I sighed, sinking down next to Elijah. “I don’t suppose you’ve ever heard the expression ‘live and let live’?”
His answering grin was feral. “Princess, in our world, that’s how predators become prey.” He chuckled, moving Cole’s laptop farther down the couch so he could sit too. “And I told you. We’ve got people handling the party prep. Which means you’re stuck hanging out with us for the next few hours.”
“Ugh. That sounds awful,” I teased, and he squeezed my knee, making me yelp and jump.
We settled into an easy conversation about our summer plans, Finn promising he’d take me somewhere and teach me to surf, and Elijah insisting he’d be a better teacher, but my gaze drifted back to the laptop as we spoke.
This wasn’t the first time the Princes had set out to sabotage someone they felt had wronged them in some way. They’d done shit like this all year—hell, they’d done it to me for an entire semester—and it didn’t sit right with me.
It was hard to find any way to defend Evan Baxter’s dad, but I still wasn’t sure if that justified what they’d done to him. They’d ruined his career and reputation, and even though he’d arguably deserved it, why did they have to be the ones to mete out his karma? Who’d put them in charge of that?
It was like a serial killer who only kills bad guys. An extremely gray moral area.
But maybe…
Maybe it was possible for them to change. After all, they’d changed their behavior toward me. They even seemed to like me now. Maybe now that we were becoming friends, I could help talk them out of the crazier schemes they hatched.
Mason had insisted I was a Royal now, just like them.
I had the same power and privilege they did.
So maybe I could use my power for something good.
Chapter 24
Adena did come to the Clarendon Hall party, and the second her gaze zeroed on me surrounded by the four Princes, something like a snarl twisted her lips. She waited for the perfect opportunity, and as soon as she saw an opening, she took it, pretending to bump into me so she could spill a Solo cup full of red wine all over my pale yellow dress.
She apologized in a falsely sweet voice, but I just shoved past her and walked out, sick to death of her bullshit. Elijah caught up to me on the way back to my dorm and convinced me to come back to the party after I changed clothes—and by the time we returned to Clarendon, Adena was nowhere to be seen.
I should’ve known she wouldn’t let it lie, though.
Things were fine for two weeks, peaceful even. And then the peace broke in the blink of an eye.
If my mind hadn’t been occupied with thoughts of my latest argument with my grandparents, maybe I would’ve seen he
r coming. Then again, I’d started to get so comfortable on campus in the past three months that I never expected to get jumped walking to my dorm.
I was rounding the corner of Hammond Hall when something hit me in the face. It was broad and thick, and it caught me flat across the cheek, sending me stumbling sideways as pain exploded through my head.
Rough hands grabbed me, yanking me upright, and I caught sight of Sable and Veronica, two of Adena’s most ardent worshippers, before the queen bitch herself swung her textbook at my face again.
It caught my other cheek, harder than her fists would’ve been, and stars danced in my eyes as I stumbled the other way, fighting to stay on my feet.
The hands shoved at me again, pushing me until my backpack overbalanced my weight and I fell to the ground. A flurry of feet and fists rained down on me, and I covered my face with my hands, screaming as I kicked out as hard as I could. I caught someone’s leg, and they gave a pained yelp, but a second later, a foot connected with my abdomen, making me curl up into a ball.
More fists.
More feet.
I was disoriented, still in shock as I tried to protect myself. My mind hadn’t quite caught up to what was happening, couldn’t process the sudden shift in my situation.
A minute ago, I’d been fine.
Now I was under attack.
Memories of my father’s beatings flooded my mind, making panic flare in my chest. As the blows rained down, all the time that’d passed since my dad had died vanished, and I was back in our tiny little kitchen, curled up in a ball to protect myself from his large fists, his rancid cigarette breath, his slurred insults.
“That’s good enough. Leave her. Let’s go, let’s go!”