Savage Royals

by Callie Rose

  When I mentioned my conversation with Jacqueline earlier in the day, and the fact that she’d forbidden me from pursuing dancing seriously, Cole scoffed.

  “Fuck her.”

  I shrugged, blowing out a breath. “I mean, she probably means well. I know shit was weird with my mom before she left, and—”

  “No, seriously, Legs.” Finn shook his head. “Fuck her.”

  A grin tilted my lips, and before I could even think about what I was doing, I was on my feet, racing impulsively toward the ocean. I sloshed in until the waves met my knees, sucking in a breath as ice raced through my veins.

  “You hear that, Jacqueline?” I called across the deep, inky expanse of water. “Fuck youuuuu!”

  I heard the guys laughing and cheering behind me, and it made my heart race. I spread my arms wide, as if daring the entire universe to take me on.

  “Fuck the Hildebrands! Fuck all your stupid bullshit!”

  Whoops sounded as the Princes waded into the water with me. I saw a glint in Mason’s hand out of the corner of my eye and realized he must’ve carried the bottle in with him.

  “Yeah, Legs!” Finn howled. “You tell her!”

  “It’s your birthday,” Mason called, flashing me a grin. “Get it all off your chest, Princess. You can say whatever you want. Do whatever you want.”

  In that moment, it felt like his words were the truest things ever spoken, and I turned back toward the beautiful, vast emptiness in front of me, letting every emotion I’d pent up over the past several months pour out of me.

  I screamed at my grandmother for abandoning my mother and then me, at my grandfather for losing himself in a glass of whiskey and forgetting us, at them both for caring more about my reputation than my dreams. I screamed at Adena for being a crazy fucking bitch, for making my life miserable because she was so unsatisfied with hers.

  I was breathless and panting when I was done, and the guys had grown quiet around me.

  They were waiting, I realized.

  Waiting to hear it.

  Waiting for me to curse their names too.

  “Go on, Legs.” Mason’s voice was quiet. “What else? There has to be more. It’s your birthday, you can do and say whatever you want.”

  I turned back to the ocean, swallowing hard. There were more words inside my chest, words bubbling up from a deep place in my stomach. But they weren’t the words I’d expected. Not the feelings I’d expected. So much had changed since last semester.

  Opening my mouth, I gazed into the darkness, willing the anger to well back up. It was still there inside me, but now it was… different.

  I stayed like that for several minutes, mouth half-open, breathing in the salty spray of the ocean, tasting it on my tongue.

  Then I pressed my lips closed. Took a deep inhale.

  And turned back to face the Princes.

  They were watching me, four sets of eyes glittering like stars as I moved purposefully toward Elijah.

  He’d kissed me once—outside of a game, outside of a dare—and now I kissed him back. His lips tasted like the ocean, and the scent of sage teased my nostrils as I rose up on tiptoes and pressed my mouth to his. It wasn’t a long kiss, not as desperate and needy as our kiss in the basement had been, not as slow and deep as the one in my dorm.

  But it felt purposeful, like I was giving something and taking something at the same time.

  When I pulled away, he blinked down at me, his fingers squeezing the curve of my waist and the swell of my hips.

  I stepped back, turning toward Finn next. He had a look on his face that would’ve made me laugh if my heart hadn’t been galloping so fast—like he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing and was torn between shock and awe.

  But when I moved toward him and kissed him, he didn’t hesitate, welcoming me into his arms like I belonged there.

  Cole was next, and his jaw clenched as I approached him, his eyes going blank the way I was starting to think they did when he was trying to avoid feeling too much.

  I didn’t let it stop me though. I pressed light kisses to both corners of his mouth, entranced by the full, perfect bow of his lips. He was beautiful, the way an apex predator was beautiful. A piece of living, natural art too wild to contain behind a glass case or a frame.

  His chest rose and fell beneath my palm, and I felt the moment when his restraint snapped, a half-second before his lips sealed over mine.

  I was breathing hard when I pulled back, and I glanced at the other three, who’d gathered around close in the darkness. The bottle was gone from Mason’s hand, and I wondered if he’d thrown it in the ocean.

  When I turned toward him, the look on his face almost made me stop.

  His expression was neutral, but every muscle in his face was taut, and I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

  I hesitated two steps away from him, frozen in place.

  But just when I was about to back away, his hand whipped out and caught my wrist, tugging me forward and closing the gap between us.

  When his lips crashed into mine, I kissed him with every last bit of anger left inside me, and he kissed me like he might never get the chance again. It felt raw and real and messy, full of words neither of us was brave enough to say yet. My fingernails dug into his back, as if even though my heart and mind craved him, they still wanted to hurt him too.

  We walked the fine line between love and hate… and with a start, I realized which side I was falling toward.

  Chapter 26

  Ugh. No more tequila. No more whiskey. No more vodka.

  I rolled over in bed, tugging a pillow over my face to block out the light. Shit. Finn hadn’t remembered to make me drink lots of water at the end of the night, and I swore I could still feel the alcohol burning through my veins.

