Page 48 of Take My Throne

“And the problem with using punishment as an incentive is that you have to be caught first. So, if you’re relying on the threat of reprisals to make sure we all support each other, it’ll just encourage us to be sneaky. Before you know it, things will be even worse than they have been because none of us will be able to trust each other. We’ll be fighting between ourselves because we’ll want to get an attack in first before we get hurt. No, if we’re serious about making this work, we live up to the code because it’s the right thing to do, not because we’re afraid of the consequences. If you don’t think you can do that, we might as well walk away now and not bother.”

“I’m in!” Taylor surprises me by speaking up. “I think everything you’ve said is so true. I know that some of the things I’ve done have been because I was afraid of getting hurt. I made a pass at someone’s boyfriend because I thought she was spreading rumours about me. She wasn’t, but I figured that she might do it one day, so I made sure I got to her first.”

“You didn’t tell me about that,” Ally says. “Whose boyfriend was it?”

“I’d rather not say.” Taylor looks down at her hands as she fiddles with the hem of her blazer. “It’s not something I’m proud of and I’d rather leave it in the past. It wasn’t anyone in this room, though, so you don’t have to worry about that. But Ivy’s right. I felt terrible afterwards. If I’d just gone and talked to her instead and told her how I felt, we might have become friends. Instead, she takes any opportunity she can get to have a go at me.”

“You should try talking to her now,” I say gently. “It’s never too late. Explain to her about our new girls’ alliance, maybe even invite her to join. We’ll need more than the five of us if we’re going to change the culture of this place. We might be leading the way, but we’ll have to get the other girls to follow if this thing is really going to work.”

“I don’t know,” Taylor says. “We’ve both said and done some horrible things to each other. I’m not sure we can ever come back from that.”

“You should still try,” I advise. “What’s the worst that can happen? Things carry on the way they are now, which isn’t the end of the world, but at least you’ve tried. I reckon you’ll be pleasantly surprised, though. You could gain a new friend. But if you don’t say anything, you know things are going to continue the way they have been and you’re going to continue to be miserable. I know which one I’d prefer.”

“Okay.” Taylor nods. “I’ll talk to her. You’re right. Even if she doesn’t want to listen, I’ll know I’ve tried.”

“We all have to lead by example,” I say. “Nicola, you’re head of House Navarre. I’m head of House Archaic. Everything we do represents our House. We need to start showing people that we live honourably and we work together, not against each other. It might take a little time for people to realise we really do mean what we say, but if we back up our words with deeds, we’ll get there in the end.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Ally beams and we all smile and nod.

I put my hand out into the middle of our group. “Come on, everyone. Girl power on three.”

The others all put their hands on top of mine.

“One… two… three… Girl power!”

We all throw our arms up and yell at the top of our lungs.

I hope my father is listening. He’d be livid to hear that I have no intention of following in his footsteps.

The Houses are going to work together on an even footing. I am not going to let him wipe out the other Houses, because I’d figured out that’s what all these trips to Italy were about. He was clearly building up connections with other Houses out there so they could help him grow his empire. Well, no more. Not if me and my girls have anything to say about it.

---