Steel Princess (Royal Elite #2) by Rina Kent

“Pass.” Not only is drinking not good for my heart condition, but I also don’t like the taste.

It’s bitter and burns. No idea why people like alcohol so much.

“Come on!” Kim urges. “This party is in your honour, remember?”

“I’m sure that’s just an excuse Ronan used to throw another party.”

The three of us push through the bodies grinding to the music.

“Isn’t it Ellie and Kimmy?” Ronan cuts in front of us, a sloppy smile painted on his lips. “You can’t be late to your own party, Ellie.”

A strong whiff of alcohol and expensive women perfume comes off his Elites jacket. Is that lipstick on his T-shirt?

“And who are you?” Ronan’s smile drops like a bad habit as he watches Knox quizzically. Almost in the same way Xander did earlier.

Like he’s a threat.

“I’m Knox,” he offers with his signature easy smile. Either he doesn’t feel the threat or he doesn’t care.

I’d be impressed if it’s the latter.

“Thanks for having me,” Knox says.

“I didn’t.” Ronan deadpans. “I don’t remember inviting you.”

“Hey.” I elbow Ronan. “I invited him. Isn’t this my party? I have the right to invite whoever I like.”

Ronan’s gaze slides from Knox to me as if he’s calculating something, then he murmurs to me, “You’re playing with fire, Ellie. You might burn.”

I’m already burning.

Aiden has set fire to my life since the first day I walked into RES.

Now I have to do what I should’ve done back then.

Stop the fire from spreading.

Stop the mortal disease from eating me from the inside.

“Come on, Knox.” I pull at his sleeves. “Let’s find something to eat.”

Kim gives me a discreet nod and takes Ronan in the opposite direction. As soon as they disappear, I let Knox go and motion at the reception table. “You’ll find anything you want here.”

He goes straight to the scones and scoops two of them before taking a bite.

My gaze strays in the hall even when I don’t feel him there.

I’m not naive to think that Aiden will let all this slide.

I straighten.

So what if he doesn’t?

Why the hell am I acting like I’m doing something wrong? I properly ended whatever we have. It’s not my fault that he thinks otherwise.

“Did I land in a weird situation?”

My attention snaps back to Knox. “What?”

“I seem to have made an enemy out of your friends.” Still chewing on the scone, he motions behind him without looking. I follow the direction and find Cole and Xander glaring at Knox’s back.

Or more like Xander is glaring. Cole just stands there, nonchalantly leaning against the doorframe, ankles crossed.

Both of them wear Elites jackets like Ronan as if they dropped here right after practice.

Neither of them meets my eyes. Instead, their entire attention is on Knox.

Despite Cole’s nonchalant expression, they appear kind of intimidating.

I ignore them and face Knox. “They’re not my friends.”

They’re Aiden’s friends. When it comes to choosing sides, the knight and rook always protect their king.

The thought of having the three of them turn on me makes my chest hurt more than I like to admit.

“I don’t mind making enemies.” Knox takes another bite and chews leisurely. “Let me know if you have any trouble with them.”

“No, Knox. You don’t want to make enemies with the four horsemen in RES. They’re kings here.”

I’m sounding just like Kim on my first day in RES.

If I ran away at that time, would I still end up like this?

I inwardly shake my head. It’s worthless to think about what-ifs when all is said and done.

Besides, Aiden would’ve found me sooner or later no matter how much I hid or ran.

“It’s cool,” Knox says.

“What do you mean?”

“I didn’t come to this school in search of glory.”

“Could’ve fooled me with this morning’s introduction.”

“Well, it doesn’t hurt to be accepted.” He grins. “But seriously, it’s fine if I don’t. RES is only a stop on my way to Cambridge.”

My jaw nearly drops to the floor. “Mine, too.”

“You’re going to Cambridge?”

I nod several times.

He offers me a scone and takes a bite of his own. “I knew we had things in common.”

It feels kind of warm to meet someone who’s using RES as much as I am to get to our dream university.

“There you are.”

My smile drops and a tremor shoots down my spine and straight to my chest.

No matter how much I try to erase his voice from my memory, it’s still engraved deep within like a curse.

I can recognise that slight huskiness at the end and the deep tenor even with the music.

Aiden wraps an arm around my waist from behind and pulls me to his side.

He might as well have wrapped a noose around my throat.

My lower lip trembles with frustration as I stare up at him. Just like in the classroom, he appears calm. Nonchalant, even.

He’s wearing dark jeans and a grey T-shirt that brings out the colour of his eyes. Like the other horsemen, he’s also wearing Elites royal blue jacket with the Lion-Shield-Crown logo on the pocket.