ALEX'S POV
Camilla's smile was poison wrapped in perfection.
She stood in the doorway of the contract office, watching Jade like a cat watches a mouse. And I'd just painted a target on Jade's back by invoking royal privilege.
What had I been thinking?
I hadn't been thinking. That was the problem. I'd seen Jade sitting there with shaking hands, about to sign away her life, and my body moved before my brain could stop it.
Now everyone in the room was staring at me. The administrative staff looked confused. The academy officials looked furious. Jade looked betrayed, like I'd lied to her.
Maybe I had.
"Your Highness," the head administrator said carefully, "royal sponsorship requires a formal petition, a review board hearing, and approval from at least three council members. It's not something that can be invoked spontaneously."
"I'm aware of the process, Dean Roberts." I kept my voice level, even though my heart was pounding. "Which is why I filed the petition three hours ago, had it reviewed by the emergency council, and received approval twenty minutes ago."
That was a complete lie. I'd done none of those things. But I had the authority to make them happen retroactively if I moved fast enough.
Dean Roberts's face went pale. "I... I'll need to verify—"
"By all means, verify." I pulled out my phone and texted my assistant: Emergency. Need royal sponsorship paperwork for Jade Morrison. Backdated three hours. Don't ask questions.
His response came in seconds: This is insane. But I'm on it.
I loved my assistant.
"While you're verifying," I said to Roberts, "Miss Morrison will be returning to her assigned dormitory. Without signing anything."
Jade was looking at me like I was a bomb about to explode. She didn't trust me. Smart girl.
"Alex, darling," Camilla said, her voice sweet as honey and twice as sticky. "Can I speak with you? Privately?"
The last thing I needed was Camilla in my ear, but refusing would make her suspicious. "Two minutes."
I followed her into the hallway, leaving Jade with the officials and my protection detail. The moment the door closed, Camilla's sweet smile vanished.
"What are you doing?" she hissed.
"Helping a student who's being exploited."
"No. You're making a scene. Do you have any idea how this looks? The crown prince personally sponsoring the lottery winner?" She stepped closer, her eyes hard. "People will think you're sleeping with her."
Heat rushed to my face. "That's disgusting, Camilla. She just arrived. She's scared and alone and—"
"And you're acting like a hero when you're really just being stupid." Her perfectly manicured nail jabbed my chest. "Your father is going to lose his mind when he hears about this. The council will say you're being manipulated by a pretty face. And me? I look like a fool whose fiancé is chasing after charity cases."
"Ex-fiancé," I corrected, my voice dropping to ice. "And I'm not chasing anyone. I'm correcting an injustice."
"Since when do you care about justice?" She laughed, bitter and sharp. "You've never broken a single rule in your life. You're the perfect prince who does what he's told. And now suddenly you're rebelling because some girl with sad eyes showed up?"
Her words hit too close to home. Because she was right. I never broke rules. I followed orders. I did my duty.
So why was Jade Morrison different?
"Stay away from her, Camilla."
"Or what?" She tilted her head, her smile returning. "You'll protect her? You can barely protect yourself from your own father. How are you going to protect her from me?"
She walked away, her heels clicking like a countdown timer.
I stood there, breathing hard, knowing I'd just made everything worse.
When I returned to the office, Jade was gone.
"Where is she?" I demanded.
"Security escorted her to the North Dormitory," Dean Roberts said stiffly. "As you requested."
I hadn't requested that. I'd wanted her kept here until the paperwork was done. But arguing would reveal how little control I actually had over this situation.
"Fine. I'll check on her after the documents are finalized."
"Your Highness, about this sponsorship..." Roberts looked uncomfortable. "If I may speak candidly?"
"You may not."
"With respect, sir, this girl is going to cause problems. She doesn't fit in here. She'll struggle academically, socially, emotionally. And when she fails—which she will—it will reflect poorly on you."
Something hot and angry burned in my chest. "She won't fail."
"How can you be certain?"
"Because I won't let her." The words came out harder than I intended. "Is there anything else, Dean Roberts?"
He clearly wanted to say more but knew better. "No, Your Highness."
I left before I said something I'd regret.
