Fate of a Royal (Lords of Rathe, #1)(17)

“I can walk, Jus. Everything okay?”

He stays on his phone, the worry lines getting deeper. “Not really. Hey!” He shoves it into his pocket, his demeanor changing. Bringing me in closer, he presses his lips to my forehead. “I’ll call you, okay?”

“Sure!” I watch as he walks the opposite way, running across the road and looking over his shoulder every two seconds.

As if someone was chasing him.

Or stalking him…

Starved since we didn’t get to eat after all, I drag my cranky ass back to campus.

When I get home, I kick the front door closed, unbutton my jacket, and toss it onto the small table in the lounge when a small envelope falls out. Our room is one of the smaller ones offered here on campus, but it was the only one available in the coed dorms. We weren’t about to complain. There was no way in hell Ben and I would be separated again, even if it was only by a few hundred feet or so. We’re all each other has.

I lean down and pick up the envelope, tossing it onto the table and kicking off my shoes. I fall down onto the sofa, resting my head against the edge when my phone starts blaring in my pocket. I swipe to answer it when I see Ben’s name flash over the screen and the first selfie we took with each other. His pierced tongue is out, his dimples sinking into each side of his cheeks, and his honey brown eyes glistening with mischief.

“Yes?”

“Did Justice tell you about his party?”

“He did.” I stand, making my way to my bedroom to gather everything for a shower. Fatigue has long since poisoned my muscles, and as every second passes, I feel myself fading. Damn . “Are we going?”

“Definitely.” That’s code for he has found someone to get with while he’s there.

“Mmmm. And what’s her name?” I ask, picking up my belongings and making my way out our door to the showers. We could have lived off campus, but neither of us could really afford it right now, which is another reason we settled for a two-bedroom dorm. It’s nice enough to call home.

“Ahhh, you will have to wait until the weekend because she’s coming with us.”

I drop my shit on the counter and shuffle out of my clothes. “Fine. Are you finished? I need to shower.”

“No! What do you want for dinner? That’s why I called. It’s my turn to cook, but I can’t be fucked.”

“Anything. I’m not that hungry tonight. More tired.”

“Oh?” he asks, and I know I’m not getting rid of him anytime soon, so I switch ears and make my way to the showers.

“It’s no big…it’s just—” Do I tell him? My best friend who can read me like the fucking alphabet? He’s going to see my lies all over my face when he digs, so maybe I can give him a ploy for now. I don’t think I’m ready to admit that a certain someone is occupying all my damn time. “—nothing. I’m due for my period, so I’m being extra sensitive.”

“Oh!” he brushes me off. “Need some tampons or some shit?”

“Ben…”

“Maybe some ice cream?”

My Ben, always trying to take care of me.

My smile softens. “Okay, I’m leaving you now.”

“I know, vodka and ice—” I hang up on him, chuckling while tossing my phone onto the counter with my clothes. I rush through the shower, scrubbing up in half the time before stepping out and into my shower slippers. I scroll through Instagram on my way back, flipping through Ben’s story. He’s a ho. A different girl every week will have his attention, but does he ever talk about them with me? No. So who is this one and what makes her different? Maybe he’ll finally settle down. God can only hope.

Kicking my door closed, I toss all of my things into my room and shuffle into one of Ben’s oversized shirts I’ve officially claimed as my own that stops above my knee and some knitted socks. Ben won’t be back for another hour, so I grab my laptop and open up my assignment.

School sucks. I’m here because I’m doing what every other person does at my age, but there’s a lingering ache that continues to pound deep in my gut anytime I think about the future. I can never see it. I’ve tried, but all I see is nothing.

I see nothing.



Dark clouds fall around the bridge like a rainfall of destruction. A loud thumping sounds behind my ears, and anytime I try to look around to see where it’s coming from, I’m met with an empty street shaded by fog. I can barely see three steps ahead of me.

I turn back to the bridge that’s sticking out of the fat clouds, taking a careful step closer. The sound gets louder—so loud I feel the drum beating against my head. I just want to see what’s over it. What’s on the other side of this bridge? It has to be—a dark cloak falls from the sky in a rush and I stumble backward, falling on my back, a loud scream tearing from my lips. I barely finish screaming when I feel something force itself down my throat. My veins ripple from fire and my legs buzz like static.

I think I am dying. This is it. I’m dying…



I shoot up from the bed, sweat sticking my sheets to my clammy body. My heart stammers in my chest as I try to catch my breath. What the fuck is happening? I’ve never had nightmares before, ever, and this marks two in one week. But that’s not the strangest part. It’s the realness of it. I felt the pain. The utter defeat that fell over me when the other side of that bridge grew farther from my grasp.