Page 85 of Vicious Princess
I lower my voice. “She threatened me right before the mission. She said if I were to come out alive, she’d tell the administration about us. That’s why I said it’s not good for us to be seen.”
“I see. Has she made any more remarks after that? Made any moves that you know of?”
I shrug.
Daegel is silent for a moment, lost in thought.
“Why are you so calm about it?” I push myself off the bookshelf. “If she goes to the administration, I’ll be expelled and you’ll be… I don’t know, fired? Demoted?”
Daegel nods. “They’ll strip me off my rank and achievements. All the doors will be closed for me when it comes to my career. I’ll be assigned administration duty for the rest of my life.”
“That’s awful, Daegel. We can’t be seen together.” I whirl on my heel and press my forehead against the shelf. “Fuck. I had a chance to kill her quietly during the mission, but I didn’t.”
His hand on my shoulder is soothing. “Of course, you didn’t. Your moral compass is too strong for something like that.”
I can’t tell if he means it as a good thing or a bad thing. I’m not even sure he knows what he’s saying. I had no issue ending Yal’s life. Or killing those four guards.
I turn to face him again. He doesn’t look nervous or distressed about what I told him.
Daegel cups my cheek and brushes a thumb over my lips. “We’ll be more careful in the future and use the mentor permission slip to train outside the castle grounds.”
“I don’t think that solves our problem,” I say, but lean into his touch. “How do I make sure she remains quiet?”
“You don’t worry about that, princess,” he says, voice full of icy threat. “I’ll take care of that. You focus on nailing your training so you graduate Ezkai Academy with an offer to join the Order.”
I blink at him. “I can’t just forget about it.”
He cups my face with both hands now and brings his own face closer. “Do you trust me?”
I search his gaze for a few heartbeats, then check my gut before answering, “A little bit?”
He smirks, eyes dropping to my mouth. “Clearly we have room for improvement. But trust me on this one. I’ll take care of it. Nightingale will not compromise your future or mine.”
When he brings his mouth to mine again, it’s sweet and chaste.
He pulls away quickly and clears his throat. “Now, Cadet Wildarrow, as your mentor, I want to speak to you about your history and politics test results.”
I scoff. “Seriously?”
Daegel doesn’t say anything, just arches an eyebrow.
I shrug. “What about it?”
“I had a conversation with Ezkai Gavriel, and he told me that’s the lecture you struggle with the most.”
“I did struggle with it the most at the start, yes. But I’ve been here in this library every day after dinner, before I train with you,” I say defensively. “I’m learning as quickly as I can. Last lecture I answered all the questions Ezkai Gavriel asked me!”
“Good.” Daegel nods and heads to my desk. “Let’s see how much you’ve managed to cram until now.”
I follow him. He settles on the chair across from me and grabs the book I’m currently studying. Quickly, he scans the cover and flips through the pages.
Slowly, I take my seat and wait to see where this is going.
Without looking up from the book, he asks, “The year the Third War took place?”
“Two thousand years before the Great Continent Separation, which was a consequence of the Third War.”
A few more flips through the pages. “What’s the symbol of the Ezkai General?”
