Chapter 11
Luna
It’s been a few weeks, and I still don’t belong here. Not on the ice. Not in class. Not even in my room, where the silence is always waiting to swallow me whole.
I need out of my head tonight.
That’s the only reason I said yes when Sophie invited me to a party. “Just something low-key,” she said, at a place called The Vault.
Low-key, my ass. Nothing is low-key when it comes to Valcérre.
The Vault is an old building at the far edge of campus. During the day, it looks abandoned. Dark stones, ivy-covered walls, and boarded windows.
But right now, it looks like something haunted, barely visible in the dark.
“This is it?” I look over at Sophie.
“Pretty cool, right?” Sophie grins.
Cool isn’t the word I’d use to describe it, but sure.
We climb the steps slowly, with Sophie leading the way and Annika and I following her.
Sophie stops at the door and reaches for the small panel in the center. She knocks three times, then leans in and whispers, “Nel gelo, arde ancora il fuoco (In the frost, the fire still burns).”
“Was that Italian?” I blink.
“Welcome to the Vault.” She smirks over her shoulder as the door slides open.
I hesitate before following her and Annika inside and down the worn stairs.
We reach the bottom of the narrow stone stairwell, and Sophie pushes open a tall, black door. The heat and noise hit me all at once, totally different vibes compared to the outside of the building. Bass-heavy music, laughter, too many voices blending together.
It smells like whiskey, musk, and chaos. It’s barely lit with chandeliers hanging from arched ceilings. To the right, two guys with matching hockey jackets are playing at a pool table. Another one is making out with two girls in a velvet booth.
“Welcome to Valcérre’s nightlife.” Sophie nudges my shoulder.
I follow them deeper inside, toward a dimly lit corner with a velvet semi-circle booth.
Three guys are already sitting there. The first one is Asian.
He has a sharp jaw, messy dark hair, and a cocky grin that tells me he’s fully aware of how good-looking he is.
And next to him is another guy I’ve seen around campus.
Tan skin, dark tousled hair, and a brown jacket over a black T-shirt.
He has that quiet confidence that screams hockey player and rich boy.
And the third one, I recognize instantly.
Zayden.
He leans back in the shadows. Every inch of him is calm and unreadable, until his eyes lift and land on me.
I grab Sophie’s wrist before we reach them. “What is he doing here? You didn’t tell me he was gonna be here or that you guys knew each other.”
“Would you have come if I did?” she counters, then tugs me forward before I can answer.
“Luna, this is Jasper.” She gestures to the one with the smirk in the middle. “And that’s Cameron.” She points to the one on the right. Then a pointed glance toward the one pretending not to care. “You’ve already met Zayden.”
I stiffen slightly, ignoring how my pulse kicks.
She loops her arm around my shoulders. “And this is my sister. Luna.”
Cameron sits up straighter. “Wait! Ice Princess is your sister?”
“Don’t call me that. I’m not an ice princess or just another pretty face on the ice. I’ve worked hard to be here.” I narrow my eyes at them.
Jasper taps Cameron on his shoulder. “Knock it off.” He turns back to me, his smirk gone now. “I’m sorry about that. He didn’t mean anything bad by it, but I’m sorry if we offended you in any way. That goes for Zayden, too. We shouldn’t have called you that.”
I nod, surprised by how sincere he sounds. “Thanks.”
Sophie turns to Cameron and elbows him hard in the ribs.
He makes a face. “Ow—okay, okay.” He looks at me, one hand over his chest dramatically. “Apologies, Ice Princess—I mean Luna.”
I roll my eyes as I slide into the booth beside Zayden, since that’s the only seat left, trying not to react to how close our arms are.
Everyone turns to Zayden.
He doesn’t move, or even blink. Just stares straight ahead like if he holds still long enough, the moment will pass. But it doesn’t.
Jasper crosses his arms.
Sophie raises an eyebrow.
Even Cameron’s watching him now.
