Page 54 of The Prince of Broken Crowns

“Not stuck. I just … I don’t get where they went.”

“Maybe you miscalculated the room they went into. Or maybe you didn’t see them, but someone else.”

“Maybe.” I don’t believe it, though. I know what I saw.

The only other alternative I can think of is that the library has a secret room.

My overactive imagination starts conjuring up all sorts of ideas, the biggest one being that if I pulled on the right book, one of the shelves would move and reveal a hidden room. But that’s crazy, right?

I don’t know because this world, this life, this building is all foreign to me.

After Lily and I leave the library, Lily has to head to a class, leaving me alone in the dorm. I should take a nap—that was my main goal today—but I can’t get over how Finn seemingly vanished into thin air.

As my curiosity gets the best of me, I dig my laptop out of my bag, get situated on my bed, and start searching around online about the history of Royal Academy, particularly the building itself. But I can’t access the website the info is on due to the fact that it’s password encrypted.

I’m in no way, shape, or form a computer expert, so hacking into it isn’t happening.

As I’m attempting to figure out a solution to this, an article in the search engine snags my attention.

Hazing Rituals? Secret Societies? Cover-Ups? Learn the Dark Side of The Royal Academy, a School Known for Its High Academics Also has the Highest Injury and Disappearance Rate Among Its Students.

“What the actual hell?” I click on the article and read through it.

It basically talks about how the academy is dusting stuff under the rug due to the fact that the students who attend the academy are from wealthy families. What really snags my attention is that the reporter who wrote the article interviewed someone who wanted to remain anonymous. And they were quoted talking about how a secret society hazed them, and it started with someone writing a message on their door. They don’t quote what the message said, but reading this sends a chill through me.

Perhaps if I can get a hold of the reporter, I can persuade them to tell me what the message was—if they know, anyway. But the reporter who wrote the article is labeled as anonymous, too. However, the online journal that published it is listed there—The Golden Crown Royalty News.

“I wonder if Wren knows anyone who works there.” Do I feel comfortable enough to ask her?

I’m not sure.

And I’m not even positive the message on my door was for me. It could’ve been for Lily. Either way, I want to know the truth. Because if I’ve learned anything from northside, it’s that the more facts you know, the safer you are.

I lie down on my bed and hug my pillow against my chest. When I decided to accept my scholarship to the academy, I thought I’d be safe here. But I don’t know now. And that makes me question if I’ll ever feel safe.

Maddison

Somewhere between researching the school and attempting to return to doing my schoolwork, I fall asleep and stay that way the entire night. I’m woken up by the alarm I set on my phone screeching like a banshee on crack.

I blink my eyes open and, with a groan, fumble around on the nightstand until my fingers brush my phone. Then I crack my eyes open and silence the alarm. I almost fall back asleep but force myself to sit up. I rub my eyes with the heels of my hands before throwing the covers off of me.

It’s complicated to get up, slip on a pair of running shorts, a tank top, and my sneakers, but I manage. I pull on a pair of sweats over my shorts, put on my sneakers, pull up my hair into a high ponytail, grab a hoodie, and endeavor into the living room with an empty water bottle.

It’s dark in the room, so I flip on a lamp and pad softly over to the sink, not wanting to wake Lily up. Once my water bottle is full, I toss it and my phone into a bag and head out of the room.

The hallway is eerily silent, and through the windows, the sky is lingering with hints of nighttime, only a pale trickle of sunlight is visible as it creeps over the hill line.

“God, River, you’re nuts,” I mumble to myself as I make a turn toward the exit doors?—

And I crash into someone with so much force I stumble back.

“Shit,” the person curses. “Are you okay?”

When I lift my gaze, I discover the person I ran into is none other than Finn. He’s wearing a green T-shirt and gym shorts, along with sneakers, and his eyes look less bloodshot today.

“Yeah, I’m just peachy.” I adjust the handle of my bag. “Sorry about that. I’m not used to functioning this early in the morning, so I’m basically running in zombie mode.”

He laughs. “Well, at least you’re still amusing in zombie mode.”

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