The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy

"Numbers are...fucking off." Rafe growls. "And not a single person from Wright and Blythe's team has made an appearance, except those few across the river that the other team took out." "What are you thinking?" Jacks murmurs.

"I think they're trying to lure us forward," Rafe sighs. "And that if we don't do it, we're going to be out here for hours. They're waiting for night - when Ari's sight and accuracy are going to be way down."

"Wait, seriously?" I ask, going a bit stiff. "We stay out here all night if someone doesn't win?"

"We stay out here until it's done," Jackson informs me, cold.

"Shit," I whisper. But then movement catches my eye, down by the river, and I curse again, going stiff. "Shit, shit!"

"What?" Rafe asks, his voice tense. "Report, Cadet."

"It's fucking Luca," I breathe, refocusing the binoculars and watching as my mate comes to the edge of the river and then - nimble as a leaf on the wind - begins to dodge across it, his feet barely touching rocks and logs before he leaps, about halfway across, into the river itself and begins to wade the rest of the way across.

"Can you get him!?" Rafe barks out.

"I can't shoot Luca!"

"It's a fucking game!"

I snarl but grab my gun, whipping it around so that I peer through the sight, taking aim as fast as I can - but by the time I focus on the area of river that he crossed, all I see is his boot disappearing back between the trees - on our side.

me. "He crossed the river and I lost him in the trees. But he's on our side

him down.

using the coordinates on the map to report the place where I think Luca went through the trees. Rafe switches back to the main channel and more voices come on as the boys all concentrate on Luca, taking Rafe's advance team down towards the river. But as they do, something

up from my position, turning, noting the little rock that's rolling across the ground towards

stare at it for a long moment,

then I shift my eyes slowly...upwards. To where

shit shit," I whisper into my headpiece, using my feet to push myself back into the bushes, grabbing my gun and my binoculars and my map as I go. "Rafe, Jacks -

don't know who it is," I

larger, closer. "But they must have spent the day going the long way around - crossing the river way north

fuck down here, Ariel," Jackson snaps, livid. "Right

of green lights up across

here!"

"He must be in

towards the growing shadows coming

barks into

if run they hit me easily - and then... don't know what. If it's Wright,

snarl rips down the line. "I'm coming

the left towards the voice. "He's our first

little