The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy



I open my mouth to say more, to explain everything, but Jackson wraps a gentle hand around my arm.noveldrama

"They already know about what Blythe said about Juniper," Jackson whispers to me. I turn my face up to him in surprise. "I told them when you were in the shower."

"We have a call out to mom," Rafe says quietly, looking at me curiously. "But you don't have...like any idea about how he knew her? Just that she said something to him about...you?"

I shrug, shaking my head. "I don't know anything else," I say. "I was trying to get out of there as fast as I could. God, I should have -"

"Don't, Ari," Jesse says, looking at me sadly with his kind brown eyes. "There's no way you could have known."

I let my eyes drop to the floor. "Two," I whisper, exhausted. "Two boys dead in one day."

"It's horrible," Rafe agrees, nodding. "But if it helps...you saved a great deal more."

I look up at him, not understanding.

He leans forward towards me. "You're right, Ari - we were shit with those guns. We had one, maybe two full days of training on them. If you hadn't used your magic and taken down those helicopters, they'd have continued firing. They'd have taken many, many more of us out and gotten behind our lines. You saved a lot of lives yesterday."

I swallow hard around the thickness in my throat, considering that. And even though it does nothing to dull how much I miss Tony, how sorry I am about Blythe...it does help.

I nod to him, grateful for the perspective.

But Rafe just sighs and stands. "We have to go."

Jacks stands up and puts me on my feet, clearly hating to do it but knowing he has a responsibility.

“Come on, trouble," Jesse says, holding out a hand to me. "Let's go bother Daphne. Drink a bunch of her wine."

A little smile turns the corners of my mouth as I slip my hand into my cousin's and give it a squeeze.

A little cry bursts from Daphne's lips

as she opens the door and sees us standing there. I frown in confusion at the little grey cat sitting on her shoulder, but there's no time to think about it as she falls forward

wrapping me in a hug the moment I step into the room. Content belongs

"I'm so sorry," she whispers, holding me tight. "I heard what happened - it's so horrible -"

I start to cry again, unable to help it, hating myself for it just a little bit. But hating so, so much more that Tony's gone.

"Now now, don't get her started Daphne, we just got her dry," Jesse murmurs, his voice filled with sad humor.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Daphne murmurs, pulling away from me and wiping at her own wet face, the little cat peering at me curiously.

"When...when did you get a pet?" I murmur, lifting a hand towards it.

"It's Jesse's," Daphne says, turning now towards him with her arms open. Jesse steps immediately into them, wrapping her up in a hug, pulling her tight against him. I can't help but smile a little to see them together like that, even as sniff and shut the door.

"How was mittens?" Jesse murmurs, pressing a kiss to her hair. "Did he behave? Sometimes he gets creative with his definition of a litter box."

"Oh, shut up and kiss me, you idiot," Daphne snarls. Jesse just laughs and complies with her demand, kissing her deeply. I let them have their moment, following the little cat as he jumps off of Daphne's

et

shoulder and walks over to the bed.

“Hello,” I murmur, bending down to study his pretty little face, but then I gasp when I realize that he's not quite real, is he? No, he's not just smokey grey - he's made of shadows. "Jesse!" I gasp, spinning towards him.

"What?" Jesse asks as Daphne turns in his arms and leans back against his chest. He rests his chin on her head and I pause a second, smiling, because the two of them together is just so...

Cute.

Daphne's face breaks into a grin as she senses my thoughts, and I can't help smiling back at her.

The kitten jumps on me though, distracting me into a little laugh as he climbs from one of my shoulders to the other, scrabbling across the back of my neck. "Are you making him do that?" I ask Jesse, fascinated.

"Sort of," Jesse says with a little frown. "But when I made him I gave him like...a personality, so he would make Daphne laugh while I was gone. He didn't disappear?"