Page 51 of Spearcrest Knight

“Pretty good, actually,” he answers with a level of confidence I could never hope to achieve. “I think you’ll be impressed come results day.”

Zachary’s eyes move from Evan to me, and I suddenly remember my goal to stay under the radar this year. I’ve already had more run-ins with the Young Kings than is wise.

So I bite back a sarcastic reply and instead go for a diplomatic comment and a quick escape. “Well done on your hard work, I guess. I have to go, see you later!”

I make my tactical retreat, all but running out the doors and into the icy winter sunlight. Still, even when I’m outside I can’t help the feeling that Evan and Zachary’s gazes are following me. I shake my head slightly.

It’s probably just paranoia.

Evan

AssoonasSophiehas disappeared into the alleyway of trees leading to the rest of the campus, Zachary turns his head and lifts an eyebrow.

“Sophie Sutton,” he says. “I see.”

My cheeks are suddenly hot. I’m thankful for the cold breeze rushing in to cool them down.

“You see what, Zach?”

“Well, it’s always been Sophie, hasn’t it?”

Zach reaches down for my backpack and passes it to me. I take it absent-mindedly. “She’s just tutoring me in English for Miss Bailey’s mentoring programme.”

“Right,” Zach says as we slowly go down the steps of the assembly hall. “But I mean, it’s always been Sophie. Even when it was Giselle, or Freya, it was still Sophie.”

“Whatwas still Sophie? Why are we talking in riddles? This is why I don’t like Lit students. They always read too much into shit.”

“You’ve liked Sophie since Year 9. No riddle there.”

“Right, so I had a tiny crush on Sophie in Year 9—so what? That was fucking stupid—that was nothing. Did I not make up for it? Did you not see me make her life hell all these years?”

Zach raises an unimpressed eyebrow. “So, you figured out Luca likes having the girls you like, and you did your best to keep her as far from reach as possible. If anything, that just proves my point.”

“What is this, Zach? This isn’t a court of law, man. There’s nothing to prove. I’m not on trial.”

“Alright,” Zach says, stopping in his tracks.

We stand in the middle of the path, facing each other. The day is bright and cold, and it’s clear Zach is about to say something particularly annoying.

“Alright,” he repeats. “Sophie is smart and pretty, so if I wanted to ask her out, that should be fine.”

“No,” I say immediately. “You better fucking not, Zach.”

“Right,” he says with a little shrug. “Because you like her.”

“I don’t like her. She’s a stuck-up, moody, uptight little kiss-ass. We barely get on. I don’tlikeher, I…” I try to figure out a way of explaining how I feel about Sophie, why the thought of Sophie going on a date with any guy feels wrong. “Iwanther.”

It really is the only explanation I can give. Because I can hardly explain to Zach I want to fight Sutton, play with her, test my strength against hers, defeat her in combat. That would sound crazy.

Itiscrazy. Something that only makes sense between Sophie and me.

But Zach, as unmoved as usual, simply says, “Right. So then have her.”

“I can’t justhaveher. She’s a human being, not a thing. And Sophie… ugh, she’s such a fucking pain in the ass. You can’t justtakeSophie. You have to, I dunno… you have toearnher. She’s like the princess in the tower: you have to fight and defeat the dragon first. Except that she’s also the fucking dragon. Does that make sense?”

“Inside your crazy little American skull, I’m sure it does,” Zachary says drily.

“Oh, fuck you. You sound just like her.”

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