Page 25 of Wild Fury (Fallen Royals 6)

“Lucille, right?” he calls over his shoulder.

“Theodore.” I plant my feet and cross my arms.

As expected, he stops and gives me his full attention. Like this, here, he’s not so scary. He’s not the bulldozer he is on the field, or the brooding boy in the hallways when we went to school together. He’s not the lost soul who witnessed something unspeakable with me.

He abandons the bike and stalks forward. I hold my ground, and I can’t flinch when he grabs my jaw. I can’t because I’m frozen in place with disbelief. He tilts my head up, to the side, staring hard into my eyes.

“Hmm,” he says. “I know you.”

“We went to school together,” I say.

He nods, but that’s all he does. He doesn’t pick my bike back up. He doesn’t say anything else. He just… leaves me standing there like an idiot.

Long after he’s gone, my face flames. My eyes burn.

And it’s at that moment that I decide he’ll never walk away from me again.

7

Lux

I wake up to my new roommate trying to shove two large suitcases through the door ahead of her. She’s a petite girl with long dark hair and a fringe of bangs cut straight across her forehead. She kicks one of the pieces of luggage through, and it skitters across the tile, then topples onto its side.

Her gaze goes from its dramatic entrance to me, and her eyes widen. “Oh god. Oh no. What a first impression, huh? I’m so sorry. I thought for sure I’d be the first one here.”

I clear my throat. “Ruby, was it?”

“Yes!” She drops the handle of the other suitcase and it, too, falls on its side. She stops just beside my bed, extending her hand.

I take it and shake. Her hand is cool, skin smooth. She squeezes twice, an odd movement, before releasing me.

“Did Felicity tell you anything?” she asks.

“Um, not really. Just that today is move-in day.”

She stares at me a beat, then nods. “Right. Yes, so I’m Ruby, and you’re Lucy—”

“Lux,” I interrupt, smiling sheepishly. “College is the time to reinvent yourself, right?”

I get the impression that Ruby doesn’t know what to make of me. I don’t know what to make of the nonsense coming out of my mouth right now, either. Theo’s the only one to have ever called me Lux, and now I’m inviting a stranger to do the same.

“You sure?” she asks. “I only ask because you made a face just now.”

I sigh. “No, maybe Luce would be better. Or just… Lucy.”

“Well, as long as you don’t call me Rubix Cube, we’ll be fast friends.”

“Deal.”

“So, Luce.” She shoots me a look. “What brings you to LBU West, if not for the secrets? Or rather, keeping secrets?”

I can’t swallow for a moment, a slice of fear flickering through me. I lean forward. “What does that mean?”

She grins. “Everyone has secrets, but LBU West is infamous for collecting those who don’t want to be part of the main campus. It’s our thing. And I did some digging on you.” She abruptly returns to one of the suitcases. Where it fell has propped open the door, but now she drags it forward and locks the door. She pulls her phone from a tiny front pouch and comes back, gesturing to the bed.

I draw my feet in and nod.

She sits cross-legged, facing me, and a pang resounds in my chest. The motion reminds me of Amelie. If she was feeling any particular way strongly, she’d climb in my bed. Sad, angry, trapped, excited. I got all the high emotions dumped on me, because I… I guess I could process them. Or ignore them.

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