Page 217 of The Tribrid Princess and the Taste of Chaos
It’s been a day since Shahira’s been in the hospital.
“Yeah,” I answer, half-heartedly with a sigh.
“Shahira will be fine,” Allie adds, knowing it’s been on my mind. “I wonder if it’s some kind of disease that can be spread through the air or by contact. Everyone is baffled.”
Guilt gnaws at me as I nod. “Yeah, I’m devastated. She’s amazing.” I fiddle with my phone, thinking of Jayce once again.
They both raise an eyebrow, and Allie wrinkles her nose. “You got it bad…”
I crack a smile before forcing a giggle. I can’t risk their lives, and if that means I need to keep my act together, then I will.
“You know, with me being in a division already, I don’t really get to spend as much time with you as you two do with each other, so make sure you are there for each other, ok?” I say lightly. “No matter what.”
Heaven’s brow furrows. “Excuse me? That’s such a random thing to say.”
“Ahuh, considering we didn’t see you often before we joined the Academy. We’ll all be there for one another, alright. Now don’t get mushy,” Allie says with a yawn.
“I know, but knowing you’re here and being unable to hang with you sucks in its own way, but don’t worry, I have Jayce!”
Heaven tosses her hair before wrinkling her nose. “You better not choose him over us. It seems you already do. Anyway, I agreed to go on a date with someone.” She smiles now.
Allie and I both look at her in shock. “What?” Allie asks, sitting upright, her eyes narrowing.
“Yeah, Holden, he’s in our year,” Heaven explains. “He asked me out, and well, I thought, why not? He’s pretty impressive in combat, and he has an excellent reputation when it comes to weapon mastery.”
I blink as I try to place a face to Holden. I can’t, however, I’m more shocked Heaven’s chosen someone, but unlike Allie, I’m excited for her! “I don’t remember him at all, but do explain.” I smile.
Heaven tilts her head. “Well, he’s handsome, with light brown hair, looks sandy, sky-blue eyes, and he even comes from a remarkable family.”
“But you ain’t dating the family, sooo that doesn’t count,” Allie declares.
“Well, it means he’s an impressive guy, but it’s early days. We’ve only sparred during training and-”
“Argh! I knew something was up when you seemed completely fine sparring with others. Now you’re both going to chill with your dudes… but it’s fine. I like being alone sometimes.” She nods grimly, but she’s right; she doesn’t seem bothered.
I smile at Heaven. I’m truly happy for her. “You need to introduce me to Holden at some point.”
“First, let’s see how the date goes.” She smiles slightly before tossing her hair over her shoulder. “Now stop talking, both of you and let’s get back to studying.”
I nod as I pick up my own book and smile softly.
They’ll be ok… they have each other.
I’m sorry, girls, I hope you can forgive me, but I’m not so sure they can. How many times have I kept things from them?
Far too many.
And at what point does it become one time too many?
Jayce
Between going throughthe tomes and skimming through hours of footage from the library, I’m exhausted, and I’m relieved I returned to the Academy yesterday. I got to see Sienna again after six days.
The tomes are now locked away, aside from the one I brought with me to read. It’s one of the ones Dad worked on, but I want to go through all of them myself. We’ve learned a lot, and it is information the enemy would kill for… information anyone would kill for. It gives us a step forward, but it also means the enemy won’t rest until they get what they want.
Anyone with this knowledge is at risk, which is for certain.I can see the target on their back if anyone finds out that they carry this information.
I frown as I slow the video, picking up on movement once again. Just a student… I massage my temples as I continue going.
