Chapter 22

22

Ishook my head at the name changes posted on the doors to the cafeteria until TAVI ALDERIDGE reached the top slot, literally glowing with magic and marking me as a target. Dread settled beneath my chest in a tight knot no amount of massaging could loosen.

“I can’t believe you did it. Is it wrong to take credit? My guidance is what got you this honor, this prestige. You can thank me now, and thank me again later.”

I knew Melia was joking as we stood watching the rest of the list change to reflect the new stats, including the deletion of several of my classmates. And there I was, my name shining from the top, and I couldn’t be less thrilled.

If anything, I wanted to throw up. But I didn’t think anyone would take kindly to me emptying my stomach right there in the hallway.

“You can take the credit if you want,” I told Melia with a grin. “I don’t mind.” She was probably the only reason I stayed sane in this place. She deserved the credit.

Melia leaned her head on my shoulder and her curls tickled my nose. She groaned, a happy sound. “I can’t tell you how proud I am of you. Seeing your name at the top of this list is my crowning achievement for this year.”

I wrapped my arms around her automatically and closed the distance between us. “I couldn’t have done it without you. And Mike. You two were and are so supportive of me.”

But I kept my suspicions to myself, drew any and all worry into a dark corner of my mind and stashed it away to examine later when I was alone. I didn’t want to worry Melia if we were right with our theory about the top students being murdered.

“I’m still shocked you and Michael are friends,” she said with more than a little incredulity. “Have I told you lately?

“We are friends,” I corrected her. “The four of us. I will never forget our heated lunch debates. Maybe one of these days when we aren’t stressed, we can get together and do something for fun.”

“Yeah, the four of us…lunch debates! I’m shocked about that, too. The Crown Prince of Faerie wants to sit and talk to me at lunch. Me!” Her laugh was disbelieving.

We moved away from the list when more students crowded closer for a second look. I tried to ignore the congratulations I still heard in my wake without seeming ungrateful for the sentiments. But it wasn’t right. It didn’t feel honest.

“What do you think about Mike and the royal family?” I asked, remembering what Persephone had told me. “I mean your real opinion of them.”

“What do I think?” Melia repeated. She shrugged the strap of her bag higher on her shoulder. “Well, I like Mike. Never thought I’d meet him, girl, let me tell you. But I like him. He’s genuine and he seems to have a good head on his shoulders. He’s more down to earth than I would have thought after seeing his pictures.”

We fell in step together, away from the crowd of students. “Why do I sense a but coming on?”

“You are not going to repeat this to anyone. Understand?”

I crossed my heart with my index finger. “Yes. I understand.”

She dropped her voice low to prevent being overheard, turning the corner toward the library in order to avoid the main hallways with all the mirrors. She thought it was just a quirk of mine, the way I avoided mirrors. I hadn’t told her about the real reason and didn’t plan on it.

“Something about the king has never set right with me,” she whispered confidentially. “From everything I’ve heard, he’s a bit of a mystery, and I don’t like secrets in a leader. He’s also been in power for a long time. Longer than any other monarch in the history of Faerie.”

“Wow. How old is he?” I wanted to know.

“No one seems to have any idea! Our kind are long-lived, of course, but his reign has outlasted all who’ve come before him. He’s managed to squash any kind of rising threat without casualties to his family or court. I don’t know, girl…I kind of feel like maybe his long reign has warped his mind. I haven’t met him, okay? But I get this odd sensation when I think about him or hear his voice. Something I can’t shake telling me to look deeper. Then I get nervous and switch off entirely. I try to change my thoughts around.”

I started and tried not to let Melia see my reaction. “If what you say is true, then it’s a scary thought.”

“I mean, this is just me sharing my opinion with you. It does seem scary. And his wife is almost never seen in public. It’s like the king hides her away, ashamed of her or something, I don’t know. Now you understand why it really took me by surprise to see Michael here. I think it’s great how he’s learning about his people and really becoming immersed in the experience. It shows he cares. And that’s a good thing, don’t get me wrong. But something smells off about the whole situation.”

I stared at her, the way lines of intense concentration formed on her brow, the set of her chin. “Why haven’t you told me this before?”

“Because it makes me sound like a crazy person!” Her hands went wild around the side of her head. “Would you believe me if we had just met and I came out and told you there was something wrong with the monarchy? Heck no, people don’t say those kinds of things. If anyone overheard me, I’d be interrogated. Or worse.”

I tried to shrug off the slight chill. This was the second time I’d heard about how things with the royal family weren’t quite how they appeared. But it wasn’t my place to question it. I had enough to worry about in the present without thinking how the monarchy of Faerie would impact me once I got there. I needed to keep my gaze focused on getting through the Fae Academy. Once I was safe, then and only then could I let my imagination run free.

