Vicious Prince (Royal Elite 5)

He just doesn’t know it yet.

Soon, though. So very soon.

“Drop your arm, Van Doren.” Aiden stops in front of us. He’s smiling, but there’s no warmth behind it.

That.

The depth.

The human desolation.

It’s what makes him beautiful, not as a man, but as someone who stands out from the crowd of normal.

Aiden is anything but. He’s all darkness with little light that he only shows to Elsa.

“Come on, King.” My brother grins. “She’s my sis.”

“You share no blood. Actually…” He pauses. “Even if you did, I’d tell you to drop your arm.”

Elsa suppresses laughter by biting her lower lip as Aiden tugs her to his side by her other wrist. I tilt my head as she snuggles to him, wrapping her arm around his waist while he holds her with a hand at the small of her back.

It’s like they can’t get close enough or touch each other long enough.

Why would they do that?

Human touch is overrated. I’ve tried it, and it didn’t really matter. At least not in the way I wanted.

Knox and Aiden go into some sort of argument that doesn’t really register. It’s like they’re speaking in outer space — no idea if I’m the one blocking it out or if it just doesn’t exist for me anymore.

As I slide my attention back to my phone, a harsh glare registers in my peripheral vision. When I lift my head and my eyes collide with that infuriatingly symmetrical gaze, a grin greets me, all perfect and put together and worthy of an earl’s son.

I could swear someone was glaring at me just now, but he’s the only one in sight. Someone with his reputation and shallowness doesn’t even know how to glare. Ronan is all about laughs and having a good time to the point that negativity is considered below him. I’ve never seen him angry or displeased. Even when Elsa was taken to the emergency room, he came by filled with laughs and jokes, trying to cheer her up.

“Bonjour, ma belle,” he tells me, his tone light, welcoming, and I think there’s some flirting in there, too, but I’m not sure.

Ma belle.

My beautiful.

I don’t know why he calls me that when he’s never once thought I’m pretty. I heard him talking to Kimberly — Elsa’s best friend — the other day, and when she told him I’m pretty, he said, “There’s pretty and there’s creepy, and she falls in the latter category. Mmmkay?”

It was the first time someone said those words. Creepy? Sure. I’ve felt it during my limited interactions with humans, but no one has said it out loud, or maybe no one has said it out loud for me to hear it. They usually think I’m crazy, abnormal…mad.

I’m curious to see how he feels now that he’s forced to marry a creep, but I have neither the mind nor the patience to pursue it.

Curiosity can be beneficial, but its outcome is usually disastrous, and I have no time for that in my life.

Focusing back on my phone, I turn around.

They’re all so busy talking and throwing shade, so I doubt anyone will notice I’m gone.

Knox nudges me, a sly grin on his lips.

Okay, anyone but my brother.

I ignore him and walk down the hall. I’ll have to take the longer route to get to the classroom.

I don’t mind as long as it gets me away from that circle.