What's at Stake

Chapter Six

I looked at the pros and cons list of my death.

The pro of Claude killing me was that it would probably be quick and painless. The con was that a war would break out. The pro of my father killing me was that a war wouldn't break out, but the con was he would do it slowly and tortuously.

I'd thought about my death way too many times since coming here.

Maybe the pendant wasn't such a big deal. I didn't have to tell him Claude stole it. I could simply say I lost it. The punishment wouldn't be fun, but I didn't plan on attempting to steal my pendant back again. I'd learned my lesson.

I'd stayed up all night going through my actions again. They were careless and brash. I should have planned it better and thought it through. I believed Kaz so easily. I had realized the door being unlocked could be a setup, but I hadn't realized the whole thing was a test. Claude didn't return home on Mondays. He knew I'd try something if I thought he'd left. I'd fallen right into the trap.

I clenched my hand into a fist. At least I'd managed to land a few hits on him. He deserved it for that.

Kaz had the decency to look ashamed the night before. At first, I'd been confused by his expression, but now it made sense. I knew Claude probably forced him into doing it, but it still threw me off. No one would truly have my side here. I understood that, but...

I flopped down on my bed. A memory of Claude above me, messy-haired and bright-eyed, entered my mind unbidden and I shot up. I shoved the image away. No, no. That wasn't right. Claude wanted to kill me. What was I doing? Thinking Claude was attractive was like wondering what would happen if you crashed your car into a guardrail. You didn't really want to do it, but you couldn't stop the thought. Yes. That made more sense.

Claude was simply an intrusive thought.

I didn't want to go to class today and see him.

Skipping wasn't an option though, so I trudged out of my room to meet up with Kaz. To my great displeasure, Claude was already waiting with him. They both wore the basic uniform of black slacks and the button up with gold detailing. It was uncanny how much they resembled each other.

While their skin tones differed slightly, if someone had told me they were brothers before I knew better, I would have believed them. Even their facial structure was familiar.

I bit the inside of my cheek, hesitating before joining them. I'd noticed they looked similar before but didn't think too much about it. Was it possible Kaz was the hidden heir? Perhaps his true hair color was black, and he'd just dyed it lighter and wore colored contacts as Adora did. But I didn't get the same feeling from Kaz as I did from Claude, though. Wouldn't the other heir give off the same foreboding feeling?

That line of thinking disappeared as I walked up to them, warmth flooding my cheeks as shame suddenly went through me. I'd been terrified last night. And Claude had seen that fear. That moment of weakness. He hadn't even done anything, and I'd been shaking like a leaf. It was embarrassing. I wanted to hide my face in my hands. Instead, I did the next best thing.

Acted completely unaffected and ignored him.

"Ready, sleepyhead?" Kaz asked.

I nodded, hurrying past the pair and down the stairs. The lack of students in the hall revealed just how late I'd made us. I hastened my pace. Once outside, I nearly ran over Adora who was waiting for us at the bottom of the steps, breathing on her hands to keep them warm.

"Adora! Good morning," I said, hooking my arm around hers and guiding us toward our first class.

Her eyes grew round for a moment before a huge smile spread across her face. "You're lively this morning, but you're leading us the wrong way."