Moonveil Academy: Trapped With The Five Kings

Elara:

After my first session with Lorien, I had expected the second one to be easier. I was wrong. If anything, the second session was heavier, quieter, and somehow far more uncomfortable than the first.

We barely exchanged five words throughout the entire thirty minutes, and most of those had come from him giving me instructions about where to place my hand or how to relax my body.

I didn’t look at him, and he didn’t exactly try to force me to look at him either. I could occasionally feel his gaze settling on me, but every time I sensed it, I simply focused harder on the magic running through my body.

Honestly, if I had been given a choice, I wouldn’t have come at all. After what had happened with the incident outside my dorm, I had no desire to sit in the same room with him and pretend everything was fine.

But I wasn’t stupid. Lorien was the only person actively helping me weaken the seal, and I needed that seal gone more than I needed my pride protected. So I had shown up. I would continue showing up. Whatever my personal feelings toward him were, I wasn’t going to let them interfere with my goal.

More than once, I felt his eyes on me. More than once, I sensed that slight hesitation that came before someone spoke, as if he wanted to say something and was deciding whether he should. I pretended not to notice. I didn’t want another conversation that might blur the boundaries between us. He was my headmaster. I was his student. Whatever kindness he had shown me in the beginning, whatever softness I had once seen in those blue eyes, none of it changed that fact.

So I kept my mouth shut and waited. When he finally announced that the session was over, I immediately stood, gave him the briefest nod possible, and walked out without another word. I didn’t look back. I didn’t even give myself the opportunity to wonder whether he was watching me leave.

Unfortunately, the universe apparently had no intention of letting me enjoy a peaceful evening.

I had barely crossed the corridor leading toward the first-year dormitories when a sharp whistle echoed behind me, stopping me in my tracks. I didn’t even need to turn around. Somehow, I already knew who it was.

”Argentis.”

Reign’s voice confirmed it.

I slowly turned and found him stepping out from behind one of the massive stone pillars lining the corridor. He was dressed entirely in black, his blonde hair slightly tousled, his blue eyes almost glowing beneath the dim magical lamps. He looked unfairly good, as usual.

However, by now, I had learned that beauty could be terribly misleading. And in Reign’s case, it was almost criminal. He could have been on the cover of every magazine in Starfall, and I’d still rather cross the street than have a conversation with him.

I stared at him for a moment before finally asking, ”What do you want?”

He stopped directly in front of me, tilting his head slightly as though he was studying some fascinating creature.

I couldn’t help noticing how strange it was to find him here. It was the weekend, and Moonveil practically emptied itself after sunset on Fridays and Saturdays. Students either gathered in their dorms for parties or headed into town to spend the night away from academy grounds. Reign was almost always surrounded by his friends, too. So seeing him alone in a quiet corridor was unexpected enough to make me suspicious.

”You are alone,” I pointed out.

His lips twitched. ”Observant.” Then his gaze moved slowly over me, studying.

I had chosen one of my newer outfits that evening - a fitted black pair of trousers paired with a pale knitted sweater. It wasn’t extravagant, but it was definitely different from the oversized clothes I’d worn in Florida.

Reign’s eyes lingered for a moment before returning to mine, and the familiar smirk appeared on his lips. ”You are starting to dress more like your real identity.”

I frowned. ”My real identity?”

”A princess.” His gaze swept over me once more. ”If only you could start behaving like one too.”

There it was. The arrogance. The superiority. The constant need to remind me that he somehow considered himself qualified to decide what kind of person I should be.

I folded my arms. ”I don’t remember dressing for your approval.” His smirk faltered slightly. I continued before he could answer. ”And honestly, if you have spent all these years being the perfect heir and still haven’t figured out how to behave like one, I don’t think you are exactly qualified to set the standard for me.”

Silence.

The change in him was immediate. The careless amusement vanished from his face as if someone had wiped it away. His jaw tightened, his eyes sharpened, and the air around us suddenly seemed heavier.

I knew I had hit the exact nerve I’d intended to hit, but I hadn’t expected the reaction to be quite so immediate.

He took one step toward me. Then another. The remaining distance between us disappeared until he was standing directly in front of me, his face only inches from mine. His icy blue eyes locked onto mine, and this time, there was absolutely nothing playful in them. Only anger.

”Say that again,” he whispered.

My heart gave one hard, traitorous beat. But I refused to step back.

I could have kept my mouth shut. I could have rolled my eyes, turned around, and walked away before the situation between us escalated any further.

Instead, apparently determined to see exactly how far I could push the most arrogant man in Moonveil, I tilted my head and asked, ”Do you have a hearing problem too, or did you simply not like the answer?”

The muscle in his jaw twitched. His eyes narrowed, and for one terrifying second, I genuinely thought he would grab me.

Then he shifted forward, but before either of us could do anything, a burst of loud laughter echoed from the opposite end of the corridor.