Page 34 of Princess Takes Academy
I thought he loved me enough to forgive me. I thought I could walk up to him, throw my arms around his neck, and everything would be wonderful again.
But I’d broken our relationship. I’d broken myself. And I didn’t know how to put all the millions of shards back together again.
At least Mama didn’t say she’d told me so. She’d tried to warn me that things might be different.
Tears fell quicker. My shoulders quivered. I tasted blood. If I allowed a peep to squeak out, I’d fall into full-blown melt-down of epic proportions.
Carys steered me to a chair. Meredith pressed a glass into my hands. I closed my eyes a moment, but as soon as I saw Keras’ face pop up in my mind, I quickly opened them again. I didn’t want to see that look on his face ever again. Even if that meant I never slept. Because I was sure that look was going to haunt my dreams.
“So.” Carys plopped down in an old-fashioned loveseat with a groan. Winnifred glided off her shoulder over to a window seat, where the giant cat had curled up into a fur ball. “The childhood friend has turned against you. The Blood you lost doesn’t want you back. What are you going to do about it, princess?”
She said princess with a snide smile, but at least I’d graduated from guttersnipe. Or maybe she was just feeling sorry for me. I took a sip from the cup and almost choked. The liquid was smooth, thick, and flowery, but with a kick that could only come from fermentation. Maybe some kind of honeyed mead. It was good and heated my stomach, though my throat still burned.
Meredith winked at me and slammed back a healthy shot of the liquor. “You could call it quits. Go home. Hope the boy comes to his senses. Though men generally can’t find their ass with both hands.”
Carys snorted. No wonder they were best friends. “Better yet, you could stay here and rub his nose in it.”
“In what?” I asked.
Carys held out her cup—I hadn’t even seen her drink anything, but she was ready for more. “Did you already forget all the hubbub when those idiotic young warriors caught their first glimpse of you? They’re eager for a queen and all that entails. Power, fame, and status. They won’t be turning to walk away from you anytime soon.”
“Let me tell you a little story before you decide,” Meredith said. “We train hard. Our students aren’t humans. They’re Aima warriors, determined to become the very best warriors possible. They don’t have any other choice, or they wouldn’t be here. They don’t have a court to foster with. They don’t have a queen or nest to go home to. This is all they have. Many of them are outcasts or orphans in that regard.”
Despite the hurt he’d caused me, my heart still ached for Keras. He’d lost his mother and been adopted into House Zaniyah, only to be sent away to an academy for orphans. No wonder he hated me.
“You could go out there right now and tell them you’d only accept a Blood if they’d slit their throats for you, and I guarantee every last one of them would be gasping their last breath on the tile with their throats cut open.”
The image made me shudder. “I don’t want that kind of Blood.”
Meredith leaned forward, her green eyes glinting like frosty emeralds. “The hell you don’t. You’re a queen. It doesn’t matter if you’re the biggest fuck-up of all time with only a drop of power to call your own. You want Blood that never question you. They never fail you. They never judge you. Because that’s not their job. If you fail or make a mistake, they protect you and do everything they can to help you make it right, even if that means they die. That’s what Blood do. If Keras isn’t willing to be that kind of Blood, then you’re better off without him.”
“A Blood who’s willing to walk away from his queen has failed her,” Carys added. “Not the other way around.”
The queens fell silent, leaving me a moment to my own thoughts. I wished I’d been able to recommit my blood to Queen Shara before leaving. I’d love to ask her advice. She had an amazing relationship with her Blood. So did Mama.
:Did any of your Blood ever walk away from you? Or Queen Shara?:
Mama let out a snarl like the jaguars she called.:Never. Remember your promise to her.:
I would only take Blood that I loved as much as Keras.
:I don’t know what to do,:I whispered in my head. Not to Mama exactly, but just in general. I’d spent the last five years plotting how I’d get him back. It’d never occurred to me that maybe he was glad to get away from me.
The day we’d gotten in trouble, he’d called me a spoiled brat. He’d been right then, and he was still right today. I’d never in a million years thought I’d ever lose him forever.
Because Iwasspoiled, beloved and indulged by my parents and my powerful Auntie Shara. I’d never had a single day of want or loneliness until I’d lost my friend. I’d grown up a princess.
The Princess of Unicorns.
If Keras didn’t want to help me regain my power…
Then maybe it was time I find my unicorns after all.
Meredith slapped her thigh and laughed. “Yep, there she is, the little she-devil you warned me about.”
Carys groaned, but the twinkle in her eyes told me she wasn’t as grumpy as she sounded. “The princess takes the Academy of Blood by storm. Goddess help us all.”
I took another sip of the heady liquor, grimacing slightly at the burn down my throat. But I could definitely get used to it. “Do you know where I can find any unicorns?”
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