Page 77 of Theirs to Ruin

I stared him down but didn’t confirm or deny his blatant attempt at fishing. “Seriously, what do you want, Kage?” I moved over to my bed and sat down cross-legged on the mattress.

His eyes hardened as he turned serious. “I wanted to make sure you were okay.” His gaze dropped to my arm, wrapped in a bandage.

“I know how to dress a wound,” I mumbled, hating that I cared what he thought about me.

He took my arm in his hands and slowly unwrapped the bandage. I let him, ignoring the sparks his touch sent tingling up my arm.

“Your arm isn’t the only thing that needs attention,” he said quietly.

“Meaning?”

“You’ve got to be struggling emotionally.” His touch was soft, his hands gentle as he examined the cut. “All the bullying and the hate. The guilt over not being able to help Ava…”

“I’m doing okay,” I whispered, but neither of us believed that.

“Really? You’re okay with taking everyone’s shit every day?” He pulled a travel-sized pouch of antibiotic cream out of his jeans and spread it on my wound.

“What other choice do I have? They’ll move onto someone else eventually.”

Kage’s eyes bore into me. “Go before the Student Council.”

I yanked my arm away. The Student Council was a secret student organization that dealt with transgressions against students without involving CU admin or our families. Its members had been chosen for their objectivity, influence, and ability to deliver verdicts. For cases brought before them, the Council was judge, jury, and in most cases, punisher.

Maybe even executioner.

Kage was part of that group.

A hysterical laugh burst out of me. “You're joking, right? Let a bunch of elitist students who hate me decide my fate?”

“No.” He gently took my arm and slowly, methodically, rewrapped the dressing. “I’m not joking. And not everyone is against you, Rebel.”

“Everyone with a voice is,” I argued. “They’ve already painted me as the villain; there's no justice for me there. The best thing I can do is lie low and hope things blow over.”

Without warning, Kage’s fingers gently wrapped around my throat and tilted my face up so I was staring directly into his eyes. His tall frame dwarfed mine as I sat on my bed. As vulnerable as I sometimes felt around Kage, his hand around my throat didn’t scare me. But that didn’t mean I was going to trust a group of students just because he did.

“Camille.” His brow furrowed in frustration. “The Council is made up of students, but they're impartial. They have to be. Let them hear you out.”

“Why, though?” I stared at him. “And why areyoupushing this, of all people? Is this something you need? To have a bunch of students confirm I didn’t kill Ava? Are you starting to doubt it?”

“No.” He paused, a flicker of annoyance passing through his eyes, then he took a deep breath. "Look, I won't pretend to know what happened with my sister. The grief, the anger—it's all still raw. But I do believe you didn't do it. This is for you, not for me. If the Council finds you innocent?—"

“They won’t. You know that. It’s just my word. There’s no evidence to exonerate me.”

His eyes narrowed. “And there’s no evidence to implicate you, either. Even if the Council just rules that, it could make some students back off.”

“Some, not all,” I retorted stubbornly.

“No. But at least the numbers might be in your favor.”

I remembered what my dad said at the hospital about leaving CU. He wanted to protect me. Find me a husband. Even Bianca believed in the benefit of arranged marriages.

Maybe I should give it a shot.

Letting someone else take over my shitshow of a life suddenly sounded like the out I needed. I could let my troubles go. Live on auto-pilot.

Never love, but never grieve or long for more.

“Thanks for the support,” I finally said. “I think I just need to get away from here for a while. Maybe forever. My dad wants me to see theconciliantis.”

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