Princess Ballot: Royals of Arbon Academy

by James Tate

  “What the fuck are you doing in here?” Alex demanded, but the lack of panic in his voice assured me it wasn’t masked intruders come to haul me away for owning a weapon.

  “What are you doing in here?” Nolan snarked back, and I squeezed past Alex to glare at the twins, who’d made themselves at home on my big bed.

  “Alex was walking me back from dinner,” I explained to them, then propped my hands on my hips. “How did you guys beat us? And why are you in my room? How did you even get in here?” I had more questions, but those seemed most important.

  Mattie just rolled her eyes and flopped back into my pillows. “Movie date, remember? You promised.” She gave me a pointed look, then slid her gaze to Alex. “Thanks for seeing our girl back in one piece, champ. You can go now.”

  “Yep, we have it from here, your highness,” Nolan added with a snicker. “Be a darling and close the door behind you.” His level glare left no mistaking—Alex wasn’t welcome for this part of the evening.

  Alex clearly wanted to argue back, but I was just done. So fucking done. Whatever these pre-existing issues were between the students of Arbon Academy, they weren’t my issues and I was too damn tired of being caught in the cross fire.

  “Alex,” I said, laying a hand on his arm and pulling his attention away from Nolan and Mattie. “Thank you. Tonight was… enlightening.” I raised a teasing brow at him to show I wasn’t being bitchy. It would be a lie to say it’d been amazing, but I’d had fun and gotten to know the golden-haired prince a little better.

  The make out sessions hadn’t been half-bad either.

  “Any time, Violet,” he replied, his gaze serious as he tucked some hair behind my ear, then left his hand against my neck. “Maybe I can meet you at the library again tomorrow?”

  Mattie made a sound in her throat, but I ignored her and gave Alex a nod. “Sounds good. You can help quiz me on coding.” I cringed at the mere thought of that class. Needless to say, coding wasn’t something I’d ever been exposed to as a dirt poor orphan girl. The class was like jumping into the deep end of a pool with no floaties and zero clue how to swim.

  Alex beamed. “Absolutely. Enjoy your movie.” His gaze flickered back to my friends sitting on my bed.

  “We will, if this goodbye ever ends,” Nolan sniped, and I rolled my eyes.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow, Alex,” I murmured, holding my door open with a clear indication for him to leave. Not that I wanted him to go, but because it was all too clear that putting Alex in the same room as Mattie and Nolan was like waving a lit match at a barrel of gunpowder.

  The handsome prince started to leave, then turned back and captured my face between his hands. His lips found mine in a quick yet dangerously possessive kiss that left me panting for breath after he was gone.

  A pointed throat-clearing snapped me out of the lusty daze I’d been standing there in, and my face flamed with embarrassment as I turned back to my friends.

  “So, that’s new,” Mattie commented, giving me a flat stare. “What happened to your whole steer clear of the royals plan?”

  I glared back at her. “You happened, Princess Matisse of the Guays. Besides, Alex is really fucking hard to say no to. Even you guys have to appreciate how gorgeous he is.”

  Nolan let out an annoyed sigh. “Gorgeous yes. But beauty is only skin deep, new girl.”

  I frowned. “Maybe you should explain that statement. Tell me why you guys hate Alex so much. He’s only ever been nice to me, which is a hell of a lot more than most people at this school.” Like their other friend.

  Nolan stared back at me for a moment, seeming to debate my request, but then shook his head and patted the bed beside him. “Doesn’t matter. It’s Friday night; we have fun to be had. Come watch movies with us.”

  “I brought snacks!” Mattie added, reaching over the side of the bed and hauling up a huge bag full of snack food. “And look, we set you up a projector, seeing as you didn’t already have one.” She indicated to the small cube of technology attached above the head of my bed. It was aimed to project onto the wall opposite so we could all watch from the comfort of my pillows. So cool.

  “Fine,” I sighed, climbing onto the bed and taking the gap between the twins. “But no funny business, you two.” I meant it as a joke, but only Mattie laughed.

  Nolan just gave me a thoughtful look, then nodded and settled in close enough that we were practically snuggling.

  * * *

  Mattie was first to fall asleep, somewhere around a third of the way into our second movie. I doubted I was far behind her, seeing as my lids were drooping hard when I noticed her soft snores.

  It wasn’t until the mattress shifted that I even knew I’d been asleep at all. Then again, having spent my entire life sharing a room with up to twenty other girls, I slept better with others than I did alone.

  My lashes cracked open, but I immediately froze.

  It’d been Nolan moving off the bed that had woken me, but he wasn’t the only male in the room. Mattie was still curled into my side, snoring softly, so who the fuck was standing near my door? It was definitely a guy, based on height and build, but he was all in black and my room without the projector playing held very little light to illuminate his face.

  “Come on,” the shadowed dude hissed, “we’re late already.”

  I knew that voice. It took me a moment because he was whispering, but that was definitely Jordan. Why was Jordan in my room in the middle of the night? What the hell were they—

  Oh.

  Oh, I knew what they were doing.

  Forcing my body to relax, simulating sleep so as not to alert either boy, I listened carefully.

