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Chapter 12

Ihurry out of my last class, eager to leave campus, and nearly crash into Earwyn and her dogfish. Are they everywhere?

“Sorry,” I mumble.

“Don’t apologize to us.” Earwyn brings her hand to her chest and bows. “All hail Queen Sirena.”

The dogfish both bow. “All hail Queen Sirena!”

Other students stop and giggle. Some bow and repeat the line.

My face heats up. “I’m not Queen Sirena!”

Earwyn twirls a strand of my pink hair. “You sure?”

Snickers sound all around.

I move back, forcing her to let go of my hair. “I’m Marra, plain and simple. Leave me alone!”

Earwyn smiles slowly. “You sure are plain and simple. Utterly boring, in fact.” She fakes a yawn.

Anger surges through me. I clench my jaw and my fists glow.

Vanya tilts her head and moves between Earwyn and me. “Are you going to destroy another wall? Then have Daddy clean up your mess for you?”

“Or try to kill Earwyn again?” Cove laughs.

I glare at them one by one. “I thought you liked King Tiberias. You can’t even be nice to me now that you know I’m his daughter?”

Earwyn smirks. “You’ll always be Drake the snake’s daughter to me. He did raise you. His influence runs through every part of you. King Tiberias? Not so much.”

“What about his edict to treat me well? Making fun of me is making fun of him.”

She narrows her eyes. “Nobody likes you. What’s he going to do? Punish the entire academy? And you know what’s going to happen if he does—we’ll make your life even more miserable. Trust me, you don’t want that.”

I consider my wording carefully before speaking. “Do what you want. I don’t really care. The fact of the matter is, one day I’ll be your queen. And do you know what? I’ll remember everything. All of this. Keep that in mind.”

I spin around and swim away. My heart races so fast, I’m shaking. But at least she and her dogfish can’t see that.

By the time I find Bash in the band room, I’ve calmed down.

He wraps his arms around me. “Are you okay?”

Maybe I haven’t calmed down that much. “Just had a run-in with Earwyn and the dogfish. It’s nothing.”

“At least they’re graduating after this term.”

“I sure hope so.”

He snickers. “You don’t think they will?”

“It’d be my luck that they have to stay for another year. Then she’d be even more miserable than usual.”

“She may be a snot, but she’s always on the honor roll. She’s going to graduate with high marks, and we’ll be able to forget all about her.”

“I just have to get through a few more months.”

“Exactly.” He gives me a quick kiss. “So, are you ready to fill me in on what we talked about earlier, or do you need to spar?”