The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy

Chapter 65

“Don’t you just want to see what else you can melt, Clark?” Jackson asks on a long inhale of breath, looking at me with sad eyes. “Come on, I bet you could melt this whole tree if you wanted to.””

–

“Well, one, that’s not good for the environment,” I say, rolling my eyes at him which makes him laugh, just a little. “And two, no, I don’t want to melt the tree I want to talk about you. Honestly, Jackson, I won’t tell anyone you know I won’t. I won’t even let anyone know that I know! I’ll keep your secret.”

“Why does it even matter, Ari?” he asks, looking away from me. “Why do you want to know so badly? It doesn’t change anything.”

A thousand answers flood my mind. That it could help me understand what I can do how. his power compliments mine. That I want to know more about him. That I’m just so damn

curious.

But, in the end, I settle for the truth.

“I want you to know that you have someone here who will keep your secrets, Jackson,” I say quietly, willing him to believe me.

Jackson looks up at me in surprise, his blue eyes wider than I’ve seen them before.

We’re silent again, but as it has been before with us, there’s no awkwardness to it. But then he breaks it.

“Why are you being so nice to me?” he whispers, half baffled and half…suspicious, I realize. Lik

I’ve got ulterior motives or something.

I stare at him, my heart cracking in grief for the lessons his past life must have taught him.

“Jackson,” I murmur, saying his name like a promise. “Why are you so surprised that I genuinely just…want to be nice to you?”

He turns his face away from me like he’s been struck, staring at the ground beneath the tree in shock and surprise. I watch his profile as he swallows heavily, as he presses his lips

together in frustration or…consternation? Honestly, I don’t know what. But I give him the space to process it.

“I don’t have to eat,” he says suddenly, the words falling from his lips in a rush, like they’ve escaped from a dark place and can’t wait to get away.

ask, confused.

almost angry as he speaks – but I know not at me. “I don’t have to eat like…ever, if I don’t want to. I mean, eventually, I’d have

straighter. “That is….that is seriously weird,

don’t have to sleep, if I don’t want to, for like…days. Longest I’ve gone

progresses. “And like, nothing happens? You

a while,” he says, shrugging. “Oh, and

I say, looking him up and down, “Rafe’s as big as you and he also eats

as long as I wanted. And I don’t get full I just get…” he looks down at himself, at his seriously impressive musculature.

look him over anew. “So….could you get as big as an

that once. I think my skeleton’s reached its natural height

imagine it. Jackson – he’s very fit, isn’t he? “Wait,

and then rubbing it down the length of

Clark, you don’t even want to know. Thank god there

experiment? To see how long you could

“Wouldn’t you, if you figured out that that’s what you could do?”

everyone else. was

what happened – and nobody gets that. Like, after eighteen

squeezing his hand and nodding at him. “It’s really incredible, Jackson,” I sigh, so happy that he told me, so honored that he trusted me enough to keep his secret. “It’s one hell of a power. I wish I could borrow it, would probably keep me up through these long

down at our

ask, also

connection between our…magic,” he murmurs.

I correct him. Us, I think. There’s something between us. But I clench

well, I think that you were able to melt the marble because of whatever connects. our magic,” he says, and I nod, agreeing. “So…maybe I can pass mine

do we experiment with that?”

I can pass some energy to you. I’ve got

talking more casually now, like one would to a real friend.

anxiously back and forth. She’s pissed, I know, because she

a hand over her

huffs but lets me

is it annoying to have so much energy?” I

looking into my face now, studying me, I think, in the same ways that I’ve studied him. “It all comes down to what I eat. If I eat too much, it manifests in either sleeplessness or weight gain. If I eat too little,