Chapter 12 #3
“Neither do most the people who end up in this place,” Leo said lazily, flopping down into one of the velvet couches with a dramatic sigh. “Don’t be such a killjoy.”
“I’m serious,” Thorne snapped. “She shouldn’t be here. You shouldn’t have brought her.”
“I didn’t bring her,” Leo said, gesturing toward me with a lazy flick of his fingers. “She walked in on her own. Well, more or less. Besides, I knew we all needed to have a little chat.”
I shifted uncomfortably. “Why?”
Slade’s head tilted, just slightly. Phoenix sighed. Something else was going on here, but I didn’t know what. There was a tension in this room, but for the first time I didn’t think it was all because of me.
The air was too thick, too heavy. I felt like I was missing something vital.
Thorne exhaled harshly and moved to stand beside the window. “This is a bad idea. If she gets caught in here—”
“She won’t,” Leo said.
“You don’t know that. Ashton and Vasquez have spies everywhere.”
“We’ll be fine!,” Leo repeated, slower this time, as if daring anyone to argue.
Phoenix handed him a drink, then poured another and set it on the table near me without a word. I didn’t touch it. The air in the room was thick with things unspoken—curiosity, caution, and something colder I couldn’t quite name.
I hated that they were all looking at me like I was some sort of curiosity. Some wild animal that had wandered into their den and hadn’t realized she’d made a mistake.
“Ok, I’m leaving,” I muttered.
Leo’s smile widened. “Are you?”
I stared at him.
“I don’t want to play whatever game this is.” I said.
“You already are,” he replied, that infuriating tilt to his voice. “Whether you like it or not.”
“I didn’t ask for this.”
“This may come as a surprise to you,” Leo said, his voice dropping the usual edge of mockery, “but none of us did either.”
For the first time, he wasn’t smiling.
The shift in the room was almost imperceptible, but I felt it—like the pressure in the air before a storm breaks.
Behind him, the others watched, each holding their own silence like a weapon.
Thorne’s broad shoulders were locked with tension, his jaw tight, eyes fixed anywhere but on me.
Slade’s gaze, cold and steady, tracked my every movement like he was waiting for a detonation.
Phoenix leaned against the back of the couch, calm as ever, but his fingers tapped a quiet rhythm against the fabric—off-beat, unsettled.
“What do you want from me?” I asked, the words coming out sharper than I meant, edged with the bitterness I couldn’t quite swallow. “What is this?”
“To get to know you, maybe?” Phoenix said casually, one eyebrow lifting. “Favourite colours, favourite food…”
“Favourite position…” Leo added with a wolfish grin, his voice a teasing lilt that cut through the tension like a Slade.
My face flushed instantly, heat rushing up my neck. I opened my mouth, ready to snap back, but Slade beat me to it. He elbowed Leo sharply in the ribs with a low grunt.
Leo choked on a laugh, doubling over slightly. “Touchy,” he muttered, rubbing his side.
Slade didn’t look away from me. He didn’t speak, either. But the message was clear.
This wasn’t a joke to him.
“Look, little ghost,” Phoenix said finally, his voice low and even. “We get it. This place is …difficult. People will come at you from all directions, and most of them won’t wait for you to be ready. It wouldn’t hurt to have someone in your corner.”
I let out a short, humourless laugh. “So, what, are you trying to recruit me or something?” I asked, the words sharp with disbelief, though part of me meant it as a joke.
“Or something,” Leo said, too smoothly, his grin returning like a flicker of flame that refused to die out.
I looked at each of them in turn.
Thorne, still silent and rigid, like having me in the room physically pained him.
Slade, unreadable, his eyes dark and thoughtful, flicking between the others and me as if he was trying to measure my threat level.
Phoenix, who met my stare without blinking, offering something that might have been honesty—just barely.
And Leo, lounging like a king among wolves, all teeth and charm, but underneath it, something colder flickered.
None of them were safe.
And yet, somehow, this didn’t feel like a trap.
It felt like concern.
“I don’t understand. It’s not like I have a choice here,” I said, my voice low, wary.
“But you do,” Phoenix replied, his tone gentler than I expected. “And tomorrow… well. You’ll find out exactly why.”
My stomach twisted. “What’s happening tomorrow?”
Silence.
Thorne’s jaw clenched as all eyes turned to him, as if he were the only one with the authority—or the spine—to say it out loud. He muttered something under his breath, and when he finally looked at me, his gaze was sharp, but not unkind. Resigned.
“The king has… taken an interest in you,” he said, the words falling heavy between us.
“An interest? What the hell does that mean?” I demanded, my voice sharper than I intended.
Thorne’s mouth tightened. “He wants to talk to you. To test you.”
My pulse spiked. “What kind of test?”
“You’ll find out tomorrow.” His eyes didn’t waver from mine, but his tone was heavy. “But it won’t be pleasant.”
My stomach twisted like something had curled itself around my ribs and started to squeeze. “What will he make me do?”
Thorne didn’t answer right away. No one did. Even Leo’s usual smirk had vanished, leaving only a tightness around his mouth. Slade looked away entirely. Phoenix’s fingers stopped drumming.
Thorne finally exhaled. “The king doesn’t ask questions he doesn’t already know the answers to. Whatever he makes you do… it’s not for his curiosity. It’s for his amusement. His message.”
“Message to who?” I asked, even though I already felt the answer crawling in my bones.
“To everyone,” Phoenix murmured, voice suddenly quiet. “The court. The other trainees. Maybe even us.”
A chill settled deep in my spine, crawling like frost along my ribs.
“You’re not being tested to pass, angel,” Leo said, his usual grin absent. There was something grim in his voice—unmistakably real. “You’re being watched to see what makes you break.”
My pulse kicked up. I took a step back, instinctively retreating. “I won’t hurt anyone,” I said, more to myself than them.
“You might not have a choice,” Phoenix murmured. He didn’t look at me when he spoke. He stared into the dark liquid swirling in his cup like it might offer an easier answer.
“Well then get me out of it,” I snapped, desperation curling sharp in my voice.
Thorne moved fast, his voice cutting across the room. “We can’t.”
I turned toward him.
His eyes were hard, but something else flickered underneath—guilt, maybe, or something more dangerous. “The second you showed me those shadows,” he said, “you stopped being a girl with secrets. You became property of the Crown.”
I swallowed hard. The word property burned as it settled in my chest.
“There is nothing we can do for you tomorrow,” Thorne added. “Except try and protect you as best we can.”
For a moment, no one said anything. The air hung heavy around us.
Then Phoenix spoke again, quieter this time. “He’ll try to twist you into something you’re not. That’s the real test.”
“And if I fail?” I whispered.
Leo looked up then, his eyes dark. “You won’t. Just… don’t let him see how scared you are.”
I wanted to scream. I wanted to run. But I couldn’t afford either.
So I stood still. Let the fear coil tighter. Let it press into bone.
And I nodded.