The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy
Chapter 0454

Luca and I fly through the halls of the castle and I have to laugh a little, because there's something fun and exciting about rushing around with my hand warm in my mate's. Luca, feeling it too, sends me a grin over his shoulder even as he moves fast, even as I can still feel his anxiety at facing my father again thrumming in his heart.

I send him a little pulse of love and support as we arrive at the door where our meeting is apparently going to be held and Luca, grateful, gives my hand a squeeze. We slow and Luca raises a hand to knock on the wood when suddenly it opens and, to my shock, a familiar person steps out. "Tony!" I say, my face bursting into a grin at the boy I saw every week in magic class last semester. "Hi, how are you? It's good to see you!" My heart swells with warmth to see him and, as my eyes sweep over his tall, lanky figure I'm surprised to find that I'd missed him. "Oh, hey, Ari," Tony says, giving me a distracted smile and glancing again over his shoulder. "Um, are you going in there next? Do you...did you know that the meeting is with... the King and the Queen?"

"Um," I say, giving a little shrug. "Yeah?"

He returns his eyes to me with a frown. "Oh, I forgot they're your...aunt and uncle, right?"

"Yeah," I say, a little awkwardly, reminded again that we need to bring Tony into the loop a little more. Tony returns his eyes to me and then blinks rapidly, leaning away a little as if in surprise. And then he frowns, glancing back towards the room - towards the Queen inside who looks, I'm very aware, exactly like me.

I laugh a little, seeing him put the pieces together and I quickly hope that we have time for a little chat sooner rather than later.

"Hi," Luca says, stepping forward, a little frown on his face as he drops my hand and holds his out to Tony. "I'm Luca Grant. It's nice to meet you."

"Holy shit," Tony says, focusing on Luca for the first time and reaching out to shake his hand. "What a morning for meeting celebrities. It's nice to meet you, man."

The two shake hands warmly and I frown between them. Have they really never met?

"What track are you?" Luca asks, frowning and letting his eyes drift over Tony as he slips his hands into his pockets. "How do you know Ari?"

"Um...we have...class together," Tony says, cagey, and I realize that of course Luca doesn't know about Tony being in our magic class - we agreed to keep it a secret. And as I look up at Luca with a frown I realize that...well. That he might not know...anything about any of it. I mean, he was there that day I melted the glass but...

Honestly, have we told him anything? I wrack my brain, trying to remember. I mean, I know that I promised not to tell him Jackson's magical gift but...does he even know about mine?

Feeling my hesitance and slight guilt, Luca turns to look at me with a frown.

Tony takes the opportunity to slip away. "See you in class, Ari!" he calls, waving to me. "Good luck in there!"

"Bye, Tony!" I call after him.

"What's going on?" Luca asks me, stepping closer, looking down into my face. "How do you...how do you know him? Is he espionage?"

"Um, can I tell you later?" I whisper, grimacing a little as I look up at him.

"Ari?" my dad calls from inside the room. Anxious, I glance inside, not wanting to keep him waiting. Luca sighs and gives a shrug, lifting his chin towards the room. Together, we step inside, and Luca closes the door behind us.

To my shock, my mom does not jump up to greet me immediately. Instead, she stares into space a little bit, looking shaken and worried.