Page 62 of Soulless Rivalry

Briar sighed in relief. “Oh thank God! God knows I’ll need all the support and friendly faces I can get.”

“You don’t. You’re the best, babes!” Sinem put her hand on our friend’s on the table and both girls shared a smile.

“Who got White Swan, by the way?”

Briar snorted, spearing a piece of strawberry with her fork. “Korolova, of course. Viola didn’t stand a chance against us both,” she smirked.

She wasn’t cocky by any means, but her disdain for Viola outweighed her friendliness. I couldn’t blame her. To hear that my awful cousin didn’t get the role brought me some level of satisfaction, I couldn’t lie.

The rest of the meal was spent animatedly chatting about Briar’s role and what we planned on doing to celebrate it. I finished eating breakfast, hungry as fuck since I’d barely eaten anything at dinner last night.

Just as the thought crossed my mind, a flashback from yesterday evening came to mind. Konstantin’s hand on my waist, his tongue playing with mine, our moans and groans filling up the space of the pool room.

Like he’d been summoned, Konstantin entered the dining hall, looking like he always did, perfectly put together. My breath caught in my throat when I saw him and I felt myself blush.

As soon as his eyes dropped to mine, he maintained my gaze, slowly making his way toward his friends’ table. He looked me over, icy stare traveling from my head down to my chest, since the rest of me was hidden behind the table. He licked his lips before breaking eye contact and sitting down with his crew. I released a breath I hadn’t even known I’d been holding, closing my eyes and centering myself again.

Last night had been… unexpected.

When I snuck out of the secret room in the morning, I really had all intentions to stop whatever it was we were doing, butafter last night… I knew I couldn’t. We made out for a good part of the night before simply lying there, my head on his chest while looking up at the ceiling. Then he walked me back to my room silently and left. All that without a word.

I think we were both trying to process things. In a few months, we went from him blackmailing me, to discovering secrets together, to him killing someone in cold blood for me, to… this weird attraction that left us both mindless with desire.

“Hello? Earth to Elyssa.” Sinem agitated her hand in front of my face, bringing my thoughts back to the present. I smiled apologetically before asking her to repeat. “I was asking if you had plans for Christmas break.”

I frowned, the subject somehow sensitive to me although she couldn’t have known. “Not really. I’ll just study and watch movies with Mia, I guess.”

Sinem looked confused. “Your family doesn’t celebrate Christmas? New Year’s Eve?”

I looked down at my plate, suddenly at a loss for words. How do you tell a new friend that your familydidcelebrate those holidays, but you simply were not invited? I didn’t want Sinem’s idea of me to be tinted with pity, but at the same time, I wasn’t sure I should lie to her about it if we were going to be friends. She’d learn sooner or later.

Thank God for my best friend, though, because Briar immediately knew this conversation made me uncomfortable. “Actually, I was gonna ask if you’d like to come over for Christmas this year. Nonno loves you and he’s been asking about you every time I have him on the phone.”

My eyes widened, both in surprise and happiness. I nodded my head before I could even think it through. “Yeah I’d love that, B.”

She smiled and winked at me, before dragging Sinem into another conversation. I couldn’t put into words how grateful I was for her.

Rummagingthrough bookshelves and looking for books on old, forgotten Greek deities was no easy feat. I had always considered the Academy’s library to be rich and full of answers, but today was proving me wrong.

The paranoid part of me thought that maybe all books about it had been removed to keep people from discovering it, but I forced myself to push those thoughts away. If only I had the journal with me, things would be so much easier, but I forgot it in the secret room the morning I snuck out.

Getting on the tip of my toes to grab the book on the top shelf, I huffed when I still couldn’t reach it, falling back on my heels with a curse.

I was about to go get a ladder when a hand reached out from behind me to get it. I gasped, immediately spinning around and coming face to face with the one person I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about lately.

Neither of us talked for the longest time. I think we were both too shy to do so. We never really met up in the daytime, especially not somewhere so open that anyone could see us.

We were on the last floor of the library, so it was pretty rare for people to come and study here, but still.

“Hi,” he whispered, his breath fanning my lips.

“Hey.”

Konstantin’s eyes roamed all over me, taking in my uniform, the golden belt around my waist, and the bangles on my wrist.

“You look good. Beautiful.”

The way he said that felt unnatural, and forced, but not in a way that would imply that he didn’t mean the words. More like he wasn’t used to saying them. As if to prove my thoughts, a soft blush appeared on the top of his cheekbones and he was unable to hold my gaze.

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