  I’d been wrong—Mason hadn’t brought the bottle into the ocean. The gleam I thought I’d seen must’ve been something else. Which meant after we walked back onto shore, half a bottle was still waiting for us, and we’d finished the whole fucking thing.

  That would be the last time I drank tequila in a while.

  Damn, I’m running out of good options. Maybe I’ll have to start drinking wine spritzers or something.

  Then again, maybe I should stop actively looking for new boozes to drink. With at least two alcoholics in the family, I knew I was playing with fire every time I picked up a bottle, and I was well versed in every single excuse there was about why “this time will be different” or “it doesn’t own me”.

  I wouldn’t be like my dad.

  Or my grandparents.

  Or… my mother.

  I was crossing off people like I crossed off types of alcohol, and I felt like I’d run out of good role models. Did I know a single adult whose life I wished I could have? So many of them seemed so miserable, locked into a path that didn’t seem to bring them any joy.

  Still, hangover or no, my seventeenth birthday had been my best one yet.

  I ditched my first few classes of the day—because fuck Jacqueline—but made it to lunch and all my classes afterward.

  Unfortunately, that night turned out to be the last chance for fun before finals came barreling around the corner. For the next two weeks, schoolwork took over my life as I crammed hard for my exams. Whatever my grandparents might think, I was serious about getting a good education, and I knew it could be the key to opening doors for me later. I just didn’t think school and dance should be mutually exclusive.

  I called Leah every day to see if she wanted to meet up and study, but she made excuses at first and then stopped answering my calls.

  One thing screaming into the ocean had made me realize was that out of all the people I’d met in California, she was the one who’d offered the most and taken the least—who’d been my best supporter when I’d needed it. I felt shitty that the price of ending the war with the Princes had been the slow death of my friendship with her. It was supposed to be “ho’s before bros”, right?

  So I’d resolved t
o fix it somehow, although I wasn’t quite sure how yet. Ditching the Princes didn’t feel like an option anymore, not because I was afraid of what they’d do, but because…

  Well, reasons I couldn’t quite let myself think about.

  Reasons that made my heart beat too hard and too fast.

  Spring semester finals were even harder than the fall exams had been, but I scraped by in all my classes, even Chemistry.

  Jacqueline had texted me the day after my birthday with belated wishes and had mentioned that she and Philip would attend the end-of-year student awards ceremony to support me—apparently, a paper I’d written for English Lit had been good enough to earn me an award.

  The ceremony was set for two days after the end of the semester, right before the dorms would shut down and transition over for summer classes. I wasn’t looking forward to the event too much, mostly because I hated getting up in front of crowds, and also because it marked the official end of the school year.

  And somehow, I’d actually gotten attached to this place.

  Still, I took extra care with my appearance the day of the ceremony, drying and straightening my hair so it shone like melted chocolate. I made sure my uniform was pressed and perfectly clean, even though part of me hated that I was playing along with Jacqueline’s game. But I was going to be spending the entire summer with my grandparents, and I wanted to get it off on the right foot.

  Maybe—maybe—if we managed to find some kind of common ground about, well, anything, over the summer, she’d at least consider letting me audition for a dance company after I graduated.

  I threw on some lip-gloss and swiped a little mascara through my lashes, then grabbed my purse and headed out. The awards ceremony was being held in the gymnasium, and when I stepped inside, I found chairs lined up in neat rows across the large, empty basketball court. A small stage with a podium was set up at one end, and a large white screen had been erected behind it.

  Rising up on tiptoe, I scoured the crowd until I spotted my grandparents. They were sitting near the front, in what I assumed were the “see and be seen” seats, and I hustled forward to join them. I’d be called up at some point to claim my award once the ceremony got started, so a seat up front would actually be good.

  As I settled in beside them, I glanced across the aisle and almost did a double take.

  “Jacqueline,” I whispered, tapping her leg to get her attention. “Are those…?”

  “The Prescott and Mercer families. Yes.”

  She glanced over, but her attention didn’t stay on them long. It made sense, I supposed. She barely talked about my mom, why would she be eager to talk about my mom’s childhood friends?

  Drawn by burning curiosity, my gaze flicked over to them again.

  I recognized Elijah’s dad from when we’d met in the admin office. He looked just as composed and snobby as he had then, his back straight and his expression imperious.

  Mrs. Prescott had dark blonde hair and was very pretty. No, more than that. She was perfect. I’d never seen a human being with fewer visual flaws than she had.

  Cole’s dad was big like him, though I couldn’t make out much of his face from where I was sitting. His mom was the exact opposite, small and almost frail looking.

  The two Princes sat with their parents, and even though I was openly staring at them, they didn’t look at me. They both seemed tense, staring straight ahead and not moving much.

  Right. Neither of them get along well with their families. I shifted in my seat, my attention darting back to Jacqueline and Philip.

  I could relate to that.

  Then the auditorium lights dimmed, leaving just the small stage illuminated. Sound blared over the speakers as a video celebrating the achievements of Oak Park alumni played on the screen. I fidgeted in my seat, playing with the hem of my skirt until Jacqueline put a cool hand on mine to stop me.

  When the video was over, Dean Levy stood up and spoke for a few minutes, congratulating all of us on a great year and thanking a few donors specifically. The Prescott family was one of the names he mentioned, giving a nod in their direction.

