Page 77 of Volatile King (The Kings of Wayward Academy #6)

R en

Despite the unusual start to my day, my first two exams went extremely well. I loved multiple-choice questions. I was slower than normal, but still completed them in the time allotted. Mr. Sharpe and Mrs. Frey were happy to see me, and it felt really damn good to do something productive.

I spotted Ivy heading into the girls’ bathroom as we made our way to the cafeteria.

“Give me…second,” I said to Blake, who was my escort for the morning, and followed Ivy. I’d searched for her before exams started, but had struck out. Now, I officially felt like a stalker.

Ivy was at the sink fixing her hair when I came through the door. She smiled but then blushed and ducked her head when she saw me. It was like watching her run a gauntlet of emotions in point two seconds.

“I didn’t know, Ren. I’m…wait, did you know?” She looked up.

“No,” I said, walking toward her. Ivy fidgeted like she wanted to hide, and to ease her mind, I dragged her into a hug.

“God, I’ve missed you,” she said, holding me tight.

“Missed you, too,” I said, and pulled back. “You need be careful,” I said, and her smile fell.

“He’s not a bad guy. I know that the Kings don’t like Sabastian, but he’s actually really sweet and…”

I squeezed her hands, and she stopped talking.

“Maybe…but Christov hurt…my mum.”

“Who’s Christov,” Ivy asked, and now I was even more confused.

“Sabastian…dad,” I said.

“He introduced himself as Yuriy when I met him,” Ivy said.

“No…Christov…married my mum…hurt her…she ran and hid,” I said, hoping this made sense to her. She knew parts of the story at least.

“Holy shit, so Sabastian really is your brother. This is crazy.”

I had to stop her before she got too excited. She was still in a very dangerous position and far too involved for my liking.

“Christov is family…brother…” I shook my head and sighed. “Friend. He is friend to Lawrence.” Ivy bit her lip, and there was a guilty look in her eyes. “What?”

Letting go, I took a step back. Ivy panicked and grabbed my arms.

“I only saw him once, and I had no idea what a big deal it was. I stayed at Sabastian’s house last Friday. We were watching movies. Lawrence came in with Yuriy, sorry, I mean Christov, when I was getting a soda from the fridge. They didn’t stay long.”

“You hear anything?”

Satisfied that I wasn’t going to sprint out the door, she let me go and tapped her chin.

“Yes…sort of, but it didn’t make any sense. Lawrence said that the marriage arrangements were ready.” Ivy shrugged. “But Nash isn’t going to marry anyone Lawrence tells him to.” Ivy snorted like it was a ridiculous idea, but my blood turned to ice in my veins.

It wasn’t Nash he was talking about. It was me.

I knew it as surely as I knew that he was up to no good.

He had to have done something terrible to Neal to get him to sign off on a contract.

It didn’t matter that it was a worthless piece of paper.

It was the fact that he’d been holding him hostage all this time.

I couldn’t imagine what they’d done to him.

Taking a step back from Ivy, I covered my mouth.

“Babe, he’s not going to be able to force Nash to do anything,” she said, not understanding my fear.

I shook my head. “Not Nash…me.” It was Ivy’s turn to look confused. “Lawrence has Neal.”

“Oh no,” she gasped. “Maybe Sabastian will help. I swear he’s a good guy, Ren.”

“You can’t tell him…my father is,” I said, reiterating what I’d already told her when she was over at Thanksgiving.

She and Chantry had both been shocked, but it was a little difficult to hide who I was from them after Eddie’s toast. This new information about my connection to Christov and Sabastian was just another layer of deceit.

“But…”

“No.” I shook my head firmly. “Can’t. Please. Could be Neal’s death…they find out.”

The bathroom door opened, and Vicky’s minions, Jennifer and Raquel, walked in along with a few of the other cheerleaders I didn’t know.

“Oh my God, did you hear her speaking to Mr. Sharpe before the exam,” Jennifer asked, pointing at me. “Yes…yes…yes…please,” she mocked me, and the girls laughed. “We always knew you were a loser, but now you sound like one.”

The door opened again, and this time it was Vicky who entered.

“Why are you all crowding the door,” Vicky asked as they parted to let her through.

“We were just talking about how stupid Ren sounds now,” Jennifer said.

Vicky looked at me and then her pack of laughing hyenas. Crossing her arms, she glared at them.

“Really?” Their smiles faltered. “This isn’t even worth our time. We don’t mock people with brain injuries. I mean, she already had one, but this is just…tacky,” Vicky said.

I glanced at Ivy, who looked shocked.

“But…what about the kings,” Raquel asked.

Vicky held out her hand and stared at her perfectly manicured nails.

“What about them? I’m so over them. They are nothing but a bunch of go-nowhere losers. We have bigger fish to fry, and…” Vicky shot me a look. “She’s not worth the words. Let’s go, I’m hungry.”

“But we didn’t get to use the bathroom.”

Vicky glared at the girl I didn’t know.

“Well then, you shouldn’t have been standing around. Let’s go. We have practice this afternoon, and you’re holding me up. So, unless you want to be cut, get your ass in gear.”

The hoard scurried out the door. Vicky was the last to leave and stopped just before walking out. She looked over her shoulder with a disgusted glance, but I smirked.

“Did she just defend you or insult you,” Ivy asked.

“Both,” I said, making us laugh.

Ivy hooked her arm through mine and pulled me toward the door.

“Come talk to Sabastian. Please.”

Blake was sitting on a bench waiting for me when we left the bathroom.

“One sec,” I said, and walked over to Blake. “I sit with Ivy and Sabastian,” I said, and he nodded, getting the message.

