Page 56 of Take My Crown

“That’s not what the rumour mill is saying,” Declan says, a twinkle in his eye. “I hear you are getting close to a certain Knight, only your parents broke up the party.”

“Wow. Isthatwhat they’re saying?”

“Yep. Are they wrong?”

I sigh. “No. If you really must know, Archer and I were getting close, but my father suddenly told me that I wasn’t allowed to have anything to do with the Knights, having encouraged me to get to know him before. It makes no sense to me and I was happy to figure something out on the QT, but Archer went all weird on me and then he took Carly with him for the race on Saturday. He has hinted he might be working something out for us, but if it involves sneaking around behind everyone’s back while he plays happy family with Carly, he can forget about it. I’m not being anyone’s bit on the side.”

I glare at Declan pointedly and he has the good grace to look embarrassed.

“Iamsorry about that,” he says. “I can’t help myself though. There you are, looking all gorgeous and kissable. We have a connection. You can’t deny that. With Ally, it’s complicated.”

I can’t–but I’m not going to give him the satisfaction of saying it, so I simply stare him down.

“What does your girlfriend say about our ‘connection’?” I ask.

“She’s not happy,” Declan admits. “Can I tell you a secret?”

“I guess.”

“The reason I had my accident is because Ally wouldn’t shut up about you while I was driving. She kept going on about how you are a bad influence on everyone and it was so much better before you came to the Academy. It’s like all she cared about as making me tell her you meant nothing to me while we were doing sixty in a thirty zone. I tried to tune her out, but she kept going on and on about it, so I turn my head to tell her to shut up, which is when the bike hit a bump in the road and you know the rest.”

“So she knows we kissed?”

“I don’t know.” Declan shrugs, keeping his voice low. The other students are a good distance away so as long as we keep quiet, I’m not worried that they could hear our conversation. “It’s possible she’s guessed, but I certainly haven’t told anyone about what happened between us–unlike some people I can mention.”

“Has Archer been shooting his mouth off?”

My day is getting better and better. Not.

“Not Archer.”

My jaw drops. “Romy? He’s been talking about what happened between us?”

“I thought you would have known better,” Declan says, confirming my worst fears. “Romy’s all about the notches on his bedpost. He once boasted how he intended to sleep with every single girl in our year and from what he’s says, he’s made good progress in making that ambition come true.

“Ivy, you’ve got to be more careful about the company you keep. The House heirs are ruthless–and yes, I include myself in that. It’s how we’re brought up. The law of the jungle rules at the Academy. It’s kill or be killed, metaphorically speaking. Something tells me you aren’t like the rest of us, even with your boarding school background. I don’t want to see you getting hurt because you don’t know how we do things round here.”

“But you still kissed me,” I point out.

“I know.” Declan runs a hand through his hair with frustration. “And while I don’t regret it, I wish it hadn’t panned out the way it did. I should have broken up with Ally before making a move on you. I care about you, Ivy. That’s why I’m warning you now–stay away from Romy and Archer. They’re both bad news. They’ll break your heart and stomp on the pieces.”

“Thanks for the warning,” I say. “Pity it’s a few weeks too late.”

Declan looks like he is about to say something, but he is stopped by the entrance of Mr Metcalf.

“Ah. Mr Dauphin. My star pupil returns. I trust your injuries will not prevent you from full participation in my class?”

“Of course not, sir,” says Declan. “My legs and arms can all be broken and I will still find a way of keeping up.”

“That’s what I like to hear.” He turns to address the whole class. “Get your notebooks out. We’re going to be going over some music theory today, and I expect you all to have cramped hands with all the note taking you’ll be doing by the end of this class.”

We groan, but all did what we were told. I did a good impression of being an attentive student, but in reality my mind is elsewhere. After what Declan just told me, I am beginning to wonder whether it would be better if I swore off men for good.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Ivy Archaic

The week dragged past slowly, as does the next. My new policy of keeping to myself mean my heart isn’t in danger of being broken, but I am so, so lonely. None of the girls want to talk to me and since they can’t date me, I have nothing to offer in terms of political gain and nobody trusts the heir to House Archaic. And Romy continues to try and worm his way into my pants, I’m done with being the plaything for bored rich boys.

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