Chapter 22
brYLEE
Darling Academy looms in front of me, turrets gleaming in the sunlight. Late-season roses surround the stone paths. Music drifts from the windows as omegas are forced to learn pretty songs to please their alphas.
A bluebird literally flutters down to perch on an arched windowsill, and I wonder if Madame Ellora has secretly scattered birdseed out to increase the "enchanted" factor of her castle. Part of me suspects she has.
Of course, after the attack and kidnapping at the ball, there is a bit of tarnish to this place and its reputation. Four armed guards patrol near the sculpted hedges. They weren't there before.
"They need some security cameras," Luka mentions from my side as he shoves his hands into the pockets of his tailored pants.
Colter gives a grunt of agreement from my other side.
Maybe both colleges need more security. Maybe the entire city does at this point.
But I know what it’s like to have armed guards shadow you every second of the day.
After my first kidnapping, I couldn’t turn in a circle without smashing my nose into one.
Teddie and I had to fight fiercely for our freedom.
And even given the danger, given the war worsening, I don’t think I’d change that.
I couldn’t breathe when those men hovered over me, machine guns always at the ready.
Freedom is better, even if it is folly.
Of course, my handsome mates don’t affect me nearly the same way.
Luka and Colter are accompanying me to pack up my room, though only Colter's dressed for the task.
He wears jeans. But Luka's more concerned about our final destination than the moving portion of our day, as evidenced by his freshly pressed, collared shirt. He's dressed to impress.
My mother, little though she seems to notice me, declared in a video phone call that she can't continue to let me "roam wild." The idea that Darling Academy is wild would be amusing if I didn't know the fate that awaits me, which is even worse than constant shadowing by armed guards.
I'm supposed to move back into the palace, just like Ted has. The queen wants to keep a closer eye on us now that the war is reaching new heights.
“Mother, we cannot survive under the same roof!” I’d argued on our call.
“Pfft. You’re always so dramatic,” she’d replied.
“I am not. And if I need protection, I should get to stay with the men who actually rescued me. My scent matches.”
Her eyes had swollen like balloons, and I’d thought they’d pop right out of her face and float away.
“They’re highly trained and deadly efficient,” I’d added, hoping to appeal to her alpha tendencies.
But based on Mother's reaction, you'd think I'd have suggested camping out in a tent on the battleground. Her jaw had dropped like an anchor.
Of course, she'd been concerned for entirely different reasons than safety.
"You are unmarried, Brylee." Her front teeth had clenched together so hard that I'd expected them to crack.
"Fine. Shotgun wedding," I'd countered.
Three vases. Three vases had shattered to smithereens, giving their lives for my sarcasm. I'd relented when she'd gone after a fourth.
“Fine. Get a camera crew in too. Might as well film this disaster. Live-action horror story—”
She’d hung up on me mid-sentence.
So, here I am at Darling. About to pack up and leave this place forever.
My throat tightens unexpectedly. I reach for the base of my throat, gripping lightly. My gaze roams over to the loose stone near the fountain where I first hid my cloak to escape this place.
Softer times.
When my problems were more innocent.
"You okay?" Luka steps closer, eyes dark with concern.
I want to tell him the truth. That it feels like I'm caught in a riptide and being swept out to sea by forces beyond my control.
By this brutal, shoving wave that's about to drown me.
But if I start to talk, I'll break down.
And that's the last thing I want to do when I have to go face the wicked witch.
So, I give him a wobbly smile and lie. "Yeah. This is all just a lot of change happening so quickly. I'm fine. Let's go."
His brow furrows, but he doesn’t push as I take his arm so he can help me navigate the steps. The forest-green bodycon midi dress I'm wearing doesn't make them the easiest to handle. But I tried to pick an outfit that my mother would approve of.
I need her to see me and dismiss me from her thoughts.
See omega-like compliance and nothing else because I need her to turn her attention to other things.
Inhaling the perfumed air, I try to smooth a serene smile onto my lips as the doors open and two guards nod in greeting.
We proceed through the grand entry and up the stairs, and I try not to notice the interested looks of all the other omegas who pause what they're doing to gape.
When we finally reach the sanctuary of my room, and Luka and Colter are assembling boxes as I sort through my wardrobe, the bathroom door flies open.
"Bry!" Harper shrieks shrilly as she catapults herself into me, arms wrapping tight. "I'm sosososo glad you're okay!"
Warmth suffuses my chest as I hug her back, squeezing harder than I mean to. She lets out a tiny yelp.
"Sorry. Same."
We separate and stare at each other, wearing matching grins. She's in the typical Darling skirt and blouse today, with her hair pulled back in a sleek bun. And even though I don't really want to walk down to class with her, I feel a tiny pinch of regret that I won't be doing that ever again.
"Guys?" I ask, because I can see eight thousand questions brimming in my roommate's eyes that she will never, ever ask in front of alphas.
