I looked at the pros and cons list of my death.

The pro of Claude killing me was that it would probably be quick and painless. The con was a war would break out. The pro of my father killing me was that a war wouldn’t break out, but the con was he would do it slow and tortuously.

I’ve thought about my death way too many times since coming here.

Maybe the pendant wasn’t such a big deal. I didn’t have to tell him Claude stole it. I could simply say I lost it. The punishment wouldn’t be fun, but I didn’t plan on attempting to steal my pendant back again. I’d learned my lesson.

I’d stayed up all night going through my actions again. They were careless and brash. I should have planned it better and thought it through. I believed Kaz so easily. I had realized the door being unlocked could be a setup, but I hadn’t realized the whole thing was a test. Claude didn’t return home on Mondays. He knew I’d try something if I thought he’d left. I’d fallen right into the trap.

I clenched my hand into a fist. At least I’d managed to land a few hits on him. He deserved it for that.

Kaz had the decency to look ashamed the night before. At first, I’d been confused by his expression, but now it made sense. I knew Claude probably forced him into doing it, but it still threw me off. No one would truly have my side here. I understood that, but…

I flopped down on my bed. A memory of Claude above me, messy-haired and bright-eyed entered my mind unbidden and I shot up. I shoved the image away. No, no. That wasn’t right. Claude wanted to kill me. What was I doing? Thinking Claude was attractive was like wondering what would happen if you crashed your car into a guardrail. You didn’t really want to do it, but you couldn’t stop the thought. Yes. That made more sense.

Claude was simply an intrusive thought.

I didn’t want to go to class today and see him.

Skipping wasn’t an option though, so I trudged out of my room to meet up with Kaz. To my great displeasure, Claude was already waiting with him. They both wore the basic uniform of black slacks and the button up with gold detailing. It was uncanny how much they resembled each other.

While their skin tones differed slightly, if someone told me they were brothers before I knew better, I would have believed them. Even their facial structure was familiar.

I bit the inside of my cheek, hesitating before joining them. I’d noticed they looked similar before but didn’t think too much about it. Was it possible Kaz was the hidden heir? Perhaps his true hair color was black and he’d just dyed it lighter and wore colored contacts as Adora did. But I didn’t get the same feeling from Kaz as I did from Claude though. Wouldn’t the other heir give off the same foreboding feeling?

That line of thinking disappeared as I walked up to them, warmth flooding my cheeks as shame suddenly went through me. I’d been terrified last night. And Claude had seen that fear. That moment of weakness. He hadn’t even done anything and I’d been shaking like a leaf. It was embarrassing. I wanted to hide my face in my hands. Instead, I did the next best thing.

Acted completely unaffected and ignored him.

“Ready, sleepyhead?” Kaz asked.

I nodded, hurrying past the pair and down the stairs. The lack of students in the hall revealed just how late I’d made us. I hastened my pace. Once outside I nearly ran over Adora who was waiting for us at the bottom of the steps, breathing on her hands to keep them warm.

“Adora! Good morning,” I said, hooking my arm around hers and guiding us toward our first class.

Her eyes grew round for a moment before a huge smile spread across her face. “You’re lively this morning, but you’re leading us the wrong way.”

“What?”

“Our classes rotate, remember? We’re going to history first today.”

“Oh. Right.”

She steered us to the left. “It’s okay. I doubt anyone will notice if we’re late.”

I stared at her.

“Yeah, never mind. There is no way the crown prince and the vampire hunter could be discreet.”

“If anyone is even in class.”

“Everyone will be there today. Evander sent out a vaguely threatening email. Our school is funded by the families of the students who go here so the students typically think they can get away with everything. But skipping class to avoid Claude is just rude. I don’t know why they do that. Evander reminded everyone that skipping too many classes this early in the semester could lead them to be expelled.”

“Expelled? Isn’t that a bit much?”

“A small price to pay for insulting the crown.”

Her words were light, but her face hardened. I fell silent and walked beside her. What happened yesterday made it apparent she was close to Claude. And her befriending me so easily made me believe she was a good person. So, I could understand her annoyance with the other students since she cared about Claude. I didn’t even like Claude and I still felt bad.

“Is it true that harming a member of the royal family is punishable by death?” I asked.

Her eyebrow quirked. “If you even live long enough to be found guilty of it, yes.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve seen Claude’s father strike people down for less.”

“What? Is that even legal?”

“Our laws are much different than yours,” she said. “Royalty is both government and law enforcement here. If Claude wanted to kill every student at this school he could and he would go unpunished.”

No wonder the students were afraid of him. I was suddenly feeling very lucky Claude let me live.