  A table had been set up behind the dean bearing framed certificates written in flowing script, and he began calling students up one by one to receive their awards. Nobody had to make speeches, thank God, and I watched as both Elijah and Cole stepped up, shook the dean’s hand, and accepted their certificates.

  A few more students were called up, and then Dean Levy leaned down to the microphone and intoned, “Talia Hildebrand.”

  Jacqueline sat up straighter, patting my knee before I stood and walked up to the stage.

  I climbed the steps up one side as Dean Levy waited for me, and when I reached him, he shook my hand with pomp, leaning in to murmur his congratulations. I accepted the large, framed award and was about to step toward the other side of the stage when a strange noise caught my ears.

  Breathing.

  It was loud and echoing, blasting through the entire auditorium at high volume.

  Panting breaths.

  Soft moans.

  Rustling noises.

  I glanced around in confusion, and my gaze caught immediately on the screen behind the stage, where a new video was playing.

  Shock stole my breath as my insides seemed to liquefy.

  It was… me.

  Dressed in a light t-shirt over a maroon bikini, I was practically humping Cole’s stomach as I kissed him. His hands were on my ass, squeezing and massaging, angling me to give the camera a better view.

  What the fuck?

  My mind went blank with shock, hardly able to process what I was seeing. What had felt daring and exciting and beautiful at the time looked dirty and cheap in the grainy video playing onscreen.

  Adena. Ice filled my veins. She must’ve done this. How? How the fuck—?

  Then the image switched.

  It was a new shot, from a new angle, revealing me draped over Finn, rubbing against him as I devoured his mouth. In quick succession, it switched again and again, showing me making out with the other two Princes.

  “What is this…?” Dean Levy murmured beside me. He stepped away, moving toward the edge of the stage to speak in low, urgent voices with another admin.

  But I couldn’t tear my gaze from the screen.

  The fourth video finally stopped, and a caption appeared across a black background.

  The Hildebrand Legacy: Cheap Trash.

  Then a new series of images flashed across the screen.

  Me, inhaling smoke from Elijah’s mouth—his face blurred out, mine in perfect detail.

  I blinked, my throat closing up in horror. Adena hadn’t been in that room. I was sure of it. And she hadn’t been in the fucking basement at the lake house either. How could it have been her who did this?

  It couldn’t.

  It wasn’t.

  My entire body started to shake as the true realization hit me. I glanced desperately toward the audience, who were all staring with shocked, uncomfortable expressions—but Cole and Elijah were gone. Two empty chairs sat next to their parents, and two pieces of my heart seemed to die.

  I turned my gaze back to the screen, clamping my hands over my stomach like I could somehow protect myself from all of this, like I could keep myself from flying to pieces.

  There were more images. So many more.

  I saw myself passed out in that same study room in Clarendon Hall, my tube top riding up as I sprawled across the couch like a broken doll. Boys I didn’t know were gathered around me, posing with me in obscene positions and laughing.

  Every illicit or embarrassing thing I’d done all semester flowed across the screen, intermingled with images I knew weren’t of me—girls who’d been photoshopped to look like me, all caught in some filthy, disgusting act.

  Dean Levy was off the stage now, and I heard raised, angry voices coming from somewhere near the back of the gymnasium as another video began to play.

  The whoosh of waves came through the speakers, and I
knew, even before I saw the dark, grainy footage, what was coming.

  Laughter sounded in the video, close to where the camera was being held, as my moonlit form stood in the ocean’s shallows and screamed into the night.

  “You hear that, Jacqueline? Fuck youuuuu! Fuck the Hildebrands! Fuck all your—”

  The screen went dark suddenly, like the power had been cut.

  Silence filled the large room, and the weight of it was so much I thought I might collapse under the pressure.

  What…?

  Why?

  Spurred by desperation, I spun around, searching the crowd for the any of the Princes. But none of them were there. Elijah’s and Cole’s parents gazed at me with open disdain, and when I caught sight of Jacqueline, of the raw fury on her face, my heart stopped.

  No. No no no.

  The framed certificate the dean had handed me slipped from my numb fingers, and then I was moving, stumbling down the steps, racing for the door at the back of the room. I shoved it open, careening down the hall toward the building’s exit, my breath coming in short gasps.

  I burst out into the quiet night and walked quickly down the pathway toward the quad, my legs feeling like they might buckle at any moment as my stomach churned with nausea. I kept hearing the sounds from the video, which had played so loud it was like they’d pierced my brain.

  The heavy breathing. The low moans and whimpers.

  Those had been ours.

  They’d been something precious and beautiful, something secret and fragile.

  And now they were trash.

  Before I’d even made it twenty yards, movement in front of me caught my eye, and I stopped.

  On the pathway leading to the gymnasium stood all four of the Princes, shoulder to shoulder, locked into their perfect formation.

  Bile rose up my throat as the awful suspicion in my mind turned into undeniable truth.

  They had done this.

  They had recorded every bit of that footage. They had orchestrated the dares, gotten me drunk and high, nudged me in the right direction, and then waited for me to give them what they wanted.