Harper's a much better omega than I am that way.
I glance over at my men, and without even saying anything aloud, Colter nods, a smile visible beneath the edge of his mask before he grips Luka's shoulder and navigates him toward the door. My other alpha quickly catches on.
"We'll go get coffee. Harper, how do you like it?" Luka asks.
At one point, Luka expressed his suspicions about Harper’s intentions when it comes to me. But we quickly put that to rest after I told him she’s innocent. I have to believe that not everyone in my life will betray me. And I’m starting with the first true female friend I’ve ever had.
Her eyes flutter in surprise. "Oh. Um. Two sugars, dash of whipped cream, please."
The door thunks shut behind them.
And for a few glorious minutes, I'm just an omega again.
"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!" Harper demands, steering me over to the bed.
A laughing sigh gusts out of me because the idea of repeating my story, again, is exhausting.
But Harper purses her perfectly red lips and swivels her finger at me. "Oh no. None of that. Spill those guts."
So I do.
Harper gasps when I describe the kidnapping. She fists both her hands and brings them to her lips when I describe Pedro. She bounces on the bed when I talk about how I used my panties. Shrieks and grabs my hand when I describe my escape.
"OH. MY. GOD. If-I-liked-girls-I'd-fall-in-love-with-you-this-instant. That is the most amazing, most badass story I've ever heard." Her hand comes to her chest as she says, "You're my hero."
"Stop that." I shove at her shoulder.
"What? It's true." She shakes her head as she stares at me, a starry look in her eyes.
My cheeks turn a dozen shades of red and are fire-hot as I stare down at the comforter. "Well, this hero needs your help."
"Always. What are besties for?"
Her answer is so casual. So flippant.
She doesn't realize how it craters me. Her claim smashes right through my ribs and sends a pulsing ache rippling through me. It bashes through the wall that I normally keep up between me and the world.
Besties.
My heart drums happily, faster and faster while my thoughts scatter like a handful of beads dropped on the floor. Bouncing. Shiny. Rolling every which way.
A smile stretches so far across my cheeks that it threatens to morph into a sob, and I have to swallow it down because it would be stupid to cry over a claim of friendship.
Don't be stupid, Brylee, I coach myself.
My eyes fill anyway, and I have to blink rapidly, reaching up to swipe away the excess.
"You okay?"
"Yeah. Yeah. Dust or something," I lie.
"So, what's this badass feat we're pulling off? I can do way more complicated stuff than buy a zillion perfumes, you know."
"I know," I assure her.
But before I can divulge my plans, the guys are back with coffee and croissants. We have to divert course to small talk.
Then Harper checks her watch. "Ugh, I have to get to class."
"Come see me tomorrow?" I ask. "At the palace?"
She nods enthusiastically. "I'll make sure the dungeon master lets me out."
Then, with a quick hug, she darts off.
"Dungeon master?" Luka queries.
"Madame Ellora wields paperwork like it's a whip," I respond.
The guys nod in amusement as they help me pack up my life to move from one castle-like prison to another.
My mates are carrying down the last two boxes, and I've got a photo of Teddie and me in hand, when the dungeon master herself appears in the entryway, blocking our exit.
"Princess Brylee," Madame Ellora says in that stiff tone.
I pause like I've been sneaking out of class and am about to get scolded.
Her heels clack loudly, echoing on the marble floors as she approaches. Her perfect bob is slicked down and curled under, her eyeliner immaculate. But her smile wavers, and then she does something unexpected.
She reaches out and clasps my upper arms. When she does, her eyes are surprisingly misty.
"I'm so glad you and your brother are okay. I just can't believe"—she releases me and shakes her head as her hand rises to her chest—"that they got in here!"
Oh no. Is she about to cry?
"It's not your fault. And we're both fine. The alphas did an amazing job protecting everyone." I can't believe she buys my smile even though my words all come out through gritted teeth.
I’m covered in bruises that I’m certain even my foundation isn’t concealing. But not everyone can handle the truth. And even if she could, Madame Ellora doesn't need to be racked with guilt over what happened to me. There's nothing she could have done to prevent it.
My parents’ guards however...
Clearing my throat before the anger brewing in my belly erupts into words, I turn to Luka. "What time were we supposed to meet my mother?"
It's my subtle cue that we need to get moving.
He flicks out his phone to check the time.
But before he can answer, Madame Ellora speaks, graciously taking the hint.
"Well, I'll leave you to it, I suppose. Brylee, your mother did say that you'll be attending classes remotely. I'm so happy we'll get to see you, even if it's from afar."
That freezes me in my tracks.
Remote class?
Fucking hell.
Now I wish I had a vase I could smash.
But I don't, so I simply give a little finger wave to the professor as I scurry toward the steps.
"Can't wait!" Such a lie. I would love to wait forever.
But that's a problem for future Brylee to unravel.
Unfortunately for her, problems keep stacking up.