Page 46 of Nova Academy

‘He invited Arty to share the bed in here last night. Things were different in the morning, and I caught Bromm sending Arty these weird looks all day. Beyond that, I don’t know.’

I hummed. ‘Okay, thanks.’

‘That’s it?’ he asked.

‘For you, yes.’

I started to walk back out to the living room when his voice stopped me. ‘Hey, wait. Can you let me know what you find out? I’m worried about him, too.’

I softened at the genuine concern I felt from him. ‘Sure.’

I followed him out, pretending to come from the bathroom myself and then laid in wait for Bromm to remove himself from the group as well.

He didn’t. It was lights out by the time I realised I was going to have to find some other way to corner him and demand answers. With the information Reece had provided, it was clear he was the only one who truly knew what had happened to cause Arty’sreversion.

I got lucky, however, when the princeling chose to join us for a turn in the spare room. Xander scrutinised my giddiness as I rubbed my hands together, eager to get them on some answers. I was about to drag Bromm into a quiet corner when the tables turned and Xander yanked me into the bedroom we were currently sharing.

‘What’s going on, Addy? You’re acting weird, and that never ends well for anyone.’

‘Oh, hush,’ I smacked him with the back of my hand around his middle. ‘I’m just worried about Arty.He’sthe one acting weird, and I want to know why so I can fix it.’

‘Oh. I didn’t notice.’ His eye twitched as he said this, so I knew he meant the opposite.

‘Liar. Anyway, something happened last night that’s got Arty trying to push everyone away again, so I’ve got to ask Prince Brommyt why. Apparently they shared a bed last night and that must have been when something happened.’

He inhaled sharply at my explanation, and I wasn’t sure why. He let me know soon enough, though. ‘Addy, maybe you shouldn’t be digging into a cadet’s personal matters…?’

I frowned. ‘Why not? He’s my friend, I should know what’s wrong.’

He breathed out slowly through his nose. ‘Okay, let’s put it this way. Mercer and the princeling shared a bed last night, correct?’

‘Right.’

‘And things got weird in the morning, yes?’

‘Mhmm.’

‘So what could happen between two people,sharing a bed, which would make things awkward the next day?’ he asked, as if the answer was obvious. It wasn’t.

‘I don’t know. That’s why I need to talk to Prince Brommyt.’

He smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand andgroaned. ‘Addy, they probably had sex. Your friend’s feelings must have gotten hurt from the prince rejecting taking things further, or something like that.’

I laughed. Then I stopped when I realised he was serious. Then I laughed again. There was no way Artemis would let Prince Brommyt – or anyone else here, for that matter – close enough to discover her secret, let alone by feeling her up. She wasn’t that stupid. It had to have been something else.

Or perhaps Xander was onto something. Artemis wouldn’t get sexual with Prince Brommyt, but that didn’t mean the prince hadn’t tried something…

Oh, fuck,no.

Any and all levity I felt over Xander’s assumptions fled my body so fast it almost knocked the breath out of me. If that boy did something to my friend...

I stormed from the bedroom to find both men still in the living room. Reece saw me coming and backed away, but his gaze darted to where Xander must have followed. I didn’t look back, but since Reece already knew of my intentions to speak with Brommyt and I’d just informed Xan, I didn’t see a reason to hide this conversation from either of them.

‘What. Did. You.Do?’ I demanded, charging right up to him. Later, I’d probably freak out over how I spoke to a member of my people’s royal family, but I wasn’t thinking about that then.

His eyes widened to a comical degree, and he raised his hands in the universal gesture of surrender. ‘What? What do you mean?’

‘To Arty,’ I spat, poking him in the chest. ‘You did something to him. Last night. I won’t ask again,what did you do?’

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