Forbidden Honor (Dragon Royals #1)(6)

“Straight to business, Headmistress?”

“I know how much you hate small talk, Honor.” Her eyes crinkled at the corners. She knew me very well, and the same ache pressed my chest as when I walked out those doors for the last time as a student.

I knew she didn’t see me as anything but a former student, but she’d meant so much to me. She’d been the closest thing to a mother I could have since I lost my adoptive mother.

There was something especially raw about loving someone who would care about you but never love you back.

I cleared my throat. Best to just get this over with. “I lost Hanna’s tuition money.”

“You lost it? That doesn’t sound like you.”

“I’m going to get it back.” My steely resolve was going to be my stepmother’s bad day.

“I would always lay my odds on you,” she assured me. “But I don’t run a charity school. I have a waiting list of students hoping for admission. I can’t allow a student to take one of those precious places without paying.”

“I know.” She required a full year’s tuition upfront, which I’d come within a dime’s width of affording.

She gave me a long look.

My heart beat wildly in my chest. Freedom for Hanna was so precarious right now. “Headmistress, you know I’ll find a way to get the funds. If you just give me some time. I won’t disappoint you.”

She smiled just slightly. “You already have—when you left the school.”

“I didn’t have a choice.” Even if Gloria had offered me the chance to stay and work off my tuition, I’d needed to be home with Hanna, to comfort her after she lost her father.

“I’m still disappointed. I would like to have you back here.” She tilted her head. “You were something special, my dear.”

“I still am something special.”

“Of course.” Her tone was warm and gracious.

But she meant what she’d said first, and my cheeks burned.

“I wish I could please you, Honor,” she said softly. “You are a very special young woman, and I have no doubt your sister is as well. But I can’t give away a seat to a student who may not be able to finish. Especially as she would be the second Hannaby sister to leave this school abruptly.”

“I had to leave, for Hanna’s sake…”

“I know. The very reason that took you away is one of the reasons I wanted you here. You could have been such a fierce assassin, but most importantly, you’ve always been such a loyal friend.” She smiled and rose, already dismissing me now that our business was done, that my plea had been rejected.

“Could I have just a small extension?” I asked desperately, hating the need that had leaked into my voice. I’d find a way to pay for her school, somehow.

A look of embarrassment—on my behalf—darted across her face, and I swallowed.

“Tuition is due ten days before the first day of school,” she reminded me. “But I have great faith in you, Honor. I always have.”

She squeezed my arm and gave me a sympathetic look. “There are simply too many girls who want to come here, and your situation is too precarious. But I will wait until the tuition due date has passed to release her spot. That’s the best I can do.”

I nodded woodenly, unable to speak.

She walked me to the door, where a different girl with the same look except for her soft blonde hair opened the door for me.

I walked until I was out of sight of the school, but I could hear the bells tolling the whole time, coiling tension in my belly. I should already be at work. The wait in the sitting room had taken too long.

As soon as none of the pretty, proper girls could judge me anymore, I ran for the academy, ducking and dodging people on the street. I wound around people walking to work and a handful of street vendors selling roasted nuts and breakfast buns, wishing I had time to stop. Alis had breakfast served just after I left the house for work, because she was a real peach who wasn’t petty at all.

I was panting by the time I reached the academy, which towered above me on its high hill, a switchback of multiple flights of stone stairs leading to the academy entrance. I paused at the bottom of the stone steps, staring up the long route into the castle as I tried to catch my breath.

“You should really exercise more.” It was another of the gorgeous asshole princes, speaking directly into my ear. I whirled and stared up at him in confusion, wondering why he was talking to me, as he added, “Panting like a puppy… It’s a poor look for a nice girl.”

Lord Talisyn.

I spun to face him, startled to find how close we were together. “I’m not a nice girl.”

“No?” He cast a brief look over me, despite how close we were already standing. He was even handsomer than he’d been from a distance in the training yard, with the hard angles of his jaw and cheekbones and a strong nose. His eyes were bright with flecks of gold and mischief, and I swallowed, finding myself drawn to him even though I knew better. “Then perhaps you’re more useful than I guessed from the sad state of my bedroom floor. You’re terrible at mopping.” He clucked his tongue.

I wasn’t particularly invested in my mopping skills, but I was still annoyed. “I don’t have time to talk to you. Don’t you have somewhere to be?” I started to run up the steps.