“Sorry,” Zayden mutters, so quiet I barely hear it, like it physically hurts to say it. I glance over at him, and he holds my gaze. His eyes soften a little, and there’s something there that feels like regret. My heart does something stupid, part relief, part frustration.
“Next time y’all talk about her like that, I won’t be so nice,” Annika says, her voice deadly as she looks at each of them.
Cameron clears his throat and sinks a little deeper into the booth. “Noted.”
Jasper just stares. “Fuck, that was so hot.” Then he leans toward her. “Will you marry me?”
“No,” she says dryly.
He presses a hand to his chest. “Ouch. Straight to the heart.”
“You’ll survive,” she says, trying to suppress a smile.
Sophie snorts into her drink. I try not to smile, but it’s impossible.
I glance between them, arms crossed. “How do you all even know each other?”
Sophie shrugs. “Jasper and I have class together. He introduced me to Cameron, and Z is my cousin.”
“Your cousin?” I blink, hoping she’s not talking about who I think. Even though there’s no one else at the table whose name starts with Z.
“Zayden is my cousin on my mom’s side,” she adds like it’s not a big deal.
“And you didn’t think to tell me that, like two weeks ago?” I give her a death stare.
“You mean like when you were going off about how much you hated him?” Yes, exactly then.
I hate you right now, I mouth at her.
“Je m’en fiche que ce soit ton cousin—c’est un connard et je le déteste (I don’t care if he’s your cousin, he’s an asshole and I hate him).”
Sophie smiles into her drink. “He speaks French, you know.”
I nearly choke on my own oxygen, if that’s even possible. I’m going to kill Sophie slowly. I look over at Zayden. No smirk, no comment, just that unreadable look. Which is somehow worse.
“That was kind of harsh.” Jasper snorts.
“I knew I liked you,” Cameron adds.
“Wait. You all speak French?” My eyes go wide.
They all nod.
I huff. “Of course, you all speak multiple languages.” I lean back in my seat. “Traidores. Necesito nuevos amigos (Traitors. I need new friends),” I add under my breath.
“Sorry, babe. You’re stuck with us.” Sophie laughs.
Jasper leans over the table toward me. “Welcome to the circus.”
I lift a brow. “Is that what this is?”
“Only when Sophie’s involved,” he teases, nudging her with his elbow.
“Wow. Rude,” Annika says.
“Hey, I didn’t say it was a bad thing,” he says, looking at her now.
Annika rolls her eyes, but there’s a small smile pulling at her lips. “You’re so full of it.”
“Yeah, but I’m charming.” He grins.
Jasper and Annika are going back and forth about something. Sophie is watching me like she’s waiting for a confession. Zayden hasn’t said a word.
Then Annika leans in and smirks. “Look whose girlfriend just showed up.” She nods toward Zayden.
I look up as Anastasia walks toward our booth, short black dress, designer boots, and eyes as sharp as ice.
“She’s not his girlfriend,” Sophie whispers. “She just wants to be.”
I watch Zayden out of the corner of my eye. He doesn’t move. I hate the tightness that creeps into my chest.
Annika grins. “She’s been trying for, what, two years now?”
Jasper lets out a low whistle. “Persistent. Gotta respect it.”
I’m suddenly very aware of how close I’m sitting to Zayden. How he hasn’t moved away, and how the heat of his body seeps into my skin.
Anastasia stops at the edge of the booth, her gaze shifting back and forth between Zayden and me, and I swear her mouth twitches slightly.
“Didn’t know you’d be here,” she whispers to him.
Zayden ignores her, eyes on his phone.
The girl can’t take a hint. Her smile falters, but she recovers fast. “Well, it was nice seeing you.” Then she’s gone.
I take a long sip of my drink. “You two are kind of perfect for each other.”
“She’s not my type.” His eyes are on me when he says it. My stomach flips for some stupid reason.
“So, what is your type?” Sophie leans in and asks.
Zayden doesn’t answer.
