Page 115 of Conquered (Highgate Preparatory Academ:y Compendium)
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
LILLY
W e arrive back late, stepping off the plane into the crisp winter Colorado mountain air, the stars shining brightly above us, our breath coming out in puffs of steam.
Luckily, there are a couple of days before the new term, or semester starts because my body is all kinds of fucked-up from the three different time zones.
I sleep for a solid fourteen hours, my Viking on one side, my fallen angel on the other, and wake up groggy, but feeling less exhausted as afternoon sunshine filters around the edges of the curtains in Loki’s dorm room.
Stretching, I notice that the bed is empty either side of me, Jax and Loki clearly having left some time ago if the cold sheets are any indication.
Getting up, I grab a navy blue T-shirt from the floor, Loki’s vanilla scent all over it as I take a whiff before throwing it on, and heading out of the room and down the stairs towards the bathroom.
My brows draw together in a frown as I register how quiet it is, and looking around, I can see that the guys aren’t down here.
I take care of business, flushing and washing my hands before coming back out and looking around again. Spotting a piece of paper on the kitchen island, I make my way over and grab it.
Got called away to a Black Knight Corp. meeting, be back this evening.
Your breakfast is in the fridge, make sure you eat it all up and drink your juice, Princess.
An empty feeling lies in the pit of my stomach as I read the note, my appetite gone as thoughts race across my mind. What Knight meeting? Did they only just find out about it? What if they have to...hurt someone?
Closing my eyes, I take a deep, calming breath, although nausea still swirls in my stomach at the thought of them being forced to do awful things at the hands of those that are meant to care for and protect them.
They’ll tell me what happened when they get back.
I can’t do anything to change things now anyway, so I might as well try and distract myself until they get home.
I decide to follow Ash’s instructions and have something to eat, opening the fridge to find a yummy bowl of Greek yoghurt, and a glass of juice on the shelf. Fresh granola flapjacks and syrup are waiting for me on the counter, with another note next to them.
I made your favorite, chocolate chip
Oh, Kai, you wonderful human!
Tucking in, I moan at the buttery oat-y taste, the flapjacks still warm from the oven. Finishing up, I put my bowl and glass in the dishwasher, and go to take a shower, then head back upstairs to get dressed.
Suddenly, I crave fresh air and looking out the window, although it’s a little cloudy, it’s not raining. A walk around campus sounds perfect to help blow these cobwebs away, and just what the doctor ordered.
Twenty minutes later, I’m heading out of the front doors of the Academy, wrapped up in my wool coat, hat, and scarf, with super cute mittens on my hands, and wearing my favourite Run and Fly rainbow dungarees.
Taking a deep inhale, a smile lifts my lips as the frigid air hits my lungs. This is exactly what I needed.
Rounding the corner of the building, my lips drop into a frown when I hear girlish jeering and laughing up ahead. Narrowing my eyes, I come round a large topiary bush to find Amber Cuntmuffin— surprise, surprise —and her two fanny flap sidekicks surrounding a girl I’ve not seen before.
I can’t see much of her, as they have her completely surrounded, but what I can tell from the ugly twists of their faces is that whatever they are saying isn’t nice. Frowning harder, I approach them and catch Amber sneering at the poor girl, who looks close to tears.
“Why don’t you go back to the gutter that you came from, charity case.”
What the ever-loving fuck is wrong with this cumdumpster?!
“You know,” I start, having stepped up right behind her.
She whirls round, eyes bulging unattractively when she sees that we’re almost face to face.
“Just because you have a cunt, doesn’t mean you need to act like one all the time.
” I smile sweetly at her, tilting my head to the side in a fake gesture of innocence.
“Oh look, here comes the other English bitch.” Her lip curls back as she practically snarls at me.
“She’s the school whore, so you guys should get along just fine, Trash,” she says, looking over her shoulder at the new girl, spitting out the insult and making the other girl flinch.
Her name-calling just washes over me, and I smirk at her.
“Let’s go, Bianca, Tina.” Ah, so those are their names.
I guess I couldn’t call them fanny flap one and two forever. Snort .
Amber takes a step away from me, her clones on either side of her. I swear they used to have different hair colours, but they’re all varying shades of blonde now.
“Yeah, we wouldn’t want to catch something,” sneers Fanny, I mean, Tina. Or maybe Bianca. Fuck if I know, they all look the bloody same.
