Page 18 of The Royal Flame (The Royal Academy #3)

CHAPTER

MADDISON

I ’ve been on the bus for a few hours, riding around the city in loops.

It’s starting to get old, but I’m unsure where to go once I get off at a stop.

I want to find Ellie, but these people River was going to have us talk to today are Royal women.

I have no idea how to find them and I’m not certain they’d even talk to me if I did.

I stare out the window, wondering if Grey’s bodyguard is following me. Did he figure out what bus I’m? Was he able to track me down?

I can’t see the back the bus to check if anyone might be tailing back there.

I’m twitchy and nervous and so damn hungry, so yeah, basically like I used to be all the time.

I have about two dollars stuffed in my pocket, which will probably get me nothing inn Royal City.

I need to go to north side, I think, which is something I never thought I’d voluntarily do.

But I need food. And maybe, just maybe, I can get some answers to what happened to Ellie.

Will had yelled something that indicating he might know. It’s a risk to go searching for answers when Will could come after me, but I might be able to negotiate with him. I need collateral, though.

I rack my mind for an answer, and I finally come up with one that’s vague at best, but it’s a start.

I stand up as the bus slows down for the next stop. I hope off, the scent of impending rain lingering in the air along with steak that has to be wafting from one of the many upscale restaurants lining the street.

I glance left and right at the crowd of people walking around on the sidewalks, searching for a sign that the bodyguard is nearby.

When I can’t spot it, a mixture of relief and concern washes over me.

On the one hand, if he were following me, he might try to stop me from going to north side.

But on the other hand, if he was following me, I’d be safer.

I check my pocket to make sure I have my taser on me then I start in the direction that will lead me to the main bus station so I can figure out what bus I need to get on.

By the time I arrive, it’s started to rain and the temperature has drastically dipped.

I’m shiver and my clothes are damp as I hurry inside the bus station building.

Quite are few people are seated in the waiting area and chatter is flowing through the air.

After I check the marquee for the right bus, I take a seat since the bus doesn’t leave for another half an hour.

Then I retrieve my phone from my pocket. I’m going to have to power it on if I want to call Will, which I need to. But I worry either River or Grey will be able to track me. It’s a risk I decide to take, though.

When the phone turns on, it buzzes serval times with missed messages and calls, some from River and some from Grey. I also have one from Lila. That one I feel bad for ignoring—she’s never done anything to me.

Since I don’t have Will’s number, I call Avery, a girl he used to date and who I was kind of friends with in high school.

Her voice is laced with confusion as she answers my call, “Maddy?”

“Yeah, hey.” I chew on my bottom lip. “How’s it going?”

“Good. I haven’t talk to you in a while. I heard you went Royal.”

“Nah, I just got a scholarship there. Although I might be losing that soon.”

“Why? What’d you do?” she sounds amusedly intrigued.

“Punched a Royal brat in the face,” I reply, reclining back in the chair.

She chuckles. “I’m not surprised at all. Do you remember that time you hit Jerry in the balls?”

“Of course I remember. It was after he tried to cop a feel.” Sadly, that kind of stuff happened a lot at north side parties.

“You were always so badass. Seems like you still are.” She pauses. “I don’t want to sound rude, but why did you call? We haven’t talked in ages. Not that I mind you calling. I’m just curious.”

“I need a favor.” I slant forward. “I need Will’s number.”

“Why?” she asks puzzledly.

“Because I ran into him the other night and he yelled something at me that I need to talk to him about.”

“What did he yell?”

I waver, debating what to tell her. “My aunt Ellie is missing, and he acted like he had information on her whereabouts.”

“Oh… You know he could have been messing with you, right?” she checks. “He’s asshole.”

“I know. But I need to check. It’s… I just need to make sure he doesn’t know anything.”

“I get that. I do. But he’ll probably want something in return.”

“I know. I’m still working on that part. I think I know a guy who might know some of his secrets.” I resist a sigh. It’s a long shot, for sure, but it’s all I’ve got the moment.

Silence stretches across the line, and I start to worry she hung up on me.

“I can help you,” she finally says. “I know some stuff about Will that he definitely won’t want anyone to know. I was saving the information for a rainy day, in case I got into some trouble. But this sounds super urgent. I met Ellie once at one of your birthday parties and she was so nice.”

I want to agree with her, but I can’t. I always believed Ellie was the one constant in my life that didn’t use or lie to me. Now, I question every moment I ever spent with her.

Is she even who she pretended to be? Or was it all an act?

I need to find her.

I chew on my thumbnail. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. Will can’t just keep secrets about a missing person. It’s fucked up,” she says. “Plus, I kind of want to see him get so pissed when he realizes he can’t get out of this one. He’s thinks he can get away with anything. He’s wrong, though. Everyone has secrets.”

Yes, Avery, they do.

I have a lot of them too.

And I wonder how many Ellie had.

Avery and I agree to meet up at a café located in the middle of North Side.

It takes me about an hour to get there and by the time I enter the café, the rain is coming down so hard that I’m soaked.

The place is about half full, but the people here don’t give a crap about the fact that I’m drenched.