  “I know, I know,” Nolan whispered back, his voice thick with sleep. He must have dozed off along with us. “Just give me a sec.” He was fumbling around on the floor, searching for his shoes in the dark. Dude had all the stealth of a baby rhino. No wonder he’d been tagged by someone’s blade at their last secret rendezvous.

  “Okay, ready. Let’s go.” Nolan’s whisper sounded a bit more awake, and I already knew what I needed to do.

  The second Nolan and Jordan had slipped out of my room, closing the door behind them with a soft click, I was out of bed, slipping into a black hoodie over my black leggings before tugging on a pair of sneakers. If my suspicions were right, Noles and Jordan were on their way to a royal throwdown that involved blades of some description. If I was wrong, then no harm done. But if I was right… I wanted in. No, scratch that. I needed in. My one and only regret about leaving my old life behind for Arbon Academy was the prospect of never being able to use my hard-learned skills again.

  I debated for about eight seconds if I should take my well-concealed weapon, but just in case I was wrong, I’d leave it tonight. Plus, I had to haul ass or those fuckers were going to disappear on me again.

  It felt right to be dressed in the style of clothes from my old life, all dark and formfitting, because you didn’t take a cape to a knife fight. Quietly I opened the door and slipped out, making sure to lock it behind me because Mattie was asleep and vulnerable.

  The hallway was dark—only a few dim lights up high illuminated it at all—but it was enough for me to catch the back of Nolan’s shirt as he moved around the corner. Moving fast, just short of running, I hauled ass after them, determined to finally find out what the hell was going on in the middle of the night at Arbon Academy.

  It was big; I could feel that in my gut. It would have to be to hold the attention of the royals like this.

  When I got around that first corner, the guys were quite a distance ahead of me, and they were moving in the general direction of the library. When they paused, a few yards from the library entrance, I halted as well, wondering if they’d heard me.

  My heart pitter-pattered hard in my chest, and I all but held my breath in an attempt to limit my noise. There was no light above me, meaning the shadows and my dark clothing hid me almost completely, but if they looked hard enough, they’d find me.
/>
  Neither turned my way, and I strained to see what they were actually doing.

  Then they were gone.

  What the…

  Racing now, my feet were soft and sure as I stepped through the darkness, stopping right where I’d seen them last. It looked like an ordinary wall, smooth up high, with shoulder height wainscoting on the lower half. For many long minutes, I searched along it, trying not to panic because I could not lose them again.

  Running my hands slower, I started to feel panel by panel to see if there was some sort of mechanism that hid a doorway.

  It took me ten minutes, but I finally found the smallest of grooves on one of the side panels. My little fingernail scraped it just as I was about to give up, and I managed to wedge that same nail in under it. There was a small click, and a larger panel popped right open. Ducking my head slightly, I pushed on the panel and it spun inwards. As it turned, depositing me into whatever was on the other side, it clicked shut again, effectively locking me inside the wall. It had happened so fast there had been no chance for me to wedge my foot in like I’d planned.

  Shit.

  Panic swelled almost instantly as the darkness completely engulfed me.

  When I was seven, a family had taken me in for three months. At first they’d seemed like the best thing that had ever happened to me. True Christians on the surface, they’d wanted to pave their way to heaven by helping as many children as they could. Only there was nothing good or godly about them. They were evil assholes who wanted the recognition for their do-gooding, but without the work of actually being good people.

  They’d locked me in their bedroom closet every day for hours and hours. It had been dark, damp, and tiny, and I’d scream and cry until eventually I’d fall asleep, tears streaking my face and arms wrapped around my legs.

  The claustrophobia that I’d developed from that experience had lasted many years, but I’d managed to conquer it, like so many other hurdles in my life. Right now, though, for a brief second, that old panic flared to life.

  Maybe it was the damp scent that washed over me or the absolute darkness.

  How could I move when everything was this black? It was beyond dangerous—I could walk right into a damn hole.

  Pushing back on the door I’d just come through did nothing. I dropped my head into my hands in despair, and the palm reader smacked against my forehead.

  Light. The palm reader had a light. Mattie had shown me where it was, but I couldn’t remember. My brain was too panicked, not to mention it was already worn out from all the school and drama.

  Think, Violet. Use that freaking brain.

  Alex’s voice was in my mind for a moment, reminding me to hit that third button on the side three times.

  Light flared around me, and I had to blink because it was so blinding after the darkness. When my eyes finally adjusted, I was surprised to see that I was in a hallway much like the one I’d walked out of in the school, just a little darker, with stone rather than brick and paneling.

  Curious, and burning to know where Nolan and Jordan had gone, I started down the long corridor only to find it end in a steep staircase. I hurried down it, counting the steps--one hundred and seven--then found another short corridor, followed by another staircase. An entire labyrinth probably existed here, hidden deep beneath the school, and when I finally reached a fork in the road, I knew there was no way I was going to find the guys on my own.

  I ran through my options, dismissing them one by one, until I was left with what I thought was probably the best one. The best but still not great.

  Ugh.

  Lifting the device that had provided me with light, I scrolled through to Nolan’s number.

  I need your help. I typed quickly. Stuck in tunnel you used and don’t know which way to go at the fork.

