ENEMY TERRITORY

The bus ride to Falcons Academy was three hours of pure anxiety.

Riley sat by the window, cap pulled low, watching the trees blur past. Her chest was bound so tight she could barely take a full breath. Every bump in the road reminded her how insane this plan was.

She touched her short hair again. Still weird. Still wrong.

"You'll be fine, Riley."

She could still hear Ryan's voice from this morning. Still see Mom's worried face at the door.

It had taken two weeks of begging to convince them. Two weeks of Riley and Ryan tag-teaming their parents until they finally broke down.

"This is dangerous," Mom had said, her eyes red from crying. "If they find out—"

"They won't," Riley promised. "I'll be careful. I swear."

Dad had been quiet for a long time. Then he'd looked at her with this expression she couldn't read. "You really want this that badly?"

"More than anything."

He'd nodded slowly. "Then don't waste it. And don't get caught."

Mom had hugged her so tightly this morning that Riley thought her ribs would crack. "Call us every week. And if anything goes wrong, anything at all, you come home immediately."

Riley had promised. Even though she knew she wouldn't keep that promise. She wasn't coming home until she'd proven she belonged here.

The bus stopped.

Riley grabbed her bag and stepped off into her new life.

Holy shit.

Falcons Academy was even more incredible than the pictures made it out to be. Huge ice rinks, training facilities that looked like they cost millions, and dorm buildings that could house an army. Everything was perfect and intimidating and exactly what she'd dreamed of.

Players walked around in their Falcons gear, looking like they owned the world. Confident. Powerful. Like they were born to be here.

Riley took a breath and walked toward the main building.

"Name?" The woman at check-in didn't even look up.

"Ryan Morgan." Riley kept her voice low and steady.

"Dorm 3, Room 214. Here's your schedule and handbook. Next."

Riley took the papers with shaking hands and got out of there fast.

Room 214 was on the second floor of Dorm 3. Riley climbed the stairs slowly, her bag getting heavier with each step. The binding was already killing her. How the hell was she supposed to survive like this?

She found her room at the end of the hall.

The door was unlocked.

Riley pushed it open and froze.

The room had three beds. THREE. One was empty. The other two were clearly claimed—one neat and organized, the other covered in hockey equipment.

Wait. Three roommates?

Before Riley could panic, a tall guy with messy brown hair walked in behind her.

"Oh, hey, you must be the new guy!" He had a friendly smile. "I'm Marcus. Marcus Chen."

"Ryan Morgan," Riley said automatically.

"Cool. Welcome to the Falcons Academy." Marcus dropped onto his bed. "Fair warning, our other roommate is intense. But you'll get used to him."

"Other roommate?"

"Yeah, Jax Carter. Team captain. You probably heard of him."

Riley's blood turned to ice.

Jax Carter.

Ryan's biggest rival. The guy Ryan had been competing against since they were twelve. The guy who'd beaten Ryan in championships. The guy Ryan had beaten right back just as many times.

They hated each other.

And now Riley was supposed to live in the same room as him.

"You, okay?" Marcus asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Yeah, just tired." Riley forced herself to move. She dropped her bag on the empty bed and tried not to throw up.

This was a nightmare.

Riley started unpacking, moving on autopilot. She hid her extra binders at the bottom of her bag. Hung up Ryan's old jerseys and hoodies. Made everything look normal.

She was shoving her hockey stick under the bed when the door slammed open.

"Marcus, where the hell is my—"The voice stopped dead.

Riley slowly stood up and turned around.

Jax Carter stood in the doorway.

He was taller than she remembered. Broader. His dark hair was messy like he'd just come from practice. Cold gray eyes that could cut through steel. Sharp jaw. Intimidating as hell.

And he was staring right at her.

"Morgan," Jax said. His voice was flat. Hard.

Riley's heart hammered. "Carter."

The temperature in the room dropped about twenty degrees.

Marcus looked between them. "Oh. You guys know each other?"

"Unfortunately," Jax said, not taking his eyes off Riley.

Riley lifted her chin. "Didn't know you were at Falcons."

"Didn't know you got in." Jax walked into the room and dropped his gym bag. "Thought you'd given up after I destroyed you at State last year."

Heat flashed through Riley's chest. Ryan hadn't been destroyed. It was 3-2, and Ryan had scored twice.

"You mean when I scored on you twice?" Riley shot back before she could stop herself.

Jax's eyes narrowed. "Lucky shots."

"Skill, actually."

They stared at each other. The hostility was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

Marcus whistled. "Okay then. Guess you two have history."

"History of me winning," Jax said coldly.

"You won three times. Ryan won three times. That's called even," Riley snapped.

Jax stepped closer. Way too close. Riley could see the gold flecks in his gray eyes. Could see a small scar above his left eyebrow.

"Not anymore," Jax said quietly. Dangerously. "This is my academy. My team. My ice. You're in my territory now, Morgan. And I don't lose on my own ice."

Riley refused to back down. "Guess we'll see about that."

"Yeah," Jax said, a cold smile crossing his face. "We will."

He grabbed something from his desk and walked out without another word.

The door slammed behind him.

Riley stood there, her hands shaking, her heart racing.

Marcus let out a low whistle. "Damn. That was intense. What the hell happened between you two?"

"We played against each other," Riley said, her voice tight. "A lot."

"Yeah, I got that part." Marcus shook his head. "Look, Jax is competitive as hell. But he's fair. Just don't get in his way and you'll be fine."

"Riley didn't answer.

She couldn't tell Marcus that living with Jax Carter, her brother's worst enemy, was going to make every single day a battle.

Riley sat down on her bed and put her head in her hands.

She'd been at Falcons Academy for less than two hours.

"And now she was stuck with Ryan's worst enemy."