“What, like a personality?” I ask with a smile, earning more sneers from all three of them. “Run along, Fanny, your master is calling.” Whoops, guess Fanny it is!
She vibrates with fury, like a little bunny boiler ready to explode. I can’t help the chuckle that escapes at the visuals of bunny fluff flying everywhere when she detonates. Fanny aka Tina takes a step forward, but Amber lays a hand on her arm.
“She’s not worth it, Tina,” she growls out, then looks at me with a smug smile that makes my heartbeat thump in my chest uncomfortably. “She’ll be put back in her place soon.” Then, with perfectly executed hair flips, they turn on their heels and walk off.
“Well, that was ominous,” a soft British accented voice says next to me, and I startle, having forgotten all about the new girl.
“Ah, don’t mind Cuntmuffin. She’s just sore because I’m with the guys that she wants,” I tell her, finally able to take her in.
She’s a petite blonde, barely reaching my shoulder, and I’m not exactly tall at five-six.
Her pale blonde hair sits close to her head in tight curls, and with her sparkling blue eyes, all big and round like a bushbaby, she definitely looks like she belongs in the forest behind us.
She's wearing jeans, Doc Martens, and a massive green puffer jacket with fake fur round the hood that practically drowns her.
She smiles mischievously at the nickname I have for Amber, holding out her hand, the gesture drawing my lips up.
“Willow Anderson,” she states as I grasp her tiny hand in mine, shaking it. She really is like a fairy.
“Lilly Darling, pleased to meet you, Willow,” I reply. We let go of each others’ hands with a chuckle, and I can see that she’s eyeing me up as much as I did her. “Out with it,” I say with a laugh, turning and indicating with my hand that we walk together.
“You said ‘guys’ that you’re with, like there’s more than one…” she trails off, a cute as fuck blush stealing over her cheeks as she looks at me from under her lashes. I can feel an answering heat in my own face, but I’m not ashamed of my unconventional relationship.
“That’s right, I have four guys, who are all best friends, that I’m seeing,” I tell her, watching as her eyes widen slightly, but her steps don’t falter, and instead, she tips her head to the side a little, a slow smile building on her face.
“My brother and his best friends are inseparable. I can’t imagine them ever being apart,” she says, looking up at me with a twinkle in her eyes. “I might have to drop some hints about Iris when I speak to them next.”
“Iris?” I question, loving how this girl’s mind works, similar to my own in that we carry on conversations that we’re having in our head out loud.
“Iris Montgomery sponsored me to come here after… Well, after some shit happened back home,” she informs me, looking away, her hands twitching by her sides.
“And where’s home?” I ask, seeing that a swift subject change is in order.
“World's End Estate, Chelsea, in London. You?” Another slow smile tilts her lips upwards.
“Islington, then Wiltshire with my uncle after some shit happened,” I beam at her, and her grin grows wider. “And Iris sponsored you to come here?”
“Yeah, well, she persuaded her dad to pay for a sponsorship for me. I just...needed to get out, you know?” She looks at me then, and I can see pain so similar to my own swimming in her deep blue eyes. Although, my heartache is less now than it was when I first arrived.
“Yeah, I know,” I reply softly, and we continue to walk a little ways in comfortable silence.
“So,” she begins, that mischievous look back in her baby blues.
“Wanna tell me all about your four guys? I’m gonna have to live vicariously through you.
My brother and his friends, the fuckers, scared off any prospective boyfriends I may have had before I even got to say hello.
” She chuckles in a frustrated way, her blue eyes taking on a haunted look for just a second, but then she blinks and it’s gone.
My heart aches for her, knowing that feeling so well. The feeling of being so overwhelmed with your trauma that you daren’t even think about it. I can only hope that she’ll be able to talk about what happened one day and start to move on.
“Well,” I say, knowing that right now she needs a distraction, “there’s Loki, Jax, Kai, and, of course, Ash.”
“Oh shit!” she exclaims, stopping us and grabbing hold of my arm. “You’re seeing the Black Knights?!” She’s practically bouncing with excitement.
“You’ve been here, what? Five minutes? And you know about them already?” I shake my head.
“Girl, they’re the hottest guys here. Not to mention the richest and the most dangerous.” She fans herself ridiculously, and I laugh out loud at her antics. “Tell me, are they as incredible in bed as the rumours suggest?”
I like this girl, we are kindred spirits. Not afraid to get straight down to the nitty-gritty of a situation and all the good stuff. She is my spirit animal.