Class ended with the thud of Vauxol's book on the desk.
The nobles stood up. The murmuring returned. Chairs dragging. Books closing. The usual rhythm of an academy emptying its classrooms.
I stayed seated.
Layda gathered her things beside me.
"See you at the library," she said.
"See you."
She left the classroom with her braid swinging over her shoulder. Three rows back, Lianza stored her bent quill in the case. Ardwyn stood up from his seat and made a show of dusting off his uniform.
I couldn't let him escort her.
But first, I had to confirm something. I stood up and walked to the front of the classroom where Vauxol was collecting his books and parchments.
"Professor."
Vauxol looked up. His eyebrows knitted together.
"Sir Elcronne. Any problem with today's material?"
"None. A question about the pair assignments."
Vauxol set the parchments on the desk. His fingers paused on the edge.
"What about the assignment?"
"Was it your decision?"
The professor looked at me for three seconds. His eyes moved toward the door, where Ardwyn had just exited.
"The assignments are made following instructions from the academic directorate." His voice dropped half a tone. "The crown has an interest in students from... complementary... houses working together."
The crown. Instructions from the crown. From the crown.
"I understand."
"Sir Elcronne, if you have any complaint about the methodology, you can submit a formal request to the Empero Council." Vauxol closed his briefcase. "Though I warn you: complaints from minor houses take weeks to be considered."
Weeks I didn't have. I left the classroom without saying goodbye.
The hallway was full. Nobles circulating in groups. I searched for Lianza by sight and by feel. The air was very warm in the east. Neutral in the south. The temperature dropped in the west. That was the direction she must have gone.
I found her when I turned the corner of the hallway, about fifteen meters away, walking alone.
Ardwyn was following her five steps behind, adjusting his gloves.
I sped up. I reached her in seven strides.
"My lady," I said, taking the books she carried under her arm. "Allow me."
Lianza handed them to me without looking at me.
Ardwyn saw the scene. He hurried his pace until he was beside us, matching our stride.
"Princess," he said. "It was a revealing class. I hope we can collaborate more in the future."
"I have my own studies, Your Highness," Lianza replied. "And my own bodyguard to accompany me."
The word 'bodyguard' came out with a specific nuance that only I could decipher. 'Boyfriend' in her private language. In our private language.
Ardwyn diverted his gaze toward me.
"The Dog at Her Heels looking for his mistress. Such devotion. Taking your owner's books."
"Dedication is a virtue," I replied, "that not everyone can appreciate."
"The same dedication you used while guarding the stairs to deliver that cheap pickup line to the new girl, right? How was it? 'Angels shouldn't fall from the sky'. Ah, no. It was: 'Angels shouldn't trip on stairs'. Pff."
The prince slowed his pace until he stopped, and stayed there laughing.
Lianza hadn't found any of that amusing in the least.
Lianza and I turned the first corner. The hallway emptied. Her steps became faster, almost urgent.
She stopped. She turned.
"Say I'm your Seraph," she repeated. Her voice had returned to that low tone that was dangerous territory.
"You know you are."
"I want to hear the word Seraph from your lips, Dariel."
"You are my Seraph."
Lianza bit her lip.
Ever since I saw her in her private room after what I did on the south wing stairs, I had promised to tell her as much of the truth as I could. And, unfortunately, this moment would be no exception.
"Layda and I will meet at the library."
Lianza raised an eyebrow.
"It's to study."
"To study." Her garnet eyes scanned me. "In the library. Which is empty at this hour. After class."
"Vauxol paired us up, you know that."
"Vauxol paired us up to study in class. Not to meet up in the library."
"It's not a date."
"She didn't ask you to study. She asked you to study alone. Without witnesses. In a place where no one would see you."
I had no retort to that argument. She was right.
"Lianza..."
"Don't call me that in public."
"My lady. I swear that..."
"What do you swear? That you won't go? That you won't sit next to her at a table and let her whisper in your ear again?"
"It wasn't..."
"I saw you." Her voice cracked a millimeter. "The whole time. Her leaning over you. Your elbow against hers. And me, six rows back, with Ardwyn's hand on my forearm and his voice in my ear, unable to do anything."
Her index finger slid toward the lens of her glasses. She touched it. She lowered it.
"I'm fed up, Dariel."
I opened my mouth. To lie. To swear... To tell her that Layda didn't matter, that the library was a trap, that everything was part of a plan I couldn't explain. To tell her about the System, the missions, the blackmail...
But the words simply couldn't come out. They died in my throat.
I had to save her, and telling her the whole truth could cause irreversible results. And with all the unexpected results I'm currently handling, I have more than enough.
The sound of heavy boots invaded the atmosphere. Two pairs.
Ardwyn reappeared around the corner. His long cape billowing behind him. His two royal guards from Jahke flanked him with their halberds and ivory-colored armor.
"Ah, here you are," he said. His mocking smile still in place. "How convenient to find you together."
Lianza straightened up. Her mask rebuilt itself in the blink of an eye.
"Your Highness. Are you following us?"
"Not exactly." He stopped three meters away. His guards stayed back, motionless. "I come to deliver something."
He pulled an envelope from inside his cape.
And I immediately recognized it as the one from this morning, the one I had seen in his right pocket:
Cream-colored parchment. Wax sealed with the color of melted gold. The seal of the Jahke crown, marked with the pressure of a royal ring.
He held it in the air between his fingers.
"My father, King Varanian IV of Jahke, has sent this through me." His Empero began to flow, bright. "He requests a formal audience with House D'Tariel."
He paused. Savoring every syllable.
"To discuss a matter of utmost importance."
The air in the hallway thickened. Lianza didn't move. Her eyes dropped to the envelope. The wax shone under the yellowish light of the lamps. The Jahke seal, made with the King's Empero. Intact. Waiting to be broken.
My fingers closed around Lianza's books.
Something was wrong. In The Throne of Ashes and Thorns, this happened after the ball. Many chapters later. A few weeks later, at minimum.
Ardwyn smiled. He looked at me.
"Nothing personal, bodyguard. Just kingdom politics, you know."