Her eyes caressed me in a not totally platonic stare.
“I’m straight,” I said, not at all offended, shooting her back the same half smile.
Mattie threw her head back and laughed. “I’m not totally straight and neither is my brother, but that’s not the sort of fun I’m talking about. I meant that you’re real. And after everything that happened last year, I’m all about real these days.”
I personally had no idea what had happened last year but sensed that I should wait for her to tell me that story, so for now I just accepted that this might be that friend I was looking for. A princess and everything. She would have all the deets.
“Rafe?” I asked, needing to know. “What’s up with Alex and him?”
Mattie’s smile fell, and she shook her head. “I’d advise you not to get between those two. Their rivalry has been strong since last year—personal shit you don’t even want to know about between them. They’re in their fourth and final years now, and I swear their aim is for one of them to end up dead before this year is out.”
I swallowed hard. That didn’t sound good. “Is Rafe … a prince?”
Mattie shot me a sympathetic look. “You should have stayed off his radar.”
“Rafe’s?” I squeaked. “I didn’t do anything except catch the damn ball.”
She shook her head. “No … you should have stayed off Alex’s radar. Rafe is out to destroy him and he won’t let anything stand in his way. Rafe is dangerous, and for more than just the fact that he’s the leading center forward for the best college soccer team in the entire world and would go professional if he wasn’t a crown prince.” My eyes grew very wide. Crown prince. Fuck fuck fuck. “He’s dangerous in many ways,” Mattie continued, “and since I’m more than a little sure we’re going to be great friends, I’ll make sure you avoid them as much as possible.”
I wanted to know more than anything what made Rafe extra dangerous. I thought about begging her to tell me more tonight, but again I held back.
I needed Mattie a hell of a lot more than she needed me. All in good time.
“So, what country is Rafe the prince of…”
I trailed off, and in my head I was begging her to say Burma or something in the lower end of the power scale.
I should have known better. The pieces were clicking together in my head, and I was already cursing my own stupidity.
“The Switzerlands,” she said softly. “Prince Rafael is the most powerful heir in the world.”
Well, fuck.
Chapter 5
Mattie fixed my makeup—she was about the most expert person I’d ever seen with this stuff, knowing what all the random bits and pieces were and exactly how to apply them. She put Meredith to shame, and I wished my friend could be here to learn with me. Though maybe she was safer back home.
“This is our war paint,” Mattie said, patient as ever as she gave me quick lessons on each piece. “You need it to hide the secrets and darkness.”
Not ominous at all.
Still, by the time she was done, I barely recognized myself. She’d gone dark and mysterious, with touches of green and gold eyeshadow that turned the blue of my eyes almost aqua. My cheekbones stood out with contouring and pink on the apple, and my lips were a dark velvety red.
“I think I need to change,” I said, gesturing to my jeans and band shirt combo. “I’m a little underdressed for how fancy my face is.”
Mattie gasped. “Don’t you dare. It’s so your style, and I think it’s like rock-chick glam. You look hot as fuck.”
Heat lanced through my cheeks; I wasn’t used to compliments. Everybody was too busy surviving back home to throw away careless praise over something like looks. Now, if I’d managed to invent an object that would make money or that could be traded for goods, then I’d have gotten all kinds of accolades. But looking hot… Nope.
“Thanks,” I finally said, feeling a little choked up. “I honestly didn’t expect to make any friends at Arbon,” I told her, wondering if I was screwing myself by spilling my fears. “I expected you’d all be snobby assholes and I’d spend the next four years hiding away, studying. Hopefully staying off everyone’s radar.”
Mattie snorted. “Girl, you’ve been here for five minutes, and I can already tell you’re going to be trouble.” Her expression sobered. “But your first instincts about this place were pretty accurate. There’s a lot going on that you don’t know about, and I hope you never find out. Don’t trust anyone, not at face value.”
I stared down at my nails. They were painted a dark purple, and I pretended to be extra fascinated by them. “Not even you?” I asked casually.
I couldn’t see her face, but I was sure she was staring at me just as hard as I watched those glittery fingertips. “I’ll let you be the judge of that,” she finally said. “I’m a good test run for this world. You need to learn fast, or you’ll be swept away.”
Before I could respond to that delightful truth, there was another knock on the door, this one heavier and more commanding than Mattie’s had been. My gaze flew up, meeting her challenging stare.
"Ready to jump in the deep end, new girl?" She cocked her head to the side, ignoring the second knock on my door and waiting for my answer. "Whether you sink or swim just depends on you."
I quirked a smile at her odd wisdom, but gave a short nod. Despite the butterflies in my belly because Alex—Prince Alex—was at my door, I had a good sense about Mattie. And she was right, I didn't want to get mixed up with royals. Not that way. I was getting an Arbon Academy degree, then getting the fuck out of the Switzerlands. Unmarried.
The knock came again, and Mattie stood up from my bed. "I got it."
Before I could object, she threw the door open and blocked the way with her body—tiny though it was.
"Mattie," a deep voice said, sounding surprised. "What are you—?"
"Violet changed her mind," she cut him off, and panic surged through me. What the fuck was she saying? That sounded so rude. She was going to piss off a crown prince on my first damn day. Not to mention Alex was nice, and so stinking hot, and... and...
...and a royal. A crown prince of one of the world’s super powers.
"Bullshit," Alex replied, calling Mattie's bluff. "Is she in there? Let me talk to her."
Mattie propped a manicured hand up on the door frame, making her point crystal clear. He wasn't coming into my room. "Why? So you can bat those baby blues at her and turn up the charm? Don't forget how well I know you, Alex." There seemed to be an underlying threat to her words, something that made me a little uneasy. But then again, maybe that was exhaustion and culture shock making me paranoid.
There was a pause, like they were having a staring competition or something, then Alex chuckled.
"Alright, Mattie. You win this round. But you can't run interference forever."
From where I sat, I couldn't see Alex. But I could see the side of Mattie's face, and I was startled to see her glare harden with something that looked damn near like hate. Or fear.