Destined for Vengeance ✔️

Chapter 46

"I haven't seen you in forever," Carry said, slipping into Ryleigh's bedroom and closing the door behind her. Ryleigh was sitting in the window-sill, one leg outside of the room, one leg inside. She glanced up.

"What do you mean? You've seen me at dinner two hours ago."

"Yes, but that doesn't count. You haven't been taking any classes with me lately. We don't hang out anymore."

Ryleigh swung her leg inside. "You're right. I'm sorry." She leant against the windowsill, regarding her. "I guess I figured you wouldn't miss me much. I'm not great company lately, judging by the amount of people currently avoiding me. You're better off with your friends."

"My friends are boring. You're not."

Ryleigh pursed her lips, her hand flitting around in a That's fair kind of way.

"What do you have there?" Carry progressed, nodding at the paper in Ryleigh's hand.

"O, this? Jade wrote me a letter. Would you look at how thick this paper is?" She waved the paper through the air. It hardly bent.

"How is she doing?" Carry asked. She sat down cross-legged on the bed. "It must be so romantic to be the prince's mate."

"Not quite. She's already had to knock out a guard, the council hates her, and Aaron isn't speaking to her. I guess I understand why she would tell me all this in a letter. Makes it harder for me to say 'I told you so'. But I did tell her."

"So she doesn't like it there?" Carry's brows twitched above widening eyes. "Is she going to reject him?"

"O, I don't know. I hope so, but I doubt it."

"You speak so lightly about rejection." Carry fell silent a moment, searching Ryleigh's face. "Are you going to reject Austin?"

Ryleigh's movements faltered for one brief second. Then she folded the letter, tapping it against her knee. "Why would you think that?"

"It doesn't take a genius to see things haven't exactly been going great between the two of you lately. You're avoiding him, aren't you?"

"He's avoiding me, actually. Or maybe we're avoiding each other. It's been weird. That's my fault. I get stuck in my head, and he doesn't understand."

"Have you tried to explain it?"

"Yes, but he's very different. We don't think about things the same way. There are a few irreconcilable differences between us, and they complicate things."

"Like you wanting to kill the king." It wasn't a question.

"Yes." She exhaled slowly. "I know you don't understand either –"

"I do. I would kill Alpha Braxton if I could. He killed my parents and many good people. If I could get my hands on him, I would rip him apart."

Ryleigh regarded her. Carry was usually an endless source of dramatic exclamations and enthusiastic ramblings, but this was neither. Her voice was calm and even, her eyes void of any exaggeration. She was in earnest.

"Not many people manage to surprise me," Ryleigh said. "You surprise me."

"Sometimes, when I really miss my parents, or when I see how much Ellis is hurting – he misses Liv, you know. Misses her terribly. Well, sometimes when I'm reminded of what Golden Dawn did to us, I really want to run away, sneak into their territory and kill Braxton. But I don't."

"I'm glad. You'd never make it."

"Neither will you." Again, she sounded so rational that Ryleigh could only blink. Who was this adult?