We stopped outside of the library, the press of students slowing down to a trickle on this end of the castle. Not many people would choose to spend their afternoon among the dusty tomes. No wonder I liked it here.

“This is just a feeling I’ve had, Tavi,” Melia clarified without blinking, her honey-brown eyes round. “And I want to make sure you don’t repeat this to anyone.”

“Not a chance. My lips are sealed.”

But something about her statement struck me as truth, and feelings among the Fae are often a lot more truthful and insightful than commonly accepted facts. If anything, I’d learned to trust my gut more and more since coming to the academy.

Lunch came and Melia and I took up our normal seats across from Mike and Roman.

“Hey there, you,” I said immediately, flashing a smile toward Mike.

He responded with a grunt and pushed his fork around his plate.

“Okay, someone is in a bad mood today,” Melia joked. She and Roman made eye contact, and he shrugged. “What’s the matter with you guys?”

Mike didn’t want to answer. He kept his gaze trained on his tray as though it held the secrets of the universe.

I sat down across from him with my plate filled with greens and fruit. Swallowing my distaste at the monotonous salad, I said, “I didn’t see you at the assembly today. I looked for you.”

Mike didn’t want to answer either, and soon Roman had to speak for him. “We were in the back. We came in a little late,” he said. “We got caught up elsewhere and came right at the tail end of Leaves’ speech about the top five.”

I waited for the congratulations I almost expected at this point. These were two of my best friends, after all, and we’d helped each other get this far, boosted each other with our study sessions.

But I recalled a saying about expectations leading to disappointment, and soon the feeling settled on me hard.

“I guess we’ve all had a rough week,” I said. “We are going to need more than a week of vacation when this is done—”

“I can’t believe you got the top spot.”

I jumped at the harsh sound of Mike’s voice. He still wouldn’t look at me. “What? Why?”

“It should have been me at the top.” His grip tightened on his fork until his knuckles turned white. “I’m not sure how you managed to work up to number one but I don’t think it’s fair.”

I gasped, though it sounded more like a huff. “Mike, it’s not fair you’re saying these things to me,” I told him. He raised his gaze to meet mine briefly, long enough for me to take note of the puffiness, the rims of red around his eyes. The way it looked like he hadn’t slept for days. Had he been pushing himself too hard? Disappointment warred with guilt. Both cut deeply.

He ran a hand through his hair, his gaze in the distance. “I’m sorry, Tavi. I’m really sorry, but I think you beating me for a spot in the top is ridiculous. I’m not even in the top ten.”

Jealousy didn’t sit well on him. It colored his cheeks and the tops of his ears a blush-pink but turned his knuckles white. I never would have expected such a reaction from him. Sitting here with him day after day, it was easy to forget about his royal status, and how we sat in the middle of the room surrounded by other students doing their best to politely ignore us. As if we weren’t even there.

Yet I knew they were listening to every word.

“Jeez, I didn’t realize you really thought so little of me you’d be jealous I out-scored you.” I pushed away from the table. “I don’t have to listen to you rant and rave about the unfairness.”

I still didn’t feel I’d earned my spot, still felt it was some kind of fluke, but I didn’t need to let Mike know. At least not right now. That would only compound the hurtfulness.

Mike grimaced as though this were the most painful conversation he’d had in a while. My heart stirred and I dropped my gaze to the floor so he didn’t notice the change. No weakness, I reminded myself, because if he saw weakness it would give him an opening to hurt me more.

“Don’t bother leaving, Tavi,” he stated, rising at the same time. He left his tray on the table and gestured for Roman to follow him. “I’m the one who should go. I’ve stayed long enough.”

Melia and I watched them walk away, Roman shooting us a small, sad smile over his shoulder before moving faster to follow his friend out. He didn’t offer an apology.

“Wow.” Melia stressed the word and drew the vowel out. “I didn’t expect him to be bitter about his place in the ranking.”

I plopped back down in my chair, still stunned. “Yeah. Neither did I.” I took a slow breath, my nostrils flaring, and rubbed my arms. Worries bit at me repeatedly, and no matter how hard I tried to calm down I had no success.

“You didn’t deserve him going off on you.” Melia placed a hand on my knee and squeezed. “Don’t pay any attention to him. He’ll come to his senses soon enough.”

I stared at the door until well after the boys had gone, wondering if I could have said something, done something to ascertain what was really bothering him. I couldn’t get a read off of Mike. I thought maybe he was angry, or even a little guilty, but neither made sense to me. Perhaps he feared disappointing his parents. It seemed plausible, but not enough to justify his emotional outburst. The only thing fitting his reaction—

My stomach froze in a flash of cold. Could Mike have had something to do with the murders of the other two top contenders, and that’s why he didn’t want me at the top?

No, that…that was absolutely ridiculous.

Utterly. Ridiculous. Wasn’t it?