  Sweat trickled across my brow, and it wasn’t because it was hot in here. My nerves were getting the best of me. What if there was no service or connection down here between palm readers? What if I was lost in here forever, or at least three days before I died from dehydration.

  “Violet!”

  His low voice just about sent me through the ceiling, but I thankfully managed not to scream. “Nolan,” I gasped, pressing a hand to my chest. “You could have given a girl some warning.”

  His glare looked even more ominous than normal with shadows coating half of his face.

  “What the fuck are you doing in here?” he hissed. “If someone had seen you…”

  I snorted. “Uh, you’re in here, and judging by the wound you got last time, you’re in more danger than I am.”

  Nolan reached out and hauled me closer, and then a second later, a black cloth was draped over my head, blocking my vision for a second before I found the eye holes.

  “What?” I garbled, shifting the material until the mouth hole lined up as well and I could speak clearly. “What is this?”

  For once, Nolan looked dead serious as he held me tightly, his hands wrapped around my biceps. “You have no idea what you’ve stumbled into, new girl,” he murmured. “And since I don’t trust you not to follow me again, and possibly find even more danger, you’re staying by my side.”

  Yanking a similar black mask over his own face, Nolan reached out and took my hands. “Stay close to me; don’t say a word. Thank god you’re wearing black and will blend. ”

  Of course, the moment someone told me not to say a word, I wanted to say them all. Starting with “Why do you have two masks?” Maybe he’d grabbed one after I messaged him. Or maybe he was just really really prepared.

  Nolan started to lead me through the network of tunnels, and I shook my head as we took one turn after another after another. I would never have found this on my own.

  “How do you know the way?” I finally whispered, pressing close to his back. His hard muscles stiffened even further, and I backed up a little in case I was making him uncomfortable.

  Nolan spun and, taking my face in his hands, he tilted it up so I was almost looking at the ceiling. “See those white arrows?” he said, voice right beside my ear.

  It took me a second, but I found the small white arrow pretty easily. “You follow the white arrows from Arbon. The other colors are for different starting locations.”

  He started moving again, and this time he was pressing into me, herding me along in front of him. Now that I’d been shown the arrows, it was easy to spot them, and I no longer needed directions.

  The noise hit me before anything else, and as we rounded another turn, there was a huge burst of light allowing me to turn off my palm reader. Nolan switched our positions one more time, blocking me from view.

  “Remember what I said, new girl,” he said, so low I could barely hear him. “Never show your face, and don’t say a word to anyone.”

  “Got it,” I shot back.

  I was no longer paying attention to him, though, because a sound was distracting me. The sound of steel on steel, weapons clashing together. The sound sent a thrill of excitement through me. My fingers itched and flexed as I let myself get lost in the moment. It had been so long.

  Too freaking long.

  I’d thought I would lose my mind without the release of fighting, but maybe, just maybe, I was going to find it here in Arbon.

  “Are you fighting tonight?” I asked Nolan, and even though he was wearing a mask, I knew that he was glaring at me as his head shot around.

  “Not two fucking seconds here and you’re already breaking my rules,” he groaned.

  I just shrugged because what could he do? I was a rule breaker.

  “Are you fighting?” I pushed. We hadn’t made it into the main room yet. I only had lights and sounds to tell me what was at the end of these tunnels, but I already knew in my heart what I’d find.

  And I wanted in.

  “I’m not fighting tonight,” Nolan said. “Everyone is anonymous here—you’ll soon see what I mean—and tonight there are six fights. The main event is Fallen Angel versus Demonica.”

&n
bsp; “You don’t know who any of them are?”

  I found that hard to believe because they all went to these fights together.

  Nolan shook his head. “Nope. We all wear black masks, and then when we fight, we wear our persona. I don’t know what ‘persona’ any of my friends are. That’s the rule of this fight club.”

  That was perfect. Royals couldn’t be charged with weapon fighting, but I could be. Charged and sentenced to death.

  “I want in,” I said in a rush.

  Nolan jerked back like I’d hit him.

  “What? No! No freaking way. Mattie will kill me if you get hurt.”

  I snorted. If only he knew how little he had to worry about me.

  “It’s my life, dude,” I said firmly, “and if you don’t help me, I will find someone who will.”

  His groan rumbled all the way from his chest, and I definitely heard the words “pain in the ass” leave his mouth.

  “Fine, I will show you the way, but you’re too late to sign up for tonight, unless there’s a cancellation.”

  Damn. “Okay, but next time I’m in, okay?”

  Nolan nodded, but I sensed he wasn’t being entirely truthful there. He was going to do his best to keep me out of this, but I knew the way now. I knew the signs. I just didn’t know how to sign up for fights. Maybe it was done on the night. Or there was some sort of list to get on.

  “You’ll need a persona,” he told me, breathing those words out reluctantly.

  “I already have one,” I murmured back, and a sense of peace and contentment filled me.

  Both of my worlds could come together again. My sanity would benefit from this, and I’d be much more focused in school. There was no downside.

  “You’re kind of cocky,” Nolan said as he nudged me to start walking again, heading toward the lights.