She ground down against , and my body responded imdiately despite the exhaustion.
"Aurora."
"Mm?"
"Wasn’t breakfast the plan?"
"Breakfast can wait. This can’t." She reached down between us. "Besides, I need to celebrate your promotion properly."
"It’s seven in the morning."
"Your point?"
Fair enough.
She lifted her hips and pulled my joggers down just enough. No underwear beneath her sleep shorts. The girl was a nace.
"You planned this."
"I plan everything." She positioned herself and sank down in one smooth motion. "Unlike so people who commit federal cris without thinking through consequences."
I gripped her hips. "Low blow."
"You love it when I’m an." She started moving, slow rolling motions that made coherent thought impossible. "Admit it."
"Not admitting anything."
"Liar." She leaned down and bit my lower lip gently. "You get harder when I’m bossy."
She wasn’t wrong. My body betrayed constantly around Aurora.
Her movents picked up speed. The shirt she wore rode up past her stomach, giving a perfect view of everything. Her breasts bounced with each motion, and I couldn’t decide where to look.
"Eyes up here," she commanded.
I t her gaze. Green eyes dark with arousal. Orange hair falling around her face in ssy waves.
"There you are." She smiled and clenched around . "Much better."
The pleasure built fast and sharp. Aurora knew exactly how to move, exactly what angle drove insane.
"You’re evil."
"You’re mine." She leaned down and kissed while continuing to ride. "Say it."
"Yours."
"Good boy."
The praise hit different coming from her. Settled sowhere warm in my chest alongside the building climax.
She threw her head back as she ca, her entire body going tight while she pulsed around . The sensation pushed over the edge. I pulled her down hard and finished inside her with a groan that probably woke her neighbors.
We stayed tangled together for a long mont. Both breathing heavy. Both satisfied in ways that extended beyond the physical.
"You’re going to be late for Vale," she murmured against my neck.
"Worth it."
"Obviously." She climbed off slowly and headed toward her bathroom. "Shower. Then you’re leaving because I have guild scouts visiting at nine and I can’t have you distracting ."
"I’m distracting?"
"Devastatingly." She paused in the doorway, completely naked and completely unbothered. "Also you owe dinner. Sowhere nice. With tablecloths."
"Next Saturday?"
"It’s a date." She disappeared into the bathroom, and water started running.
I cleaned up and got dressed. The pancakes sat cold on the coffee table but I ate them anyway. Waste of good food felt criminal.
My phone buzzed. Text from Vale.
You’re late.
I checked the ti. 7:58.
Shit.
I sprinted across campus toward the north field. Students scattered out of my way as I blew past them at speeds that would have been impossible a month ago.
Vale stood waiting under a tree. Arms crossed. Sunglasses on despite the early hour.
"You’re late."
"Traffic."
"There’s no traffic on an island, Monroe."
"taphorical traffic."
His mouth twitched. Might have been a smile. Hard to tell with the sunglasses.
"Let’s walk."
We headed north together. Past the Arena. Past the simulation bays. Into territory I’d never explored because it sat firmly in the "students will die if they go there" category.
"I’m not going to pretend last night didn’t happen," Vale said casually. "You committed a federal cri. Got caught. And sohow convinced to cover for you anyway."
"I returned the crystal."
"You returned a fake after realizing you’d been played." Vale stopped walking. "But you also ca back instead of running. That counts for sothing."
"What does it count for exactly?"
"It counts for deciding you’re worth my ti." He turned to face fully. "You’re not like the other lottery kids, Monroe. You adapt. You sche. You understand that survival requires more than raw power."
"Is this where you tell I remind you of yourself?"
"God no. I was way sexier at your age." He grinned behind the sunglasses. "But you’ve got potential. The kind that gets wasted if you keep making rookie mistakes like stealing from governnt facilities."
"So you’re offering to train ?"
"I’m offering to make you dangerous. Not just competent-with-good-stats dangerous." Vale started walking again. "Elite Ten training protocols. Personal instruction. Access to resources lottery kids don’t normally get."
"And what do you want in return?"
"I want you to not die stupidly. I want you to keep embarrassing Blair because it’s funny. And I want you to stop treating academy like a ga you can speedrun."
We’d reached a cliff overlooking the ocean. Waves crashed against rocks below. The drop looked fatal.
"This world will kill you if you let it," Vale said quietly. "Gates. Politics. People like Johnathan Davenport who see talented lottery kids as threats to eliminate."
"Comforting."
"I’m not here to comfort you. I’m here to make sure you survive long enough to beco actually interesting." He pulled off his sunglasses. One ice blue eye. One storm grey. Both completely inhuman in their intensity.
"Monday morning. Five AM. et at the Summit gym. We start your real education then."
"Five in the morning?"
"You already train at five with your roommate. Don’t pretend morning is a hardship."
How the hell did he know about my workouts with Hikaru?
"And Monroe?" His eyes glowed faintly. "Whatever you’re hiding, whatever makes you special enough to improve this fast, I don’t care. Keep your secrets. Just don’t let them get you killed."
He walked away. Hands in pockets. Looking like soone who’d just had a pleasant conversation about weather instead of cryptically threatening with mysterious knowledge.
I stood on the cliff and watched the ocean. The System notification still glowed in my peripheral.
[Vale’s Heir Apparent]
Five thousand points. Ten percent training bonus. Guild recognition. Protection from people like Davenport.
But also a target. A bigger target. The kind that attracted attention from everyone who wanted to prove themselves by taking down the new rising star.
My phone buzzed.
Belle. Where are you? Misato’s about to kill Jordan.
On my way.
I turned from the cliff and headed back toward campus. The sun climbed higher, painting everything gold.
Sowhere in the distance, Misato was probably murdering Jordan for complaining. Belle was calculating how to spin last night’s disaster into sothing profitable. Naomi was worrying about whether I was okay.
And Vale? Vale was probably laughing his ass off at the chaos he’d created.
The path back to the east field stretched ahead. Belle waved from near the oak tree. Naomi stood beside her with that soft smile. Jordan lay flat on the grass like he’d given up on life.
My squad. My idiots. My people.
Vale wanted to make dangerous. Aurora wanted dinner with tablecloths. Belle wanted buffs. Naomi wanted reassurance.
And ?
I just wanted to survive long enough to figure out what the hell I was actually doing.
The System chid one more ti.
◆ ACHIEVENT UNLOCKED ◆
Caught Between Worlds
Description: Successfully navigate competing interests from faculty, rivals, and romantic partners without dying or getting expelled.
Reward: 1,000 Points
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