Sophie groans. “Why do I even bother?”
Cameron pulls her closer to him, one hand casually finding her waist as he whispers something in her ear. Whatever he says makes her laugh.
“Cameron!” She swats his chest slightly.
“Come on.” He stands, tugging her gently. “Let’s dance.”
Sophie glances back at me before she lets him pull her into the crowd. Talk to him, she mouths to me.
I roll my eyes at her.
Jasper and Annika are gone, too. It’s just me now, and Zayden. Despite the music pounding and the party in full swing, the silence between us is suffocating. Every breath feels too loud and every second heavier than the last.
Screw this.
I push off my seat and slip through the crowd, toward the stairs. The music fades behind me, and by the time I reach the main floor, everything is quieter and I can finally breathe.
Instead of going for the exit, I keep walking.
There’s an archway leading to a balcony that I somehow missed when we came in.
The view out here is beautiful. Snowy mountains stretch like shadows in the distance.
A full moon hangs above them, casting silver light across everything.
The sky is clear for once, no clouds, just stars—thousands of them.
“Are you following me now?” I ask when I feel him behind me. Then something warm settles over my shoulders. I didn’t realize I left my coat.
“You forgot this.” His voice brushes the air beside me.
“Thanks.”
He leans against the wall.
How can someone be so quiet but his presence so loud?
“You okay?” he asks.
“I wish people would stop asking me that.”
I glance at him, and he’s just standing there, hand in his pocket like he’s letting me decide if I want to say something more or not.
So, I talk, even though I shouldn’t, especially not to him. “I just feel like I’m falling behind,” I admit. “I don’t know how to be part of this world. Everything feels like a test and if I mess up once, I lose everything.”
I don’t expect him to say anything back, but it’s nice to have someone listen.
“I spent years trying to prove I belonged here. To them. To my dad. To the team.” He looks away then back to me. “It doesn’t matter. You could be perfect, and they’d still try to find some way to tear you down.”
The silence stretches between us.
“So what, I’m just supposed to stop caring?”
“No.” He shrugs. “You just stop letting them decide who you are.”
A breath escapes me in a half laugh, half something else. “Why are you even telling me this?”
He doesn’t answer.
I shake my head. “For someone who doesn’t usually talk. You have a lot to say.”
His lips twitch like he might smile, but he doesn’t.
I huff out a laugh. It comes out a little more breathless than I want it to. “You’re a weird guy, you know that?”
He raises an eyebrow.
“One minute, you’re insulting me in front of your whole team, and the next, you’re out here giving me some emotionally repressed pep talk like you’re my therapist.”
“Is it helping?”
I narrow my eyes. “Unfortunately. Still hate you, though.”
The silence stretches between us again, but this time, it’s not heavy.
“So, are we gonna talk about it, the rink, the messages?”
He closes the space between us before I even finish. He’s so close that his breath is warm on my skin when he says, “There’s nothing to talk about. And don’t go back there again.” Then he turns and leaves.
That’s it? God, I’m such an idiot. I hate him. I seriously, honestly, hate him. He doesn’t want to talk about it? Fine. I’ll figure it out myself. I turn toward the stairs to find Sophie and Annika when I slam right into someone.
“Whoa! Careful,” a pitchy voice says.
I step back, blinking up at the person.
Anastasia.
Of course.
“Harsh. Even for him.” She looks over her shoulder to where Zayden disappears, then back to me.
I roll my eyes and try to move past her, but she sidesteps, blocking my path.
“Don’t take it personally,” she adds with a teasing smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. “Zayden doesn’t like anyone.”
I say nothing.
“Still—kind of cute of you, thinking he cares.”
I finally meet her gaze. “Are you done?”
She smiles. “Just…be careful. This place has a way of chewing up girls like you.” Then she walks away the same way she came.
Girls like me? What’s that supposed to mean?
Okay, I hate her too!
Her and Zayden really are perfect for each other.