I should have gone to my next class. Should have followed my perfect schedule like I always did.
Instead, I found myself walking toward the North Dormitory.
The North Dorm was the oldest building on campus. Cold. Isolated. It's where they put students they wanted to forget about. And of course they'd put Jade there.
I was halfway across campus when my phone rang. My father's name flashed on the screen.
I almost didn't answer. But you don't ignore the king.
"Father."
"What," his voice was dangerously quiet, "have you done?"
News traveled fast. Of course it did.
"I sponsored a lottery student who was being coerced by the academy. It's within my rights as—"
"I don't care about your rights!" His shout made me flinch. "Do you understand what you've done? You've publicly attached yourself to a commoner. You've defied the academy's authority. You've embarrassed Camilla and her family right before the diplomatic summit!"
"Camilla and I aren't engaged anymore—"
"That's not official! We haven't announced it! And now you've given everyone ammunition to say our family is falling apart!" He took a breath, forcing calm. "You will end this sponsorship immediately. You will apologize to the dean. And you will escort Camilla to the summit as planned."
"No."
Silence. Long and terrible.
"What did you say?"
My hand was shaking but my voice stayed steady. "I said no. I'm not ending the sponsorship. I'm not apologizing. And I'm definitely not getting back together with Camilla."
"Alexander—"
"For once in my life, I'm doing something because it's right. Not because it's political. Not because it makes you look good. Because it's right." I took a breath. "And if you can't support that, then I guess I know where your priorities are."
I hung up.
I'd just hung up on the king. On my father. On the most powerful man in the country.
My entire body was shaking.
My phone buzzed immediately with seventeen texts from my assistant, all variations of "WHAT DID YOU DO?!"
Then a new text came through from an unknown number: "Impressive. The perfect prince finally grew a spine. But you've made a fatal mistake—you care about her. That makes her a weakness. And I always exploit weaknesses. -C"
Camilla.
I started running toward the North Dormitory.
I burst through the front doors, taking the stairs three at a time. The building was silent—most students were in class. I found Jade's assigned room on the third floor and pounded on the door.
"Jade! Open up!"
No answer.
I tried the handle. Locked.
"Jade, it's Alex! I need to make sure you're okay!"
Still nothing.
Panic clawed at my throat. What if Camilla had already gotten to her? What if—
The door swung open.
Jade stood there in an oversized academy uniform that didn't fit right, her hair messy, her eyes red like she'd been crying. But she was alive. Safe.
"What do you want?" Her voice was flat. Defeated.
"I wanted to check on you."
"Why? So you can feel better about yourself?" She laughed without humor. "You invoked some royal privilege thing, made a big scene, and now what? You think we're friends?"
"I think you needed help."
"I needed help two days ago when they blackmailed me! I needed help when they forced me on a plane! I needed help when my sister stole my mother's necklace and told me she hated me!" Her voice cracked. "I don't need a prince pretending to be my hero for five minutes before he gets bored and moves on to the next charity project!"
Every word was a knife. Because she was right. What was I going to do—protect her forever? I had my own life, my own problems.
But looking at her exhausted face, her shaking hands, the way she was trying so hard not to cry...
"I'm not pretending," I said quietly. "And I'm not going to get bored."
"How can you promise that?"
"I can't." Honest answer. "But I can promise I'll try. Which is more than anyone else here will give you."
She stared at me for a long moment. Then she started to close the door.
I put my hand against it, stopping her. "Wait. There's something you need to know. Camilla—my ex—she sent me a threat. About you. She's going to try to hurt you."
Jade's expression didn't change. "Of course she is. I'm the lottery winner. Everyone's going to try to hurt me."
"Not everyone. I—"
A scream cut through the hallway.
We both ran toward the sound.
A girl was standing outside another dorm room, pointing at something inside. Students were gathering, their phones already out.
I pushed through the crowd and looked into the room.
Someone had destroyed it. Completely. Clothes ripped to shreds. Furniture broken. And on the wall, written in red paint that looked too much like blood:
"CHARITY TRASH DOESN'T BELONG HERE"
"Whose room is this?" I demanded.
The girl who'd screamed pointed a shaking finger.
At Jade.