Page 97 of Vengeful Princess

“What is the meaning of this?” barked a man in a tweed jacket.

“Just a small misunderstanding, Lionel,” Cassian explained smoothly, throwing Kyril a warning look that said shut the fuck up, I’ll handle this.

The man’s gaze flicked between the two testosterone-fueled idiots, not at all convinced it was a minor disagreement. Thankfully, though, both Dar and Kyril stayed silent.

“I suggest you both take your argument elsewhere,” he grumbled eventually. “The cafeteria is not the place to pick a fight. We have a boxing ring in the gymnasium where young mencan work off their aggression. Consider joining the boxing club if you need an outlet.”

Kyril snorted. I had a feeling the boxing club members would have a literal heart attack if he showed up.

“I’ll leave this in your capable hands, Mr. Forsyth.” Lionel patted Cassian on the shoulder and walked off.

Cassian turned to his friend with a scowl. “Kyril, go cool off, yeah?” Kyril muttered something in Russian but stood his ground.

Dar threw away the napkin he’d used to mop up blood and then cast one final scathing look at me before he stormed off.

Landon moved closer, sliding an arm around my waist. “You OK?” he asked. I nodded. I wasn’t OK at all, but he didn’t need to know that. Cassian stared at me for a moment and my teeth clenched, waiting for him to ask how I knew Dario.

The seconds ticked by, but he said nothing. His expression gave very little away. The guy was a consummate politician, just like his father.

Was he aware of what Kyril and I had done last night?

“I better go talk to Dario, find out what’s going on,” he said eventually. “Maybe this will encourage the admin office to find him a new room.”

“I fucking hope so,” Landon muttered.

Milo stood silently, soaking it all up, watching and listening without getting involved. When I looked his way, his gaze was on me. Kyril’s too.

Conversations had picked up again now that the drama had fizzled out. More than a few of the students nearby were still staring at me and gossiping, some of them recording us with their phones. Probably discussing the salacious things Dar had said and posting shit online.

My skin itched uncomfortably. As much as I didn’t care what people thought of me, I hated being the center of attention.

Before anyone could react, I’d escaped Landon’s arms and was half-way across the cafeteria, heading for the exit. My phone buzzed in my pocket. Eden was calling me. No doubt she’d heard something on the college grapevine already. Everyone must be talking about the fight between Dar and Kyril.

Nobody usually fought Kyril and lived to tell the tale.

I burst outside, sucking in a few lung fulls of freezing air. It helped to quell all the feelings doing their best to erupt. I had a class in ten minutes but fuck that.

No way could I sit through a turgid lesson on contract law or some such bullshit. Why was I even here, anyway?

A few people stared as I headed back to my room, but I ignored all of them. My stomach churned uncomfortably, probably from the pill I’d taken.

By the time I reached my room, Eden had called me no less than 10 times. I also had missed calls from Landon and Kyril.

I switched my phone off, tossed it on the floor, and crawled back into bed. While I’d slept like the dead after my romp in the forest, catching a few more hours of sleep seemed like an excellent idea.

Sadly, it wasn’t to be.

Less than ten minutes later, someone started hammering on my door. I tried ignoring them, but the noise just got louder.

“I know you’re in there! Let me in!”

For fuck’s sake.With a sigh, I dragged myself off the bed and flung the door open.

“I was asleep!”

Eden glared at me. “Liar.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Her expression softened.

---