Haiden:
This ti, Ian nodded to himself after thinking it over.
"I will make sure the Academy does not start again, and this ti, I will make my father help ," he stated.
His words made us look at him more seriously.
"And if anyone pressures my father about the Academy, he will threaten to break the towers and their power. I am sure nobody will be foolish enough to risk that."
When he finished, new hope rose in all of us. At that point, we were truly waiting for a miracle, and this threat might be the one thing that could give it to us.
While we were cheering and talking happily, I saw Mariana appear in a black dress. She looked through the crowd until she saw , then walked toward us.
I signaled Ian and Troy to be careful as she headed our way, and Troy quickly changed the subject.
"Yeah, it is raining so much. I hate rainy weather," Troy remarked, then went quiet when she arrived.
"I hope I am not bothering you three," she said, and we shook our heads.
"What is it?" I asked, watching her calmly fix her earring before straightening her posture.
"Haiden, I have been looking for Fauna. I do not know where she is. Can you please go and look for her? Sotis she really does too much," Mariana explained.
From the way she spoke, all of us knew she was just trying to get to talk to her.
"I do not know. She must be around," I replied with a shrug, not falling for her attempt.
"Can you please go and look for her?" she asked again, more firmly this ti.
I was about to snap at her and ask why she thought she could order around when Ian gently touched my elbow and stepped closer, almost turning his back to her.
"Go ahead, talk to her. If she is having a hard ti accepting no, then you need to have a conversation with her. Just give her so closure," he urged, hinting that he understood the situation.
They had talked before, and she must have told him that there were tis when we had grown a little too close.
"It will make her cry," I muttered, looking at Ian with my hands on my waist, still stubborn.
"Well, crying is better than false hope," he insisted.
I had thought he would tell not to go, and I would explain that my words would hurt her. Even I was confused about why I did not want to talk to her. I was just tired of repeating that I did not want her anymore.
"Fine, whatever," I said.
When I noticed all of them watching , I gave in and decided to finally go and talk to her.
I stepped away from the hall, noticing that my uncle had co out just for this dinner. Music was playing. So of the royal Betas and royal Gammas were there with their families.
I walked down the hallway and went up to the second floor, where I knew her room was. I was ready to defend myself if she tried to play any gas with because I kept wondering why her sister had asked to go and find her. She could have just co to speak with . Why send sowhere else, especially to her room?
Maybe they were planning sothing that would make look like a bad person. That was what I honestly thought.
When I reached the door and knocked, I was ready to tell her that I had figured out what she was planning. However, she did not even co to open the door herself.
"Co in," she called out, making place my hands on my waist in annoyance.
"You can co outside," I replied. "Your sister was looking for you. She said you had disappeared," I added, pointing out the fact that she was right there.
I knew this was their way of getting to talk to Fauna alone, but I still wanted to call her out just to make her feel uncomfortable.
"Well then, you can co inside and we can talk," she insisted again.
"Are you afraid of sothing, Haiden?" she asked.
Just like she intended, she got on my nerves, and I slamd the door open and walked in. I did not go all the way inside. I stopped in the doorway.
She stood near the mirror, trying to put on a necklace. After a few silent attempts, she gave up, lowered her hand, and turned to face .
"Can you please help with it?" she asked, holding the necklace out to .
I saw that she was wearing a red dress, and for a mont, I felt slightly stunned. She looked beautiful and gentle.
I wanted to refuse, but instead I walked inside and took the pendant from her hand.
"Easy, you will break it," she warned. "It is special."
When she said that, I looked closely at the pendant and understood why. It was sothing I had given her. Then I noticed the bracelet on her wrist. She was still wearing it.
"What are you trying to do?" I asked, not helping her with the necklace yet.
"I am just getting ready. Why? Can I not even do that?" she replied. There was no teasing in her voice, only hurt.
Instead of arguing with her again, I motioned for her to stand still so I could help her with the pendant. I moved closer to her, a little too close for both of us.
As she lifted her hair, my chest tightened with a strange agitation I could not explain. She exposed the line of her neck, and I brought the necklace around to the front before guiding the chain into place.
My fingers brushed against her skin, and the contact sent a sharp wave through . Goosebumps rose along my arms before I could stop them. I froze for a mont, irritated with myself.
It was just skin. Just a simple touch.
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