The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy Chapter 156

“Please,” Alvez murmurs, gesturing towards – of all places – his desk. As I hesitate, he sinks into his rolling chair, which scoots back a few inches. Seeing my confusion, his smile grows. “I’m unfortunately low on seating in this little room – castles, such wide sweeping halls, such…tiny little workspaces.”

My eyebrows raise as he gestures towards the desk again and I realize that he wants me to sit there. But I just sigh inwardly again, doing as he says and lifting myself up onto the desk so that my legs dangle. I cross them at the ankles, leaning forward with my hands pressed to the edge of the desk, watching him warily.

There’s such pleasure on Alvez’s face, in the way he lets his eyes rove over me. Is it that he enjoys seeing me unsettled? Or is this just…how he is?

“We’ve met before, Princess – before the Academy, I mean. Do you remember?”

I sit up a little straighter, surprised. “We did?”

Alvez nods slowly, folding his hands in his lap. “At the Palace, during my interview with your mother and your aunt. You popped in, asking a question about evening plans.”

“Oh,” I say, my heart sinking a little – because that sounds very plausible. “I’m sorry, no, I don’t remember.”

“Understandable,” he says, giving a little shrug. “I’m sure that your home is rather a revolving door of visitors. But I certainly remembered you.”

I blush a little, because the way his voice pitches lower when he says the word suggests not just that he remembered me, but that he…noticed me. Like noticed me, the way that men notice women.

My stomach twists and his grin deepens, giving me my answer.

He does like this – making me uncomfortable. I can see it clearly now in the way his eyes take in my blush, the way my hands grip the edge of the desk.

God, how am I supposed to handle this? I wish, quite suddenly, that my brother were here – he’d solve everything, probably by punching Alvez right in the face.

But Rafe – he has a pretty strong trust in authority, especially in people hired by our own parents. I don’t think that there’s any way he’d suspect that Alvez was making me uncomfortable unless I actually told him.

And I can’t tell him, right? Because Alvez – he’ll rat me out, get me kicked out of the Academy, and probably Rafe too.

God, he’s really got me tied up here.

“So,” Alvez says, using his feet to pull his chair closer to me, peering up into my face from his lower spot in the chair. “How have things been going with your magic, little Princess?”

I shrug, eager for the change in conversation but not wanting to open up about my magic either – not that there’s been any developments. Jackson and I, when we did our “homework” outside under the tree, we didn’t exactly try to do anything magic, did we? We just held hands and talked.

“Oh, come on,” Alvez prods, his voice low with a little laugh in it. “Why so reticent, Princess? I’m trying to help you here.”

I flick my eyes up to his, a little spark of anger in me now. “Are you?” I ask quietly. “Because it feels like you’re trying to intimidate me.”

He clicks his tongue, turning his head to the side. “And what gives you that impression?”

“The fact that you’ve called me, alone, to your office?” I say, surprised by my willingness to confront him, “and that you keep calling me Princess, reminding me of your secret. And that I’m completely under your control.”

“Oh, that’s where you have it wrong,” he says, leaning forward now and reaching out a casual hand, letting it rest on my knee. “The opposite is true, Princess – you’ve got me quite under your spell.”

My eyes widen, my mouth falling open a little at his bold touch, at his words. My reaction pleases him, I think – or at least, his grin deepens. But this just makes me scowl, even though I don’t brush away his hand, or move in any way. I don’t know what the rules are here – and I find that I’m terrified to make him mad.