Lawless Kingdom (Reign & Ruin 1)

She didn’t like that little jab.

“He was with Gabby for a while, you know. Was all sweet and charming with her too.”

That shouldn’t have bothered me. So, of course, it did. A small trickle of possession wormed its way into my psyche. Judas sweet and charming? I found that hard to believe, especially after this morning. Furthermore, I wouldn’t want him that way. Not that I wanted him at all.

“He’s the king of this school. This town. Always has been. And Maisie will always be the queen. It won’t be long until you’re back to a nobody. Except now you’ll be tainted by Judas Barron.”

I half scoffed; half laughed. I had never been a nobody and regardless of whether I was with Judas or not, I never would be.

These people seriously had life all screwed up along with their priorities. As for this Maisie chick…this wasn’t my first time hearing that name today, but I’d never heard it at all until I came to Pesadilla. I wondered if she was Judas’ best kept secret or something.

“I’ll be sure to send Judas back to her when I’m done with him,” I replied with extra pep in my tone.

I was totally screwing with her, and while it would be all too easy to splinter her precious ego, I had better things to do than sit around and discuss the one topic I couldn’t escape these days. Since the teacher seemed inclined to keep out of our conversation and not make her shut the hell up, I stood and grabbed my stuff.

I guess the library was the better option after all. It was just my luck to see volleyball girl coming up the hall as I was heading down. A catty grin was on her face, promptly disappearing when I shoulder checked her like the stupid jock had done to me, knowing it was her who put him up to it.

My arm screamed at me the moment it connected with her shoulder. She yelped, going down hard. Perhaps to some that was wrong and petty, but to me it was worth it to see the bitch on her back. If one of us belonged down on the floor, it wasn’t me. I left her where she needed to stay, not uttering a single word as to what I thought about her shitty judgement.

Continuing on my way to the library, I text Audrey to make sure she was good. There hadn’t been enough time to do so when I finally made it to class.

I slipped inside the book haven as quietly as I could.

The level of conversation had me worrying about disrupting others for nothing. Gabe spotted me and flashed a friendly smile. I returned it and went to sit at the table with him, his sister, and a dark-haired girl. I set my stuff up and spent the next ten minutes pretending to know what was on the page in front of me.

“Hey, Rhiannon,” Gabby’s soft voice broke through my bubble of concentration.

I glanced away from the portion of text I was reading and realized the other girl was gone. Clearly, I was doing something right if I hadn’t noticed her departure.

“What’s up?”

“You and um, Judas…you’re okay?”

For a second all I could think was, Jesus, not her too. Then I noticed the genuine concern in her eyes and determined that was an odd question to ask someone. In my opinion, anyway.

“For the record, there is no me and Judas. Not like everyone around here seems to think. Our…situationship is complicated, but I’m fine. Are you okay?” It seemed only right to make sure she didn’t have a bleeding heart or something after what Kelly told me.

“Yeah. I’m great now. It took me a minute to get over him. He’s so intense and consuming, you know?”

“Mhm,” I hummed, suddenly wishing I hadn’t asked. I knew that about him all too well.

“Under all that pretty exterior is something flawed and dangerous. He can be a bit manipulative. Hot and cold too. He kinda used to have my head all over the place.”

I shifted uncomfortably, and so did her brother. This girl was forthcoming and…sweet.

“I think you’ll be good for him,” she chirped with genuine enthusiasm.

I’d just told her we weren’t together. Deciding to not beat a dead horse, I let her continue to ramble.

“I really hope it works out for you two. I know a few other girls he’s been with and it always ends up the same. Mandy was probably the worst, since she never came back after their break-up.”

That was another nugget of information I hadn’t had before. “Why are you telling me all this?”

“Because I worry about him still. I’ve known him a long time, and at this point, if you don’t love him, who will?”

Wow. That was sort of deep. But did she just say love? That was crazy talk. Loving Judas would be like agreeing to slice yourself open and bleed just to see the color of blood—painful and beautiful, but ultimately deadly.