“Not that Claude would do that,” Adora said, tucking her long black hair behind her ear. “He’s not as bad as his father or grandfather. I’m sure you’ve heard rumors about them.” She glanced around and lowered her voice, moving her head closer to me. “I’m almost glad they’re gone. Claude’s grandfather was horrible toward my mother. And she couldn’t do anything about it.”

What would Adora think if she found out I wore Claude’s grandfather’s bones around my neck? Or, well, that Claude wore his grandfather’s bones around his neck? I didn’t know how to answer Adora. My father was the one who killed Claude’s grandfather. Whether she liked him or not, he was still dead because of my family.

Fortunately, I didn’t have to answer because she let out a long sigh and continued. “That’s the thing about royal sovereignty. You can’t oppose supreme power. It’s as corrupt as everything else. But Claude is different. I know he’s scary to you, but I grew up with him. He’s nothing like the rest of his family.”

That sounded familiar. I was tempted to glance back at the prince in question but managed not to. He still threatened to kill me. My family still murdered his family. No matter how Adora felt about Claude, the dynamic between him and myself was very different. I was spying on him, trying to find out his secrets. And he was rightly doing the same.

The treaty wanted us to be friends, but that was impossible. We would always end up with daggers at each other’s throats. These past days have proven as much.

If the day came where we could meet up unarmed, then I’d believe we could be friends.

But that was seriously unlikely. I had no idea what my father planned to do once I figured out how the secret heir was.

Walking into a full classroom brought all the anxiety of the first day back. This was what I’d been expecting. A dead silence. Looks of disgust and disdain. My chest went tight, but I kept my face neutral. There weren’t enough open spots for all of us to sit together, so Adora led me to two empty spots in the first row of seats.

I sat down stiffly. I’d rather sit next to Claude than some random student. At least I knew what to expect with him. The guy didn’t bother to acknowledge me. I’d take being ignored over being stared at. Unfortunately, being at the front meant I couldn’t even tell who had eyes on my back. It made the hairs on my neck raise.

Tucking my hands under my thighs, I subtly felt for my dagger. This time I didn’t forget it. These students weren’t bound to the peace treaty in the same way Claude was. Claude might be able to do whatever he wanted, but he still had a sense of duty. Something that wouldn’t resound with the general public. And with my back to them, I wouldn’t be able to see if anyone tried to do anything to me.

“Oh, crap. I forgot my history book. I’ll be right back,” Adora said, shooting up from her desk. “Make an excuse for me if I don’t make it back in time!”

I sunk into my seat lower as she ran out of the room. Hopefully, the wood would protect my back. Murmurs rose from around me. I hoped it wasn’t about plotting my death.

“You smell pleasant.”

Impressed at my ability not to jerk as the guy next to me spoke, I lifted my head to look at him. Then I did react, my eyes widening at the jagged scar that stretched from his forehead to his cheek. It crossed over his eye as if someone had attempted to remove it with a blade. Smooth and faded, I wondered how long ago he’d gotten it.

“I think it adds to my charm,” he said nonchalantly, shifting his head so his white hair fell over his face, covering most of the scar.

“I’m sorry for staring,” I said immediately. I agreed with him, though. The scar didn’t mar his bronze skin at all. It gave him a mysterious edge.

He smirked. “Please, stare all you’d like, Flos.”

A shiver went through my body as his pale blue gaze drilled into me, unblinking. He angled his body toward me, knees brushing mine. I wanted to put space between us but didn’t want to show any unease. Instead, I turned my head to the empty teacher’s desk. Was it normal here for teachers to be late all the time?

Claude and Kaz came into the classroom then, causing the volume in the room to drop once again. They searched the room, pausing when their eyes landed on me. Kaz’s zeroed in on the man beside me, his lips forming a frown.

“Has he tasted you yet?”

I returned my attention to the white-haired man. “What?”

“You two have been spending the last couple of days together. I thought by now he would have given in and sampled from the daughter of the Harbinger of War.”

Sampled from? Like I was some kind of snack? I ignored the use of my father’s moniker. I hated hearing it. It wasn’t wrong, but that’s what I hated the most.

A cold hand clasped around my neck and suddenly I was jerked closer to him, his nose pressing into the crook of my neck. My voice caught in my throat as my hands grabbed his shoulders, trying to shove him back. Something sharp was pressing against my collarbone and I planted my feet firmly to shove my chair back. I slid away and the white-haired man straightened out again, licking his bottom lip.

“Easy,” he said. “I’ll wait until you give me permission.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Because I know how to make it good.”