Page 22 of Swamp Princess

“Like?”

“Nothing important.” Blaise looks at me for a moment before he looks back at the ceiling.

“Nothing with any of the kings of Warren is ever just nothing, Blaise.”

“What did Vince want?”

He is avoiding my question, and that makes me slightly uncomfortable. “When you tell me what Damien wanted, I will tell you why Vince was there.”

Sighing loudly, he shakes his head. “Brinley, just trust me, okay. I know what I am doing. Please, tell me what Vince wanted.”

I study his face and see some stress leaking through the calm façade he is now trying to put up. “He came to remind me of my mother’s payment and ask for a kiss.” I stop myself from telling him about the possibility of having a sibling until I get confirmation from the woman herself.

“I promise, Brinley, I am working on something. You won’t have to marry Vince.” I know he isn’t going to answer me about his talks with Damien and I won’t tell him about the bomb drop from Vince, so I move on to a safer topic.

“You want kids with me?”

I hear him chuckle. “Yes, Brin. I want to have everything with you. I see my future with you in it. No matter what happens, I want you by my side. I want to see your belly swell one day, and know we are going to be the best parents.”

Hearing his words makes my heart flutter harder. Blaise wants and sees a future with me in it. I have always planned my future with the thought of him, but hearing him say it back makes me giddy.

“I’ve always seen a future with you, Blaise. I was always planning on taking us out of the swamps.”

Now Blaise looks at me and his face is serious. “What if I wanted to stay in the swamps, would you be with me?”

I never thought that he would want to stay, never in my planning did I think staying would be an option.

“You would want to stay?”

“I don’t know, Brin, but what if I did want to?”

“I don’t know, honestly. I never thought that staying here would really be a part of someone’s plan for the future.” I frown. “Would you follow me, Blaise?”

His lips thin and I know the answer, he doesn’t know. “Let’s enjoy the present. When we come to the future, then we make a decision.”

At least he doesn’t outright say no. It doesn’t make me feel any better. I don’t know what I would do if Blaise asked me to stay. I have bigger dreams out of the Swamps which is why I applied for the Skystead Prep scholarship. I want doors to open for me, not outright close in my face.

Another knock on the door has me flinching. It is a sharp knock, so I am praying it is not a teacher.

“I will get it.” Blaise stands and looks back at me as he throws on just his sweats. “Are you expecting anyone?”

“No, so I am hoping it is not a teacher.” I cover myself and wait until Blaise opens the door to see the last three people I would expect to see. Remington, Loyal and Kingston stand there staring at Blaise before looking behind him to me.

I see the surprise cross their face before they all look back at Blaise. Kingston is the one who starts running his mouth.

“What the fuck are you doing here, swamp trash? This school is for Skystead only.”

Blaise leans against the doorframe, and I know from this pose he is giving off ‘go fuck yourself’ vibes. “How about you fuck off. Do you have nothing better to do than stalk the halls like creeps?” I watch Remington stiffen while Loyal raises his eyebrows.

Kingston steps closer to Blaise, and I sit up, making sure the sheet is still covering me. I feel the tension in the air, and I lean down to reach my shirt, hoping to put it on without exposing myself.

“Why don’t you just take yourself back over the tracks before this gets ugly.” Kingston is puffing his chest out more than usual.

“Please, tell me rich boy, what the fuck you think you can do to me?” Blaise still looks like he is casually leaning against the doorway, but I can see the tension in his posture. I hear it in his voice like a tight wire that is about to snap.

“You really want to find out?” Remington now steps forward along with Loyal. I grab my underwear and wiggle into them under the blanket as Kingston shoves Blaise.

“Stop!” I shout as Blaise shoves back. I know this is going to get really bad if they keep going. In slow motion, I watch as Kingston tries to throw a punch at Blaise and Blaise ducks and slams him in the stomach and they both fall into the hallway.

---