Vicious Prince (Royal Elite #5)(41)

Dad and Agnus always tell us to stay away from the internet’s rabbit hole since it says more lies than truths, but there’s no smoke without fire.

I can already see the Astor family’s demise, because I’ll make sure of it.

The only person who makes my chest do some strange stuff is Charlotte. I wish I could do this without implicating or hurting her, but as they say, there are no victories without sacrifices.

I’m so sorry, Charlotte.

Maybe I should stop the hypocritical stuff and not visit or text her anymore.

I switch to the article about the correlation between death and fear. It’s about how humans are instinctively afraid of dying, even those who are suicidal.

Fear of death is a foreign concept to me. Why would you be scared of something that will eventually happen? It’s coming anyway, so might as well make the trip towards it worthwhile.

“Death and war. Interesting.”

My head rises at Cole’s serene voice. He slides beside me, clutching a book called Calila e Dimna that has animal illustrations on it.

“Interesting book,” I say.

“I know. I finally got my copy.” He motions at my phone. “But it’s not as interesting as your article.”

I stare back at my phone. Death and Fear in Times of War.

I make the screen go black, not because I’m ashamed to read about it, but because Cole’s book seems more fascinating.

Cole is in his uniform, minus the jacket, and the sleeves of his shirt are rolled to beneath his elbows. With the calm expression on his face, he seems like one of those handsome book nerds whom the girls admire from afar. It’s for different reasons than Aiden. My sister’s boyfriend doesn’t care — at all. Cole does, but in a dispassionate kind of way.

When I came to RES, he approached me first and talked to me as if we’d known each other our entire lives. We also share certain…tendencies.

While our interactions are easy and raise no alarm, I know Cole always has a purpose up his proper sleeve.

He sold me out once, and if he thinks I didn’t figure it out then he doesn’t know who he’s dealing with.

I might not be that good at deception, but I know how to lure someone to the battlefield.

“Tell me about your book,” I say.

“It’s old tales, or rather fables, translated to Arabic then Spanish in the twelve hundreds.” He opens the first page, running his fingers over the words.

“What does it talk about?” I motion at it.

“Philosophy told in the form of animals. For instance, the lion is the king, and there are others who represent different roles.”

“Such as?”

“The ox and the bull. What do you think they represent?”

“Cunning? Force?”

His lips quirk in a small smile. “Probably. Each fable has a purpose.”

“Just like every piece in chess and dominos?”

“Exactly.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Hey, it’s sort of like this entire school.”

He mirrors my gesture. “Possibly. We all fulfil a role.”

“What role do I fulfil in your game, Cole?”

“Woah.” He pretends to be taken aback. “You do me injustice, Teal.”

“How about your injustice? You think I don’t know you told Ronan about the club?”

“Why would you assume it’s me?”

“You’re the only one from school I saw there. It doesn’t take a genius to figure it out.”

“Not the only one. There’s someone else you’re forgetting about.”

“That someone else wouldn’t tell Ronan.”

His lips curve again. “How can you be so sure?”

“I had a deal with her. Besides, you’re the only one who plays games.”

“Noted.” He flips the page as if he’s been reading the entire time. “However, in my defence, Ronan would’ve figured it out anyway, so I thought I might as well tell him and gain favour.”

“He wouldn’t have figured it out if you hadn’t told him.”

“Oh, he would’ve. Ronan is like a dog — a trained one. He smells things from afar and doesn’t stop until he finds his prey. If I hadn’t told him, he would’ve followed you, stalked you, broke in, hacked your phone and emails, and eventually gotten what he wanted. I simply made it easier for everyone.”

I huff. He makes it sound as if he’s the angel in this tale and we should all bow down in thanks and possibly offer some sacrifices at his altar.

“Because of you, he now has me by the arm, and do you know what I’m tempted to do, Cole?”

“Tell me. I’m all ears.”

I allow myself a cunning smile. “If you ruined my fun, what stops me from ruining yours?”

“I didn’t ruin your fun — I made it happen. Can’t you see that?”

I stare incredulously. “You made it happen? How the hell is being involved with Ronan making my fun happen?”

“Teal, even you can admit that Ronan has added an interesting flavour to your life. I’m just being a good Cupid here.”

I scoff even as I boil on the inside.

Cole doesn’t understand that he ruined much more than he knows. My plan, for instance — it used to be so clear, but now it’s all murky water and feelings I can’t even begin to comb through.