I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being watched. It wasn't a new sensation—I'd felt eyes on me my entire life—but this was different. This wasn't the lingering gaze of some disinterested stranger. This was deliberate. Calculating. And it wasn't just one person. It was the whole damn academy.
The prince had made it clear that he was watching me. It wasn't a suggestion. It was a fact. But it was the way he did it that unnerved me. As if he knew something about me. As if he could see the cracks in my armor, the parts of me that I desperately wanted to keep hidden.
I hated that feeling.
The academy was a jungle of politics and power plays, each student maneuvering for position, each one trying to be the last one standing when the dust settled. I was no different. If anything, I had more to lose than any of them. Revenge had become my only purpose, and in this world, it was better to keep your cards close to your chest. Trust no one. And definitely not the prince.
Still, he had that effect on me. There was a pull I couldn't ignore, an undercurrent of something that felt... dangerous.
"Lady Alden," came the voice of my teacher, Professor Jalin, snapping me out of my thoughts.
I turned to face him, trying to hide the suspicion that immediately rose within me. Trust was a currency I didn't have much of these days. "Professor," I said, keeping my tone even. "What brings you to me?"
His eyes darkened for a split second before his expression returned to its usual calm. "We need to talk. The royals have arrived, and there are things happening here that you don't fully understand. Be careful. Not just of the prince, but of everyone. There are more eyes on you than you realize."
It was exactly what I didn't want to hear. But I wasn't surprised. My father's connections had stretched far, and it seemed like they still had a hand in my life.
"Careful?" I said, forcing a laugh. "I've spent my entire life being careful. What's different now?"
Professor Jalin's eyes flicked to the front of the hall, where the royal family had seated themselves. "The game is more complicated than you think. You're not just a pawn in your father's scheme anymore. You're a player in a much bigger game. And you have to choose whether you want to survive it—or become its victim."
I hated the way his words sank into me, like a stone in my gut.