Chapter 25

The prince locked his office door behind him.

He went to his desk and opened his email. Ignoring the hundreds of unread messages in his inbox, he scrolled down to an archive folder labeled For Emergencies.

The folder was empty except for a single, unsent email draft. The subject line was blank and there was no text in the body. The only bit of information was an email address saved in the recipient field.

Nolan double-clicked the email draft to open it, typed a very quick message into the body, and hit Send.

In another corner of the prince’s office, a leather armchair and a coffee table faced a grand stone fireplace that was currently cold and empty. Nolan went over and retrieved a bottle of whiskey from the table. He took it with him around the corner, to the narrow library that adjoined the office.

In the library, Nolan went over to a bookcase at the far end of the room. He ran his fingers along the spines of a few familiar books, stopping when they landed on the one he was looking for.

He pulled the book toward him, sliding it forward on the shelf just about an inch, and then let it go.

The book slid, slowly, back into its place.

Then a low rumble sounded from Nolan’s left, and he stepped back just in time to avoid the slow pirouette of a book-lined false wall as it spun open to reveal the entrance to a secret passageway.

Nolan put the whiskey bottle to his lips and took a big drink.

Then he set it aside and took a small step into the passageway, stooping low and reaching out to find something by touch.

He found it and flipped the switch. The electric lantern buzzed to life, emitting a hot yellow glow that illuminated the chamber.

He was standing at the bottom landing of a dark, steep spiral staircase.

The chamber was a narrow cylinder with stone walls and a steel pole shooting up from the center. Thousands of narrow metal stairs spiraled out around the pole, leading up for who knows how many flights.

Looking up from the bottom, the staircase looked endless.

Nolan knew, by now, it was best not to look too far up or down the stairs while climbing them. Focusing on the steps just ahead or behind was the best way to keep from falling.

He turned around and tugged on a handle on the backside of the false wall, swinging it closed behind him.

He heard the bookcase secure itself back into the wall with a soft thud.

He blinked a few times to adjust his eyes to the dim, then started climbing.

YENA

A group of Noble Club kids hanging out in the courtyard caught my attention as I was leaving the Arts Building after class.

A tall, broad-shouldered guy with a mess of curly black hair was sitting backwards on a picnic bench, making out with a red-haired girl sitting on his lap. He was the only one in the group not wearing a red Noble Club jacket.

I noticed that the pretty redhead’s blazer was gigantic on her. Oversized, with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows. Definitely stolen from the big guy.

A petite brunette girl sat on the other side of the table, watching a second tall guy, who was younger-looking and skinnier than his friend, with shaggy brown hair that fell just past his shoulders. The skinny guy was flipping a skateboard around under his feet, trying to show off some little tricks for the girl but mostly just looking like an idiot.

And a third girl, with long black hair and thick fake eyelashes, sat cross-legged on top of the table, typing furiously on her phone.

I’m not sure why I got caught up watching them as I passed, but I’m glad I did because what happened next stopped me dead.

A big girl with a sweet, chubby face emerged from a side door of the building and started walking through the group. The skinny guy noticed her and dropped his skateboard. He went over to the brunette and whispered something in her ear, and they both started smiling mischievously.

The brunette then tapped her raven-haired friend on the leg and whispered to her. The girl snapped her head up and smiled when she saw the girl that was passing them by. She slipped her phone into the breast pocket of her blazer.

The chubby girl was almost past them when the skateboard guy shouted, “Hey! Hey, fat girl!”

The girl slowed, looking like she’d been struck by an arrow, but she didn’t look at him.

I started walking over.

Then the black-haired girl slid off the table. She took a few quick steps and fell into stride with the chubby girl, and started whispering into her ear.

The girl turned away from the bully and tried to side-step her, but the black-haired girl jogged beside her, laughing and continuing to whisper some inaudible taunts.

“Hey!” I called out.

The Noble girl turned and looked at me. The wicked smile vanished from her face and was replaced by a wide-eyed look, like a deer in headlights.

I turned to the girl who was being bullied and asked her, “Are you okay?”

“Oh, yeah,” she said. “I am now.”

“Great,” I replied. “Are you about to head home?”

She nodded.

“Can I give you a ride?”

“Okay.” She smiled and rushed over to my side.

I looked back at the Noble kids.

The black-haired girl was pacing backward slowly with her eyes glued to me, as if I were a snake she feared could bite any moment. That felt kind of nice.

“What’s going on?” the skinny guy asked, breaking the tense silence. He had his arms out to his sides in a gesture of bewilderment.

The curly haired guy knocked the girl off his lap and spun around. He grabbed his friend by his shirt collar and jerked him forward to whisper loudly in his ear, “That’s the fucking princess, you idiot.”

“Come on,” I told the chubby girl, who was standing beside me beaming.

We walked to the car and I had her give the driver her address.

“Thank you so much for getting me out of there, Your Highness,” the girl said.

I burst out laughing.

“Oh, please don’t call me that,” I said. “It’s too much.”

“Okay,” she said, ginning. “What would you like me to call you?”

“Just Yena would be great,” I said.

“Alright, Yena,” she replied, her tone cheerful. “My name’s Lucy. Thanks again for bailing me out — those kids have been on my case all semester.”

“It’s no problem,” I said. “I’m glad I could help.”

“I have to tell you that I love your jacket, by the way,” she said, making me blush a little.

I told her I made it myself and she looked at me in complete awe.

“Wow,” she said, her big amber eyes wide and sincere. “Really? You are very talented.”

I couldn’t help but laugh again. “Nah,” I said, “I’m a fashion design student. It’s just what I do.”