The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy

Chapter 0516

Luca sits down and we all lean forward as Rafe and Jackson take their folded notes and quickly open them, glancing through the contents. I lean over Jackson's arm, trying to read it myself, but he laughs and pulls it out of my sight. "Confidential, Clark."

"Oh, you're going to tell me anyway!"

"Maybe," he mutters. "If you're nice to me."

"I'm always nice to you!"

"It's not a big deal," Rafe says, taking a deep breath and putting his own note down, looking over at Jacks. "Is yours the same as mine? Notification that the Games are being moved up? And that we're..."

"Co-captains," Jackson replies, putting down his own letter, a little smile on his face. I look around at all of the boys' faces, trying to gauge the impact of this news.

"W-what does this mean?" I ask quietly, anxious.

"Don't get worked up about it, Ari," Rafe says, turning his eyes to me. "It's... faster than they'd usually run the Games, probably because of the war. It just means that Jackson and I have minor adjustments to our schedules so that we can begin to plan our strategy. We get a weekly study hall to meet and come up with our plan, look through Cadet profiles, organize our draft list."

up my nose, looking around at everyone else, kind of baffled that they're all taking this in stride like it's

is a priority, who isn't. I, obviously...will

bait and leaning forward to grin at him. "Only after

forward to look at me, appalled. "Ari, I don't know if you're aware of this, but I am...a duke. It would be incredibly rude, as well as foolish, to not pick

shout, snatching up a mini muffin and throwing it at him. "I'm - I'm way bigger than a

smallest muffin," Jesse exclaims, swatting it out of the

rich and authoritative. He laughs a little,

sighs, folding his arms over his chest and looking me up and down. "We'll see," he

sure that I do get

Jackson murmurs directly into my mind. You're first, both because you will be a good shot by then and because I'm not letting you out of my sight in another battle scenario.

two weeks fly, mostly because I'm too busy

my accuracy. Every three or four days the Captain sends me a note, letting me know that he's reviewed my targets and what changes he thinks I can make to my strategy and my form that will help me improve. When I start to be able to hit the bull's eye with accuracy, he sends instructions that I'm to make a line

also sends along a book on modern rifles and shooting strategy which I sigh and add to my growing list of reading material. But I don't complain not at

venly

in the Games draft, but also because I'm determined to