Playboy Princes (Royals of Arbon Academy, #2)(21)

I laughed before my humor faded away at another thought. “It’s kinda odd that you’d be matched to someone who is exiled though, right? I mean, you’re a princess and he’s pretty much nothing.” Her laughter died off, too, her brow furrowing.

“Is this the actual proof we need that it’s all about the future royals?” I pushed. “That they only care about the perfect genetic match for babies and since he has royal blood, he’s eligible?”

Mattie no longer looked remotely amused. “Yeah. They always joke about royals being genetically superior, but it’s starting to look like they’re actively working to make that happen.”

I had a flashback to that fucking nurse again when she all but sexually assaulted me during her examination. In truth, I really had no idea what she’d done. I was just assuming she’d told me the truth, and the whole truth at that. I was no doctor and hadn’t exactly checked what she was sticking inside me… it could have been anything.

The thought of that, the feeling of being violated, had my stomach churning.

“We need to know more,” I murmured.

Mattie nodded, but then the announcements started and we focused on the game, relaxing into our seats. Given how high the tensions were between the teams, I'd bet it would be a good one, and I was glad to have the distraction.

"Thanks for telling me," I said to my friend after a few moments of silence. "But there’s one more thing I'm wondering now..."

Mattie shot me a sharp look. "What?"

I bit my lower lip, anxiety churning in my stomach. "Who is Jordan engaged to?"

As soon as the words left my lips, I wanted to take them back. I already knew Rafe's betrothed and knew she posed zero threat to me. Not that I cared. It wasn't like I actually wanted to date Rafe or anything crazy like that, but we had fucked.

Jordan, though? I could actually see myself with him... going out for dinners or movies or just, I don't know, hanging out. Intimately.

Mattie shook her head. "I don't know."

Well, that wasn't what I’d expected.

"What do you mean, you don’t know? Jordan's a crown prince; he's engaged to someone isn't he?" I frowned at her now, uncertain if she was lying to spare my feelings or something. But seriously, who could be that awful? Claudette was already taken—by Rafe—and no one else was remotely as horrible as her.

She nodded. "Definitely. But he's never told us who, and no girls at Arbon have laid claim, so..." She shrugged. "Noles and I think it might be a younger girl, and Jordan's respecting her by not publicizing their engagement until she's eighteen."

I sighed. That rang true to his personality. Damn him for being so... decent.





Chapter 9





The Arbon Royals won the match, but fuck it was close. There were no fights on the field, but it was one of the most intense, aggressive matches I’d seen in a long time. That included sports that were not soccer. “Wow, that bad blood wasn’t at all obvious out on the field,” I said somewhat sarcastically. “They kept it well locked down.”

Mattie snorted. “I’m just grateful no one got punched.”

“Not yet,” I murmured. “Luckily the dressing rooms for the two teams are on opposite sides of that long hall, so they won’t end up throwing down while half-naked.”

Mattie smiled wistfully. “But… is that really lucky? For those of us who might sneak in to see it?”

Now that she mentioned it…

Everyone was exiting the stadium, and we stood to do the same.

“Hey, ladies!” Drake, the crown royal of Denmark, waved as he strolled past, down near the field. “Party at mine tonight. Eight on the dot. Don’t be fucking late.”

Then he was gone again, lost in the crowd.

I shuddered at the thought. Drake was Alex’s closest friend, and I knew there would be no avoiding that fucking fuck if I went to the party. At the same time, if I didn’t go, Alex would probably hunt me down. I knew my time of avoiding him was coming to an end, and I had to figure out my next move.

“We’re not going,” Mattie said bluntly, reading whatever expression had crossed my face. “And you won’t be alone in your room so Alex can come at you either. That’s not how this game works.”

I snorted, pushing past a group of chicks who had to stop in the middle of the path to screech and hug each other. Even though they no doubt had seen their friends at breakfast this morning. “Alex is not going to let me avoid him any longer. I sense that this week he was giving me breathing room to come to terms with our arrangement. But you saw him on the field. He spent more time with his eyes on me than on the ball.”

Something that had contributed to our team’s near loss. Alex had been basically useless out there. And that fucking grin… it’d been locked on me, making my skin crawl and my stomach churn. He was planning something.

My palm reader buzzed.

Alex: Be at Drake’s party. There’s nowhere to run, little lamb.

Mattie tilted her head, peering at the message. “That asshole,” she snarled. In about five seconds she was on her palm reader dialing someone. When they answered, she immediately started snapping out commands. I couldn’t tell what those commands were—they weren’t in English—but I could tell she was super pissed.