The waitress does look annoyed, though, by the water I’m tracking in.

I offer her an apologetic look before taking a seat in the far corner booth.

I check the time on the clock. I’m already ten minutes late, and Avery isn’t here.

Part of me worries this is a set up, but I remind myself Avery is nice.

That doesn’t stop me from keeping a hand in my pocket where my taser is.

I stare out the window at the grimy streets litter with dirty puddles and garbage. It makes me long to be at the academy.

But you can’t go back. They’ll probably already working on your expulsion papers.

“Can I get you anything?” The waitress asks, startling me.

My head snaps in her direction.

She’s middle aged with blonde hair and sad eyes, like she’s carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders.

“Um…” I collect the menu and after quickly checking the prices on everything, I decide. “Can I get a coffee and a sugar cookie?”

God, River would be furious with me if he knew what I was eating right now, especially after the workout that I had. He’d tell me I need protein. But I have two dollars. Coffee and a cookie is the bst I can do.

Besides, River broke up with me so I can do what I want.

Lucky fucking me.

The waitress leaves to go get my food and I direct my attention back to the window. A few people are walking around, some of which look sketchy as they keep sneaking glances around.

By the time the waitress returns with my order, Avery’s twenty minutes late. I powered down my phone after I spoke to her. Did she try to call me and cancel?

I’m about to turn it back on when the bell on the door dings, and she walks in. Her long, dark hair is drench, her face is covered in droplets of rain, and she’s shivering as she peers around the café. When she spots me, I wave and she hurries over, plopping down in the seat across from mine.

“Sorry, I’m late.” She shucks off her hoodie. “My mom didn’t get home when she was supposed to and I was babysitting my sister, so I had to wait for her to show up. But she was drunk when she did, so I had to ask my neighbor to come keep an on my sister. It was a whole ordeal.”

“No worries.” I take a sip of my coffee. “Trust me, I get parents being shitty.”

“Yeah, I remember your mom coming to school drunk when we were like ten and trying to pick you up. She’d drove there too.”

“She did that a lot.”

“God, this place sucks, right?”

I nod as I set the coffee down. “It really does.”

She rests her arms on the table. “What’s it like on the Royal side?”

I waver with my fingers wrapped around the handle of my coffee mug. “Good and bad.”

“What’s bad about it?”

“The cliques. The arrogance. The way everyone thinks they can get away with anything. Plus, a lot them are in like arranged marriages.”

“Ew.”

“I know.” I feel sick as my mind drifts back to River.

Why did he have to be so sweet? It’d make this breakup so much easier.

Why did I have do fall for him?

“But anyway.” I sip my coffee, set the mug down, and clear my throat. “What dirt do you have on Will?”

“Hold on. Let me order a coffee really quick. I need a caffeine jolt.” She raises her hand to flag down the waitress.

After she orders a coffee and scone, she leans back in the booth.

“So, I dated will for like six months. It was one of the dumbest choices I ever mad. Looking back, I’m not even sure why I did it.

I was just lonely, I think, and he paid attention me, which, yeah, I know is so pathetic. ”

“How long ago was this?” I ask as I break off a chunk of the cookie.

“I broke up with him about a year ago, and I mostly did it because I found out he was stealing from his boss.” She slants forward and lowers her voice while sneaking glances around, like she’s nervous.

“I knew if his boss ever found out, that he might use me to punish Will—you know how shit goes sometimes for women who date guys that are dealing.”

I nod. “I do. My mother’s one of them.”

“Right. You’re dad’s in jail for dealing,” she recalls. “So you get it.”

“I really do.”

“And you get that I probably wouldn’t have been able to break up with Will unless I had some proof that he was dealing behind his bosses back.”

“I do get that. My mom tried to leave my dad a few times, but she always came back. And sometimes he made her come back.”

“My mom was that way too until my father left her.” She moves back and stops talking as the waitresses approaches our table with her order After she sets the coffee and scone done in front of Avery, she walks off.

Avery takes a drink of her coffee before continuing.

“I spent a few months sneaking videos of Will dealing behind his bosses back. I still have them on my phone and whenever I see will, I remind him that I have these videos. I also told him that if anything ever happened to me, I have my email programmed to send out the video footage automatically.”

“Do you really, though?”

“Hell, no. I have no clue how to do that. But Will’s too stupid to realize I don’t. He thinks because I had good grades and graduated that I’m smart enough to pull that stuff off.”

“You’re smart,” I assure her.

“I’m average at best, but I’m okay with that.” She picks off a piece of her scone and pops it into her mouth. “But anyway, we can use this to get Will to tell you what he knows about your aunt. It still might be a bit risky meeting up with him, though, so I’ll let you decide.”

The other night, I’d pretended I knew Will was dealing behind his bosses back in an attempt to get him to leave us alone. I didn’t really know if he was, but he did get squirmy. Now I know why.

Am I nervous to blackmail him? Hell, yeah. But I have no other choice. Either I can keep living my life in fear or face it head on and try to get some goddamn answers.

“All right.” I tell her. “I’m in.”