey, your face says something different.”
I slumped over my assignment, placing my chin in my hands. I wanted to tell Greg what I’d discovered about our rankings, and our place at Derleth, but Ayaz’s warning held my tongue. What if the teachers listen in to our conversations through some secret device? What if I get Greg in trouble? I’ll tell him later, outside on one of our walks, where no one can overhear. “This is crazy. Dinner tonight is going to be interesting.”
“Sure is.” Greg glanced at the clock on the wall. “Speaking of which, we should get going.”
I grabbed my bookbag and shoved my books and papers inside. “Yup. Not even a plate full of maggots couldn’t keep me away tonight.”
Greg winced. “Don’t jinx us. I’ve only just got my appetite back.”
We linked arms and headed across the quad to the glowing lights of the dining hall. Heads turned toward me, but this time their whispered conversations didn’t bother me. As we entered the hall, my eyes flew to the royals table. Trey, Quinn, and Ayaz sat there, along with a few of their lacrosse buddies. But Courtney and Tillie were nowhere to be seen.
No, wait… there they are. I noticed Tillie’s flowing black hair at the end of the table where the scholarship students normally sat. She sat with Courtney and a few other girls, and they’d spread out their bags and purses so Andre was smushed right up into the corner. He couldn’t even get out without tripping over the girls’ things. Bitches.
“Hazel, wait, what are you doing?” Greg fell in step behind me as I stalked over to the table and kicked a large shopping bag out of the way.
The girl sitting across from Courtney whirled around to face me. I opened my mouth to give her the what-for, when my words died in my throat.
She looked the same, but different. Instead of being a ball of frizz, her hair sat in stylish curls atop her head, swept off her face with clips studded with what looked suspiciously like real diamonds. Her skirt had risen several inches, and her regulation dress shoes were replaced by a pair of shiny designer shoes with a low, sexy heel.
But most different was her face – instead of eyes wracked with nerves or swimming with pain too deep to speak, she looked bright, confident, self-assured. She looked like a monarch.
I managed to choke out a single word.
“Loretta?”
My old roommate regarded me with bored indifference from her seat at our table, sweeping a strand of her now perfect hair from her eyes. “Hi, Hazel.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
“…um, hi.” I tried to recover from my surprise. “What are you doing back at school?”
“I go here,” she said, rolling her eyes like I was the one who was crazy. When she spoke, I noticed her accent had been ironed flat. She didn’t sound like Loretta. She sounded… like Courtney or Tillie or one of the Queens.
“Yes, but—” But the Kings said you’d been ‘taken away’ because of your low score, so why are you back? I couldn’t say that. I cleared my throat and tried again. “Headmistress West said your grandparents pulled you out of school because of a family tragedy—”
“I’m back now.” Loretta turned back to her table, leaning across to whisper something to Courtney. Okay, so I guess that conversation is over.
Courtney’s eyes flashed at me. “You’re still here, gutter whore. You should fix that.”
“Can you all move your shit?” I pointed a finger down the table. “We’ve gotta get down there to our friend, and you’re blocking the aisle.”
In response, Courtney used the heel of her shoe to move her bookbag even further into the middle of the narrow aisle. I nudged it back. She slid it out again, glaring at me.
“The mime can sit by himself. Touch my stuff again, and I’ll report you for stealing,” she hissed.
“Fine.” I reached for the empty chair between her and Loretta. “I’ll just sit with my old friend Loretta here, because it’s a free country.”
Courtney’s bookbag slammed down on the seat, blocking the space. My tray wobbled in my hands as I steadied myself.
“That seat’s taken.”
“By your bag? Are you feeding it like a pet?” I reached down to knock it off the table. Courtney glared at me and covered the bag with her arm.
“Don’t touch that. I don’t want you to contaminate it.”
“Then move it. I’m not dextrous enough to eat standing up, balancing a tray on my nose.”
“You can’t sit here,” Loretta said. Every pair of eyes at the table stared at me. The cafeteria grew quiet.
“It’s a free country,” I shrugged, grabbing a strap of the bag and jerking it onto the floor.
“This is our table now.” Loretta gestured to the Queens sitting around her. I noticed as she waved her hand that her nails were covered in pink glitter nail polish, the exact same shade Courtney was wearing.
Loretta never wore nail polish. It was a violation of the rules and an automatic loss of 3 merit points if you got caught. Loretta never did anything that might cost her points.
Okay, I don’t get this. I stood with my tray in my hands, turning over what I
should do. Loretta was missing for a day and now suddenly she’s friends with Courtney and is talking in this weird robot voice?
“There a problem here?” Trey appeared at the end of the table, leaning over his muscled arms.
“None of your business,” Tillie snapped.
“These ladies won’t move their stuff so we can get past,” I said, making another move to slide down the tiny gap between Courtney’s chair and the table behind her. Trey reached out and grabbed my wrist.
“Forget it. You’re sitting with us now.”
What?
“What?” Courtney shrieked.
Trey shrugged as if it was no big deal, as if he asked gutter whores to sit at the monarchs’ table all the time. “Yeah. Your friends can come, too. If you’d prefer to sit with Courtney, I completely understand—”
“Nope, we’re good.” I picked up my tray and followed Trey across the dining hall. The only sound in the hall was the clop of my shoes against the granite tiles as I followed Trey to my new table, and the whoosh as the jaws of three-hundred students collectively dropped to the floor. Greg followed and, after some jostling to get over Courtney’s bags, Andre appeared beside me as well. After inspecting the seat Trey held out thoroughly for some kind of prank, I set my tray down opposite Quinn and slid my legs under the table.
Greg took the chair beside me, facing Ayaz, and Andre sat beside him. Trey leaned in close, wrapping his arm around me. All along the table, guys and girls studied me as if seeing me for the first time.
Shunned: a reverse harem bully romance (Kings of Miskatonic Prep Book 1) Page 17