The phone buzzed against the counter just as I was finishing the last bite of cinnamon toast.
Arthur gave me a look. "Expecting someone?"
"No," I said, reaching for it.
ALICE
Incoming Call
I slid my finger across the screen. "Hey."
"You absolute idiot."
Her voice shot through the phone like a bullet—sharp, fast, furious.
I flinched, holding the phone a bit away from my ear. "Good morning to you too, Cherry."
"I told you not to drink the whole tray! What were you thinking, Isla?"
Arthur glanced at me from across the counter, curious now. I rolled my eyes at him and stood, walking a few steps away toward the open window for some fake privacy.
"I wasn't thinking, okay? Everyone was chanting like wild animals. It was either drink or look weak."
"You're already strong without showing off for idiots in fishnets and fake jewels!"
I smirked. "You saw their jewels?"
"Shut up. This isn't funny. Sophie was going to wreck you."
"Yeah, well, Arthur kinda ruined her plan."
There was a pause.
Then, "…He what?"
I sighed, brushing a piece of my hair behind my ear as the wind caught it. "He walked through everyone like a scene from a movie, grabbed my wrist, and yanked me out of there."
"Did he punch anyone?"
"No."
"Damn."
"I puked behind a bush."
She made a noise of sympathy—half horror, half impressed. "Did you slap him again?"
"Actually, I called him Arty and told him he was handsome."
Silence. Then Alice cackled. Full-volume chaos.
"Noooo, Queen of Daggers. You didn't."
"I want to crawl into a sewer and die."
"Well, too bad. I'm not done. Listen—something's weird."
I froze. "What do you mean?"
"I don't think Sophie was working alone," she said, suddenly serious. "Someone helped her. Someone who knows how this school works from the inside."
I turned, glancing back at Arthur, who was pretending not to listen—but his shoulders had gone still.
"Any idea who?" I asked, lowering my voice.
"No. Not yet. But I'm sniffing around. Oh, and Ares is being annoying as hell."
I paused. "You talked to him?"
There was a beat of silence.
"We negotiated," she said.
I blinked. "Alice—"
"He's not trying to mess with you. In fact… he wants you closer to Arthur."
I narrowed my eyes. "Why?"
"I don't think even he knows. He just said… 'you wouldn't want her to fall as far as I did.'"
Something in my chest twisted.
"I'll call later," she said quickly. "Try not to flirt with Arty too hard."
And with that, she hung up.
I turned back toward Arthur slowly, catching him mid-stare.
"What?" I asked.
"You called me Arty again."
I blinked.
Damn it.
The road back to St. Arthelios stretched out like a long sigh I wasn't ready to take. Arthur's car purred steadily beneath us, sleek and silent—too silent. It made everything I'd said last night ring louder in my head.
"Arty… gosh you're handsome but I hate you."
Kill. Me. Now.
I pressed my forehead to the cool window, hoping it would drain the embarrassment out of my body. It didn't.
"You're quiet," he said after a few minutes.
I didn't look at him. "So are you."
From the corner of my eye, I caught the ghost of a smirk on his face.
"You don't remember much, do you?"
"Only the part where I committed social suicide by calling you Arty."
"That was definitely the highlight."
I groaned, sinking into the seat. "Tell me you didn't record it."
He chuckled, soft and deep. "Unfortunately, no. But it's burned into my memory forever."
I shot him a glare. He just kept driving.
The sky outside was fading into a dreamy gold, and the car smelled faintly like leather and that annoyingly addictive cologne he always wore. It was too easy to get comfortable here. And I hated that.
"Thanks," I said finally. "For pulling me out of there."
He didn't respond right away. Then: "I wasn't going to just watch."
I swallowed. "You don't even like me."
"Doesn't mean I'll let someone screw you over."
I glanced at him, brows lifted. "Since when did Arthur Gray become a knight?"
He smiled to himself, eyes still on the road. "Since you walked into St. Arthelios with those gold strands and that attitude."
My heart did something stupid. Like skip.
"You said I was handsome too," he added after a beat, like he couldn't help himself.
"I was drunk."
"You weren't wrong."
I rolled my eyes and muttered, "Narcissist."
We pulled closer to the school gates. The elegant, intimidating walls of St. Arthelios came into view like a looming reminder that we were back in enemy territory. No more reckless nights. No more strange safety.
Just the war we both pretended we weren't part of.
He slowed the car and stopped a little away from the gate. I reached for the door, hesitating.
"Arthur?" I said quietly.
"Yeah?"
"You still suck."
He leaned over, eyes catching mine. "But you fell asleep in my sweatshirt."
I slammed the door behind me before I could laugh—and before I let the weird flutter in my chest become something dangerous.
But I swear I heard him chuckle behind the wheel. I've never seen him Chuckle then just shortly smirk, either way I wasn't going to turn to look.
He was purposely annoying me.