by Lina Jubilee
“You can’t always be the one people rely on,” said Sage quietly. “You deserve someone looking out for you too.”
I opened my mouth as I turned back to Sage and shut it. I didn’t know what to tell him because I didn’t know what to tell myself yet.
“Don’t push yourself,” said Sage, heading back toward the limo.
I didn’t get to ask if he was referring to physical exertion or matters of the heart before he climbed inside the vehicle, shut the door, and left.
My heart aflutter, I walked toward the front door of the Academy, knowing I was about to pass all three princes and entirely unsure what to say to them. The grounds were deserted, but I knew a class period was about to end, and the corridors would flood with students soon enough.
All three men stopped talking, Rio’s laughter cutting out last as I neared. Then they turned toward me.
The only other people around were Trey’s guards, who were some feet away lingering near the driveway, consulting with someone over the phone. Connak and his Nelian guard had said their goodbyes to me and were headed to a spot in the yard where they expected to find a portal to Nelia in a matter of moments.
Everyone else was out of earshot.
I clasped my hands together in front of my thighs, shuffling one foot on the ground.
“Bryony.” Rio spoke first.
“Bry,” added Zeke.
“Princess Bryony of Nelia,” said Trey.
Then they all got down on their knees in front of me.
“Will you marry me?” they asked as one.
I hadn’t ever dreamed that when someone asked me that question, I’d retreat, backing up and staggering away, my jaw cracked open in shock because words had simply failed me.
Chapter Eighteen
There was avoiding a difficult decision and avoiding people involved in that decision entirely, and I sadly fell into that second category.
It was Tuesday and I hadn’t wound up attending any classes after my rude, if instinctual, retreat to my dorm room after being asked to wed not one, not two, but three princes. I hadn’t known what to say. I couldn’t choose one of them so easily, not after one date.
I thought none of them had wanted to marry me just because our parents had suggested it.
Which led me to believe that our dates had gone so well that… That… I shivered as the thought of each one of them flashed through my mind. I’d had mind-blowing dates with each of them. How was I supposed to choose?
And Derek… I simply couldn’t fathom picking just one.
But now the princes probably all hated me after my reaction to their proposals. Mom had stopped by to check in on me and I’d practically gone catatonic when she’d tried to talk to me about it—I supposed word had gotten around somehow. So she’d let it go. Even Rajani had tread on careful ground last night.
But today… Today was a new day.
I was so determined to pretend that today was just another day that I’d been up and ready for class bright and early. Here I was in political science, trying to pay attention, but my thoughts drifted every few seconds.
I know we’re royals, but they can’t be serious. Proposals already? They don’t even properly know me.
My heart thundering, my groin throbbing, I knew one way I really wanted to get to know them.
But that didn’t have to involve formal proposals.
“Bry,” whispered Rajani.
I snapped up. Everyone in class was staring at me. Pepper and Hazel were over in the corner just about shooting lasers at me with their minds. Professor Kouta, our instructor, shook his head and repeated the question.
“What year did America ban the production of single-use plastics?” he asked. “Bryony, are you all right? I know you’ve been through a lot lately.”
Pepper didn’t even try to stifle her giggle.
“I’m fine,” I said. “Um, 2025,” I answered, not certain I wasn’t off by a year or two. I knew these things, but right now, I couldn’t care less about keeping track of all the tiny details.
“Professor?” asked Hazel, her hand above her head. “Can I ask why single-use plastics were banned instead of more pointless things like, say, amusement park rides?” Her brow narrowed as her eyes rested on me.
Like I had anything to do with inventing roller coasters.
“Well,” said Professor Kouta, scratching his cheek with his left hand, a glint of light bouncing off his wedding ring, “you have to look at the effects single-use plastics had on the planet, far, far worse than any individual ride, which relies on solar-powered-produced electricity these days. Put into wide use in the mid-20th century, in fewer than a hundred years, they were polluting our water sources, our…”
Staring out the window, I found my attention drifting once more until the bell rang overhead.
“Don’t forget about your essays,” said Professor Kouta as everyone started exiting the classroom. “They’re due before spring break. Drop them off digitally before no later than Friday.” He looked up. “Miss Haddix, a moment?”
Rajani and Derek lingered at the door, their tablets clutched to their chests, but I waved them on. Hazel and Pepper were already in the hallway behind them, Sheila meeting up with them, their clique noticeably devoid of one member. Sheila whispered to Hazel and she glared at me through the open classroom door, clearly wishing her abilities involved smiting someone with a look.
“Miss Haddix, you missed yesterday’s test,” said Professor Kouta, oblivious to where my mind was.
I had? Oh, right. I’d known all about it last week when my life had seemed headed in an entirely different direction. “I’m sorry,” I said, and I was. Going into shock over proposals didn’t exactly make for the best excuse for missing a test.
Professor Kouta crossed his broad arms and leaned back against his desk in the corner of the classroom. “It’s twenty percent of your grade. I’m sure you’d have no trouble retaking it, but I don’t know if it’s fair to give you more time than your classmates to study.”
