Chapter 260

Even as everyone returns to their homework, though, my eyes keep darting back to the little pile of chocolate on the side of the map.

Delicately, working hard to use my espionage skills, I casually lean forward and slip my hand out –

Only for Luca to swat it away. I gasp in shock, mock appalled.

“Hands off,” Luca murmurs, not looking at me as he looks down at the notebook in which he hastily writes. “I’m using those.”

“They’re mine!”

“You can wait, Ariel!” he says, laughing a little, “until I’m finished!”

“But I want one now,” I moan, truly craving the little treat. “Can’t I just have one of the dead troops!?”

“No!” Luca replies, laughing and glancing up at me, “I might need to set up the scenario again. Just…have a little patience, please.”

“I have some of those,” Daphne says at my side, and I turn to her with interest. “They’re down in my room. If you’re really dying for one, we could go down there?”

“Yes!” I say, jumping to my feet, instantly eager.

“Ariel, by the time you get down there and back up Luca will be finished –“ Rafe says on a sigh, holding out a pleading hand towards me.

“No, I won’t!” Luca calls, still looking down at his paper. “Slow writer!”

“Oh, it will take five minutes,” Daphne says, putting her sewing into its basket and reaching out to take my hand. “Besides, I could use the chance to stretch my legs.”

“But,” Rafe sputters out, looking anxiously between us, “it’s dangerous –“

“Rafe,” she says, laughing, “I wander around this castle all the time, and I’m always fine –“

“But Ariel!”

“I’ll go too,” Ben says, neatly closing his book and standing up, stretching his arms over his head as he smiles as Daphne as me. “As the muscle. I’m always down for a late-evening chocolate run.”

Daphne and I beam at Ben as Rafe sighs, turning towards Jesse. “Seriously, Jess?” Rafe asks, holding a hand out towards the three of us. “Nothing? No support on this?”

Jesse flicks his eyes up to Rafe for a mere second, his face stony. “If it were just Ariel, cousin, I’d refuse in a moment because I enjoy seeing her suffer. But I’m under a sincere oath to deny Daphne nothing in this world. As such,” he says, giving a dramatic sigh as he nestles back into the cushions of his chair, “my hands are tied.”

Rafe groans, rolling his eyes, as my little trio of adventure seekers head towards the door. Luca waves to us over his shoulder as Jackson sends a warm pulse down the bond, encouraging me to have fun and be safe in his own little way.

Smiling, I slip out the door with Ben and Daphne on either side, and we hurry down the hall towards the stairs, Daphne swinging her sewing basket happily in her hand.

“You know, I’m a very strong hand-to-hand expert now, Benny,” I say, smugly raising my chin. “You barely had to come for protection. Just for Daphne’s sake.”

“Oh believe me,” he says, looking at me with wide, honest eyes. “I’m only in it for the chocolate, Ariel. Jackson really worked up an appetite in me, narrating all that death and destruction while moving the candy around the board with those broad hands…”

Daphne and I both burst out laughing and Ben grins at us as we all cheerfully move forward, chatting idly as we go down the stairs and then into an elevator that takes us down to Daphne’s floor. When we get to her door and she quickly opens it with a tiny key, I’m charmed again by her little room – so neat and tidy, with her sewing machine in the corner.

“Come in,” Daphne says, waving us forward. “It will take me a minute to find the candy in all of my boxes – plus, I never have guests.”

Ben looks around with interest at Daphne’s room as I plop onto the bed, swinging my legs and grinning, pleased to be alone with the two friends with whom I spend the least amount of time. Ben nods appreciatively. “Nice place you’ve got here, Daph,” he says, putting his hands on his hips as he spies Daphne’s small collection of red wine on her bureau. “Especially this contraband.”

Daphne looks up from her search in a trunk for a moment, confused, but then laughs when she sees the direction of Ben’s gaze. “Not contraband for me, I am not studying to be an elite warrior,” she says happily, going back to her search and reaching deep into the trunk with the excitement when she spies what she wants. “Do you want a glass? Fine by me.”

“Absolutely,” Ben says instantly, reaching for a bottle.

“Benny!” I burst out, scandalized.

“Oh, you’re having one too, princess,” Ben says with a happy sigh, grabbing Daphne’s two wine glasses and a coffee mug, bringing them with him as he sits on the bed next to me. “We’re taking a fifteen-minute Alpha break. Having some girl talk instead.”

“Fun!” Daphne says, climbing onto the bed with us and putting the little bag of caramel chocolates in the center as Ben pours the wine.

I sigh dramatically as he hands me the mug. “Fine,” I moan. “If you force me, then I must.”

“You poor dear,” Daphne murmurs, taking a full glass from Ben and smirking as she gives me a wink.

“To the loss of your stainless reputation, Ariel,” Ben says, raising his own glass in toast as he sets the bottle aside.

I laugh, raising my mug and clinking it against Ben and Daphne’s glasses with good cheer, reassuring myself that one glass of wine isn’t a lot and that I wasn’t going to get much more homework done tonight anyway.

“So,” Ben says, his eyes lighting on Daphne with a little bit of glee as he leans back against her headboard. “How’s your relationship with the crown prince going, Daphne?”

Daphne laughs low, slowly shaking her head at Ben. “No way, Ternicki,” she says, grinning. “I’m not telling you anything about my love life until you spill about what was going on between you and that Atalaxian boy at the war meeting in the palace.”

My mouth drops and I spin my head her way. “You saw that!?”

“Thank you,” Daphne says, turning her grin on me. “For your tacit admission that something did happen between him and that guy.”

I flush a little, looking guiltily towards Ben, who rolls his eyes at me. “Some paragon of secrecy you are, espionage,” he mutters, kicking my foot with his own. He looks back at Daphne. “But as that is currently an issue of national security –“

She grins, not buying it.

“- I must return to my original question about yourself and Rafe Sinclair.”

Daphne bites her lip, looking down into her wine, and my face falls a bit because…well, what was that about? Ben notices it too, glancing at me.

“What’s up, Daph?” he asks. When she doesn’t answer, he leans forward a bit. “We won’t…tell anyone. Zone of secrecy and all that.”

Daphne sighs and looks up at both of us. I turn my head a little as I look at her, completely surprised because – god, because it looks like Daphne is upset.

But – does that mean that something’s wrong?

“Come on, Daph,” Ben says. “All teasing aside…you look like you could use a friend. And that’s what we’re here for.” He points between himself and me.

“Yeah,” Daphne says on a sigh, taking a long sip of her wine. “I guess…I guess I could.”