Chapter 29

I adjusted my weight again on the faux-leather bench in the corner booth, resulting in the embarrassing squeaking sound that drew the side-eyes of every person at every other table within hearing distance.

I ignored their attention as I swirled my spoon around my mug of too-rich hot chocolate. I actually liked the change of location. Usually, Arthur summoned me to an up-scale private club in the VIP section, or a private table at the Oriole restaurant, which meant I had to dress up for a conversation with my father that would last less than five minutes.

My cocoa had gone cold, but it hadn't been very appetizing to begin with. I wished I'd brought Niko or Brett to at least kill time, since the General always made me wait. Arthur's instructions had been very specific that I come to the hole-in-the-wall diner alone.

Being high up in the military, one would think Arthur would always be punctual for his meetings. And I was certain he was for everyone else. I just wasn't important enough to merit the same treatment, and Arthur never passed up an opportunity to remind me of my place.

When the chime on the door rang the announcement of another patron, I didn't even need to glance up to know he'd finally arrived, as the head of every host, waitress, and customer in the entire establishment gravitated toward his commanding presence.

If I wasn't so anxious, I might have rolled my eyes. I had an idea of what this meeting might be about.

"Tobias," Arthur said in his commanding voice as he slid onto the bench opposite me.

Two of his underlings occupied a table two spots over, within eyesight but out of earshot. Like Arthur actually needed his own security detail.

"Father," I said, looking him in the eye. "Did Mom come with you?"

"She's shopping."

My mood deflated even more. Though I knew the reason he wanted to meet, I'd at least hoped that my preferred parent would be here as a buffer.

Butshe wasn't aware of the task Arthur had given me. She wouldn't approve of another Dracul male treating a girl the way she'd been treated her entire life. Octavia would never admit that it was nearly the same, just that it was cruel.

Arthur took the mug I still fidgeted with and slid it to the side of the table, then laced his fingers together and leaned on his forearms. "She sends her love," he said.

If I didn't know the words were actually true, there's no way I would've believed it by the tone of his voice.

"So, Caesar's office wasn't available this morning?" I asked, eager to cut to the chase.

"It didn't seem prudent to risk another student eavesdropping."

That's never bothered you before. I resisted the urge to narrow my eyes. I knew when Arthur wasn't telling the whole truth.

"Besides, I was in the area for another meeting."

And there it was. No need to inconvenience himself by trekking all the way to the school when he could summon his son, day or night, to anywhere in the greater Chicago area.

"Is the new mermaid in love with you yet?"

Disgust seeped into my bones, both at his words and the callous way he said them.

"No," I said slowly, then leaned forward. "You told me to befriend her. And I've done that. We're friends."

"A friend isn't going to divulge the same information a love-sick girl might," Arthur said with a half-smile that was rarely a friendly one. "You're a Dracul, son. We're royalty. And with that, a good head on your shoulders, and a face that any girl would fall for, I don't see the problem." He leaned back with his arms crossed. "What sort of complications?"

Kendall's smug face flashed in my mind. I shrugged. "It doesn't matter. I can handle it."

"Good." Arthur unfolded his arms and tapped the fingers of his right hand on the table. "Because if you bring up some excuse about taboo relationships between dragons and mers, I'll yank you from that school so hard and slap you right into the military where you belong."

My heart sputtered before speeding up. "But school—"

"Nonsense!" Arthur said. "You're seventeen. You're of age. And Colonel Candida has been asking about you."

There were a thousand different things I wanted to say, but I knew better than to speak another word.

"Do what I've asked, and we won't have a problem. You can stay in your little school until graduation. Now…" he smiled, another forced half-smile. "Just so we're clear, what is expected of you, son?"

I wanted to point out that he really had only asked me to befriend Arya. But it was pointless to argue it now. If it sounded like an implication or suggestion before, it was clear now. And if I didn't do as he bid, he'd take away the last string of freedom I had left to grasp.

"Make Arya my girlfriend."

In order to make him happy and to get the information he wanted, it was non-negotiable that I date her. Seduce her. Make her my girlfriend. It was the only way to ensure I could spend enough time with her to find out if she was indeed the siren from the prophecy.

Arthur raised an eyebrow. It wasn't enough.

"Make Arya my girlfriend and make her fall in love with me."

The words took the last of the breath from my lungs, making me feel empty. In order to do the latter, my heart was in serious danger.

Because I liked her too much already, despite how I'd tried to distance my emotions from her. Because my instincts knew something that I wasn't ready to accept. And might never be.

Arthur smiled. Now it was enough.

The weight of what the General wanted me to do pressed down on me, crushing my spirit little by little. What I was being asked to risk, mixed with the sugary chocolate sitting in my stomach like a rock, made me nauseous.

Satisfied with the utter destruction of my will, my father stood. "I'll expect a detailed report about a proper date in one week's time. And, please, do bring her by the house for dinner some time. Your mother would love to meet your new girlfriend."

I was too defeated to scowl at his back as he left the restaurant, to even mutter to myself that my mother would be heartbroken over such an introduction.

With heavy shackles dragging at my feet, I took the long walk back to the subway on autopilot. How could Arthur be so blind to the difficulty of the task he'd ordered me to do? Or maybe he thought that I had inherited his inability to love anyone. He didn't care how many shattered hearts he left in his wake.

And he was asking me to do the same thing to Arya.