“No, that’s fine,” I said, swallowing. “I mean, I can take it right away if you’d like.”
Professor Kouta’s eyes narrowed a moment. “Okay. We can schedule it after your classes. Meet me in the library at… What’s a good time for you?”
“Six,” I said, allowing myself some time to grab food. Although with the way my stomach was acting up, I wondered if I’d ever manage to get much food down again.
“All right,” said Professor Kouta, shuffling some papers on his desk. When he spoke again, he was already in the classroom doorway, clicking off the lights with a wave of his hand. “Miss Haddix? Are you sure you’re well?”
Still, my eyes couldn’t pull away from the window, where I realized with a start that I was looking at a Nelian portal ripping into existence some distance away in the yard, behind the giant oak tree.
“Yes,” I said in answer to his question. Out of the portal stepped a guard, his posture stiff, his expression clearly agitated. He whipped around and spoke to someone still in Nelia on the other side of the portal, his lips curling. I couldn’t quite make out his face from here, but from that profile… Connak?
And then one of the princes’ bodyguards—I wished I had gotten to know them, I couldn’t remember whose, so many of them had brown hair—appeared from the direction of the guest wing of the Academy, heading toward the portal with bold strides. His sunglasses seemed unnecessary in the overcast light, but they did seem to complete the guard look. As his arms swung in time, his jacket kept riding up his sleeves, like it was a bit too small for him.
The portal shut closed as quickly as it had opened, Connak whirling around to the bodyguard, his back to me. No one followed him out of the portal.
“Miss Haddix?” repeated Professor Kouta.
I finally turned around. “Right, thank you,” I said, scrambling out the door so he could lock it, dashing down the hall to the open part, where sunlight streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling windows. But b
y the time I got there, zipping around a few wandering students, there was nothing by the oak tree to see.
“Bry!” Rajani jogged up to me from wherever she’d been waiting. Her mouth lingered open a second and then her eyes drew together as she studied me. “What happened? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
I did? Smoothing my hair down with my free hand not clutching my tablet, I thought back to what I’d seen.
What had I seen? A Nelian guard coming back from Nelia in almost precisely the same place they always did. A prince’s bodyguard conferring with him, just as they had during all my dates. It was probably a security thing.
Nelians usually used Veras Academy as their springboard onto Earth. I’d just never seen a portal that far off behind the oak tree before. Out of sight. But could I say I’d ever really paid such things any mind?
“I’m…” I let out a wry chuckle and shook my head. “I have a lot on my mind.”
“I know,” she said, her face brightening once more. “And I have a proposal for you…”
My face must have darkened at the word because she winced.
“Poor choice of words,” she said. “But you’ll want to hear me out.”
Rajani and Derek waited with me in the library after we’d grabbed some sandwiches for dinner. It was quarter to six, and I figured I ought to get some cramming in for the political science test I’d missed.
Though Derek’s honor as a student, of course, wouldn’t let him help me study, not when he knew what was on the test.
Rajani had fewer qualms. “Don’t focus so much on the first publicly revealed Natches,” she said, reaching across the table to swipe at my tablet. “I thought it would be a big deal, but it was like one question.”
Derek cleared his throat and Rajani shrugged her shoulders apologetically as she slunk back into her seat. “Have you asked them yet?”
“I haven’t spoken to any of the princes since yesterday.” I looked to Derek to see what he thought of that, but his expression remained unusually guarded. He hadn’t asked me about the proposals once all day, though I knew there was no way he hadn’t heard about them.
A few tables over in the library’s group study area, a table of teenage girls were all huddled around one of their phones, the books they’d taken out from the library open and neglected as they giggled over something on the screen, the soft sound of tinny music reaching all the way here.
“But you asked their people?” Rajani said, clearly exasperated.
“Their people?” Derek repeated.
“You know, ‘have your people speak to my people,’” she said. “The bodyguards they lug all over the place!”
“I don’t know if they qualify as their personal secretaries or anything. But yes, I went to the guest wing of the Academy and spoke with one of the men there.”
“Which one?” Rajani asked.
I shrugged. It hadn’t been the one I’d seen conferring with Connak at least. “Whoever was standing in front of the door leading down to the guest rooms.”
“Oh, that’s really specific.” Rajani rolled her eyes. “And what did you tell him?”
“That my best friend has this crazy idea that the princes might want to drop everything they have planned next week and join us on our trip for spring break.” I shook my head just slightly. “In so many words.”
Rajani tossed a look to Derek, clearly looking for sympathy, but his lips were sealed. She spoke anyway. “Well, if that’s not a lack of appreciation for my brilliant idea, I don’t know what is.”
“Sorry,” I said, an itch creeping up the back of my neck. “It is a good idea.”
“Get to know the princes better, spend some time letting off steam?” Her brown eyes twinkled. “I’d say it was fairly generous of me to allow them along, especially after you poopooed the idea of me trying to score with Connak during our time off.”
