Our Quarters

“Do it, Victoria.” Julia urged, her voice muffled by the sound of my heart beating weakly in my ear. “She deserves it.”

“Get off her now or lose your arm, Victoria.”

Trevor’s voice made her stiffen and her grip loosened enough for me to draw in a breath. The crowd suddenly went silent as the aura of the three intimidating prodigies charged the atmosphere.

Mrs. Heather arrived pushing through the students, her expression furious as she looked from Victoria to me. “Release her, Victoria. Can someone explain what’s going on here?”

Victoria released my throat and stepped backward, immediately taking on her role of helpless heiress. I rolled on my side coughing and gasping for air as Victoria pointed her perfect finger at me accusingly.

“She stole my family necklace,” Victoria said. “You can ask Julia. We saw it in her room.”

I coughed violently, rubbing my neck as I tried to breathe. My whole body shook and my ribs ached like a giant stepped on me.

“What?” I managed to say through the pain in my throat.

“She stole my mother’s necklace,” Victoria repeated with more conviction, pointing at me. “I confronted her about it, and she attacked me.”

I stared at her in disbelief, still rubbing my neck. At this point, I almost admired her commitment to lying. At this point she could lowkey outclass the devil if she wanted.

Julia walked forward before I could say anything. “I also heard her talking to herself last night,” she said. “She was saying that she was tired of living under Victoria’s shadow and that she planned to take her place as heir.”

Mrs. Heather’s expression changed as she turned to look at me. I wanted to laugh because it was so ridiculous.

The Apex trio watched what was happening without saying a word. I could feel their eyes on me but I didn’t dare turn.

Victoria cleared her throat. “As the heiress of the Obsidian family, I am requesting that Kiara Laverne be expelled from Obsidian Heights Academy.”

Everyone gasped at the severity of her words and the implications it carried.

“I second it,” Julia said immediately.

Then another Alpha heir joined in. “I agree.”

Another followed. “She should leave. She’s more harm than good.”

Then another. “Expel her. You have my vote too, Victoria.”

Seven more heirs joined them until the entire hallway was filled with everyone chanting the same thing. “Expel her!”

I had spent so long learning how to be invisible that I had forgotten what it felt like to have an entire room looking at me.

Trevor took a step forward, growling low but commanding enough to silence the room. “Sorry to end your little campaign, Victoria but she stays.”

Victoria tilted her head in confusion. “What?”

“I’m sure you’re not deaf.” He grinned, turning to Cody and Axel. “We have agreed that from now on, Kiara will live in our quarters.”

The hallway came alive with whispers. Even Mrs. Heather looked stunned but said nothing.

Cody casually added, “We’ll take responsibility for her.”

Nobody had ever been given access to the Apex Trio’s private quarters. No student had ever been there before, not even the instructors. Even members of the high table.

Yet somehow, I had just been moved into their territory without even being asked whether I wanted to go. I looked at them.

Axel winked at me and I looked away like a frightened child. I half expected Victoria to protest but she just watched, still struggling to understand what was happening just like everyone else.

Trevor gestured to me. “Get up, let's go.”

I hesitated a minute before running after them. They walked faster than I thought. Trevor and Cody left to handle some academy business, leaving me with Axel.

He led me through a section of Obsidian Heights I had never seen before, and the farther we went, the more confused I became. We passed through massive double doors into an entire private wing.

I stopped and turned to look back just to confirm we were in the same building. “This is where you live?”

Axel glanced back. “Yes.”

I looked around. The place was ridiculous. It had enormous windows with a perfect view of the forest, dark polished marble floors and what looked like an entire indoor garden.

It was better than every part of the academy basically. Even Mrs. Heather’s office didn’t look that good.

I stared at him. “Are you sure we didn’t accidentally leave the academy?”

“We didn’t.” He said, trying not to laugh. He looked amused as he added, “This is our wing.”

I followed him through another corridor trying not to look too impressed by what I was seeing but it wasn’t working because every corridor we passed looked fascinating.

I had spent years living in a room that could barely fit two people, and these three had enough space to build a small kingdom. Life.

Axel watched me with his strangely curious blue eyes throughout the tour, as if he were trying to figure out what was happening inside my head. I tried not to think about it but that was all I thought about.

After the tour, he led me to a bedroom that looked big enough to host a small party.

“This is your room. Get comfortable. I’ll be back in an hour hopefully.”

Then he left without waiting for my response. I waited then another five minutes just to be sure then checked the hallway to confirm I was all alone.

I yelled their names twice just for good measures, nothing. I ran back to the room, stripped out of my torn clothes, and tried to find the swimming pool Axel had shown me during the tour.

While everyone else was fighting over dorm bathrooms, these guys had their own private swimming pool. It was insane.

I slipped into the water. The warmth immediately relaxed the tension in my muscles making me moan in ecstasy. I submerged myself completely, allowing the silence to swallow me.

For the first time all day, nobody was shouting my name or accusing me of being a villain in their fantasy story.

I stayed underwater longer than I should have, letting both the physical and mental pain drift away. Soon it was like everything disappeared and all that was left was the cooling waters around me.

Eventually, my lungs began protesting for air, so I swam back up and took a deep breath. My eyes opened to see three gorgeous familiar faces grinning at me. Trevor, Cody, and Axel were standing beside the pool.

The worst part was that they were wearing nothing but shorts. I stared at them then looked away realizing the effect their bodies were having on mine.