But what choice did I have? I may have only had a few more months of school left before I graduated and got sucked into the army anyway. But those were the last precious months of freedom from my father's total control that I'd ever have. I wasn't willing to give them up.

I was entering the school before I realized how much time and space I'd covered while lost in my turbulent thoughts. And I'd come to a decision.

I'd go through with Arthur's wishes. I'd lay the charm on thick to Arya, stop pushing her away, get her to trust me. She didn't have to fall for me, and I'd make sure she didn't. We could come to some arrangement, something physical but just friends. And I'd lock my heart up so tight that she'd never be able to reach it.

But before any of that could even be a possibility, I first had to apologize for how big of an ass I'd been to her. She hadn't spoken to me since she slapped me in the hallway a few days ago. She might not even want anything to do with me, and if that was the case, there was no reason to worry about any of this because Arthur would send me so far away that I'd never see her again.

I entered the Grand Hall, scanning the faces of the students loitering about, but not catching sight of her telltale blue streaks. It was late afternoon, and most classes were over for the day, except for the higher-level courses, but as a new student, she definitely wouldn't be in any of those.

I doubted she would be in the mer common room, as most of them were assholes to her, too. And there was no way I'd set foot in there anyway, not after the way things had ended with Cora. A shudder ran through my shoulders just thinking about that.

No, I had a hunch she wasn't in there. I followed that hunch out of the main building onto the lawn.

What if she was with Kendall? They were together when I saw her last, looking way more than friendly. What if she'd decided he was the better choice? She wasn't wrong, but damn, the thought of the two of them together, kissing, touching—

Stop!

I clenched my fists, stopping right in the middle of the sidewalk as I struggled to control the raging emotions that were so desperately trying to incinerate their way out of my chest. I took a few calming breaths, willing my inner fire to subside.

When I was finally calm, I continued along the path. Regardless of who I might find her with, I would be the respectful gentleman I always should have been and give her the apology she deserved.

As I rounded toward the gym, I spotted Arya coming out the back entrance, and the person walking beside her was about the last person I ever expected. Adina, Cora's shadow.

What the hell were the two of them doing walking together? Are they actually laughing?

Something about this smelled fishy.

I approached the two, trying not to look like the protective beast I felt skulking under my skin. I had to be friendly. I had to be respectful.

Arya looked up, her eyes locking with mine, and her beauty struck me like a sucker punch right to my sternum, momentarily making it hard to breathe.

Adina followed Arya's gaze, her brows lowering in a frown.

"Arya, can I talk to you for a moment?" I asked, stopping a few feet in front of them.

Arya paused for a moment, then looked at Adina. "I'll see you later."

Adina didn't seem happy, but she gave Arya a nod and continued on her way, leaving the two of us alone to talk.

She crossed her arms and jutted out a hip in what was a very obviously annoyed posture.

"What?" she asked, her tone colder and more brusque than I'd ever heard it.

I deserved that.

I pushed my hands in my front pockets, her scornful gaze once again making me young and small.

"I just wanted to apologize," I said.

She arched one of her dark eyebrows. "Oh? For what?"

I sighed, lifting my shoulders once and then dropping them. "For, well, everything. For the party, for freaking out about Kendall. I've been a real jerk to you. And while I didn't mean to be, I'm sorry."

I half expected her to scoff and turn away from me, but she didn't. She assessed me for a long moment, the tension in her posture slowly relaxing, the scowl that weighed on her brow lightening.

So I continued. "I'm not very good with people."

"I noticed," she interjected.

A nervous chuckle escaped me. "Facts and numbers, I get. They're black and white, easy to figure out, to make sense of. But people are harder for me. My whole life I've been treated like some prince just because of who my father is, and I never know who actually likes me for me and who's just kissing my ass.

"I closed myself off from emotions a long time ago, locking my own away in a box deep inside where no one can find them, and that makes it harder for me to read the emotions of others. So most of the time, I just don't even bother."

I swallowed, as this next part was hard to say. "You make me want to bother."

Her pretty features softened the more I spoke, and she gasped at my last declaration. Now that I was done talking, she just stared at me, and I couldn't discern the expression she wore, mostly for the reasons I just explained.

Finally, she smiled.

"Thank you for your apology, Tobias. I know it must have been difficult for you to open up like that." She chewed on her lip for a moment, then sighed. "I've only been here a week, and I've been focusing on all the wrong things. I'm ready to focus on the right things, like getting a handle on my mermaid powers and writing my essay for Shifter Bio. So why don't we start fresh, as friends?"

She held out her hand, but she might as well have jabbed a dagger right into my chest.

I had expected worse, after everything that had happened between us. I'd expected her to tell me to fuck off and never talk to her again. But it still sliced me to my charred heart that she said the f-word.

I shook her hand, savoring for just a moment how small and warm it felt in mine. I wanted to pull her against me and wrap my arms around her, just as much as I wanted to push myself away from her and run in the other direction. But I just let go of her hand and returned mine to its home in my pocket.

"Friends," I repeated the word behind a smile I didn't feel, hating the way it tasted in my mouth. "Can I walk you to your dorm? Maybe I can help you with your Bio essay."

"Sure, that would be nice, actually," she said.

Friends wasn't what Arthur had ordered, but at least this was a step up from where Arya and I were yesterday, and I'd ask her out before the week was over.

I just had to use the utmost caution with how I proceeded with her. I couldn't afford to fall in love with her, and I'd never forgive myself if she fell in love with me. I had to handle this just right, for both our sakes.