“You’re right,” I said, folding the cover back over my tablet as I spotted Professor Kouta making his way toward me. “What I really need is more time.” Biting my lip, I caught Derek’s eyes and he nodded slightly. “Your idea gives me plenty more time,” I said to Rajani. “And you can bring Connak—if he’s interested.”
“See? It’ll all work out,” said Rajani, standing and packing up her things. “I need to get going. Some of us have plans for the evening.”
“Plans?” I asked. Derek looked as puzzled as I felt.
She tucked a curl of dark hair behind her ear. “I may have asked Connak if he had the night off, so to speak, and he may have said yes.”
That news hit me like a bag of bricks. “When did this happen?” Connak had spent more time with me the past few days than Rajani.
A guy a few tables over hushed us and I winced. We were in the library, even if talking was allowed in this section.
Rajani giggled. “Last night, when you were cooped up in our dorm room.” She smiled broadly. “I wanted to tell you earlier, but I was trying to play it cool. Casual. Just like I promised him this date would be.”
Connak would know if he was destined to be with Rajani, even if she, as a human, couldn’t feel the same way. I might not have had a good grasp on whether or not I felt the Nelian sense with anyone, but I knew a full-blooded Nelian certainly would.
But that didn’t stop them from having liaisons with other people who interested them.
As long as Rajani understood that, well… “Have fun,” I said.
“Miss Haddix?” asked Professor Kouta, approaching the table. “You ready?”
“Good luck,” whispered Rajani.
Derek opened a book from the top of the old-fashioned stack he’d taken down from the shelves. “You’ve got this,” he whispered huskily before turning to the written words.
I felt better knowing he believed in me once more.
I followed Professor Kouta into a small quiet study room, where one wall and the door made entirely of glass, allowed for easy visibility. In the room two doors over, I caught a glimpse of Sheila leaning back in a chair, a stylus between her lips and the open notebook and book app screens floating in front of her being ignored. She sat up straighter as I passed by and leaned forward, her forearms on the table as she stared me down.
My stomach rumbled, the sandwiches sitting uneasily against my nerves, as Professor Kouta held the door for me and flicked on the study room lights.
“Forty minutes, same as everyone in class yesterday,” he said, tapping on his nearly translucent tablet. My own let out a little ding as I took a seat at the table, the test appearing on my screen. He sat in the corner, making adjustments to his comm on his wrist. He waited until I’d grabbed my stylus from where I’d tucked it in my tablet case. “And begin.”
Despite everything swimming around in my head, part of me hoped that as soon as I picked up a stylus and started reading the test, I’d be able to focus, just as if it were any other test before my life had been turned into such a circus. Sadly, that was not the case. I tried, and I knew I got some questions right, but every few questions, an image of one prince or another on his knees would pop into my head, and I’d have to re-read the test question over again before I lost focus completely.
I didn’t know how much time had passed, but it felt like I’d run out of time before I’d reach the end of the test. Professor Kouta flicked at a tablet in front of him, the only sound the tap of his finger on the screen, the slight in-and-out of our steady breaths. Eventually, tired of the words getting muddled every time I read them, I skipped ahead to the last question, which would involve a short essay. I needed to get at least that done; it probably counted for most of the test. I was about a quarter of the way through it when the lights overhead began to flicker.
Neither Professor Kouta nor I were especially startled by this.
Then the lights went out and the professor put his tablet down on the table, glancing overhead. “The backup power should kick in.” His lips pursed as he flicked through his screen, the bright light the only thing illuminatin
g the study cubby. “There wasn’t a storm tonight.”
My stylus dropped to the table, the situation suddenly feeling very wrong, a prickle running up the back of my neck.
Murmurs from outside penetrated even the glass wall. With a loud thunk, Sheila raced past our room as if there were a rabid dog on her tail.
Professor Kouta and I both stood and made our way to the door, the professor out first, raising his voice as he approached a cluster of students gathered toward one of the wide floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the backyard of the Academy. “Everyone, settle down. If there’s lightning, it’s best to get away from the windows.”
But there was no sign of lightning at all, just a crackling glow in the dusk out in the yard, a portal to Nelia opened.
“Bry,” said a husky voice with a slight accent from behind me.
Prince Rio had appeared from somewhere in the library, his entourage of bodyguards nowhere to be seen. He wore workout clothes, a too-tight gray tank top and a striped pair of dark running pants.
Despite the spectacle of whatever was going on, my face flushed and I crossed one leg over the other as he approached.
“What is happening?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “The power is usually never out for this long—”
The door to the library flung open, Professor Chastity an easy-to-discern silhouette in the dimness. “Everyone! To the nearest shelter! Now!”
Shelter?
I spun around. Where were Rajani and Derek?
Rio grabbed my hand, but I pulled away. I wasn’t going anywhere without my friends.
“Back of the library!” shouted Professor Kouta, joined by the librarian on duty in attempting to herd the crowd away from the window. “The basement!”
Some of the students obeyed, but most lingered. Even those walking away kept their heads turned, watching the portal outside expand and crackle, a lightning-like flash of energy breaking off from it and striking somewhere across campus with a loud crack.