Ivy practically dragged me into the cafeteria by the arm. Sabastian was sitting by himself, while Nash and Myles glared at him from across the room.

When we reached the table, he smiled and gave Ivy a kiss. The sweet smile turned into a devious smirk when I sat down across from him. He had the same cool stare as his father, and it worried me.

“We kids together,” I asked.

He leaned on the table, and the smirk grew.

“You finally remembered me,” he said, as if he were disgusted.

I shook my head. “Not really.” Sabastian sat back like I’d slapped him. “Memories blocked,” I said, shrugging. “Only small bits remember…thought was dream.” His features softened a little.

He snorted. “Figures. You really did get messed up in that accident, didn’t you? Your voice is all weird,” Sabastian said, and Ivy hit his arm. “What…I was just going to say, I’m sorry it happened.”

“Are you?”

He narrowed his eyes into a glare, giving me his full attention. “What kind of question is that? Of course, I am.”

He seemed so genuine. I didn’t get the vibe that he wanted to hurt me. But that didn’t mean he would let us in on what his father or Lawrence were doing either.

“We swim…” I pointed between us, to try and get him to understand what I meant. “Did you hit head?”

The corner of his mouth turned up. Sabastian moved his messy hair off his forehead to show off a scar.

“Yeah…I’m surprised you remember that.”

I startled him when I reached out and put my hand on his.

He didn’t immediately jerk away, and instead slowly placed his other one on top of mine.

A ghost of a smile spread across his lips before he tugged them away, and all the softness disappeared.

He opened his backpack and tossed a photo down in front of me.

My hands shook as I slowly picked up the picture of the two of us smiling for the camera.

Sabastian had his arm around my shoulders, while we sat side by side on a set of swings.

We looked so happy. So carefree. Just two kids living life normally.

I didn’t remember this, but I ran my finger over the face of the boy from my dreams, and there was an emotional tug at my chest.

“That’s us. We were happy until our mother decided you were more important, like always.

Then she ran off with you, and I not only lost my sister, but the only woman who loved me…

my nanny Alina,” Sabastian said, and I lifted my eyes from the photo to stare into his angry ones.

Fuck, I had no idea what he meant about losing Alina, but I knew that name now.

I was really hoping Eddie could fill me in on what had happened when Mum ran with me. “How is she anyway? Our mother?”

Either Christov never told Sabastian, or he was purposely trying to hurt me. I crossed my arms.

“Dead.”

I let the weight of the word hang in the air between us. As always, a sadness washed over me at the thought of never seeing her again. Sabastian’s face shifted with an emotion I couldn’t quite figure out.

He looked at Ivy.

“She’s telling the truth. That’s how Ren ended up at Wayward. Her mother passed away, and she was dropped off here,” Ivy said, her voice soft.

“Guess it doesn’t matter one way or the other,” Sabastian growled, but his hands curled into fists that clearly betrayed his feelings. Which only confused me more. “What was she going to say? That her perfect daughter was too precious to leave behind, but I wasn’t worth her time?”

“You blame me…don’t you,” I asked, trying to wrap my head around what he knew and didn’t know.

“You were always the favorite. They kept us apart so that I couldn’t taint you.”

Taint me? What the hell kind of lies had they put in his head? Sabastian leaned on the table again and glared at me.

“What made you so fucking special? Huh? Do you even know?”

Jesus…there was a deep-rooted anger inside him.

He either really thought that we were brother and sister, or he was one hell of a good liar.

And if he thought we were related, then I had a million other questions.

When did he and Christov come to America?

He had no accent, so it had been a while, or he was very good at changing his voice.

Had Christov and Sabastian been looking for me and Mum this whole time?

What other lies had Christov told and to who?

Ivy cleared her throat. “I told Ren that you’d help her find Lawrence.”

Sabastian stood and picked up his backpack. “Please…it’s not for her, it’s for Nash, and I’m not helping him with anything. You want Lawrence…find him yourself.”

“Sabastian, please,” Ivy begged, but he just shook his head, anger burning in his eyes.

I held out the photo, and he sneered at it.

“Keep it, I have others. She left them, like she left me—just like how you left and forgot I even existed. Now maybe you’ll remember.” Sabastian shook his head. “Good luck finding Lawrence,” he called out to Nash as he marched for the door.

Ivy turned to look at me. “I’m so sorry. I’ll talk to him,” she said, getting up to chase after Sabastian.

My heart hurt for Sabastian despite the threat he posed.

There was no telling how Christov had misrepresented the situation, or how he had twisted the truth to fill Sabastian’s head with hatred.

But one thing was for certain…Sabastian believed we were siblings.

He knew my mother had abandoned him, and I was to blame.

This was great…just great.

As I looked at Nash and the guys, I caught sight of Zigzag.

He was sitting at his usual table with his friends, but his eyes were trained on the door, like he hoped Ivy would come back.

He looked…sad, lost maybe. I was tempted to ask him why he’d dumped Ivy if he still liked her, but I had enough drama going on without stirring more into the mix.

Zigzag caught me staring at him and quickly looked down at his laptop.

What I wouldn’t give to be able to hear people’s thoughts for just one day.

I picked up the photo and my bag before walking over to sit with Nash, Myles, and Blake.

They were watching me with a wide range of expressions on their faces.

I shrugged and shook my head. I glanced down at the picture again, and even while staring at my own face, it seemed wrong.

Someone had taken my head and transposed it onto that little girl’s body.

The memory of this day, like so many others, was lost to me and felt like it belonged to someone else.

We weren’t actually related, but there was no denying that Sabastian and I had a shared history…I just wish I could remember. Then again…some memories were better left buried. You never knew what might be unearthed when you went digging. I’d already found that out the hard way.