Page 20 of Godless Saints

I managed a short laugh that didn’t reach my eyes. “She’s good.”

Should I ask her?

I exhaled through my nose. Shifted the fencing bag again.

“I need… a favor.” The words stuck. I looked at the ivy on the column instead of her face. “I know we weren’t exactly friends back in New York. But would you… be my girlfriend? For optics.”

Zara’s mouth curved. She pulled out her phone, unlocked it with a quick swipe of a manicured nail, and held it out. The screen glowed soft against her skin. “You might want to see this first.”

I took the phone. My thumb hovered. The Gallery flooded the screen. Clips looping. Screenshots multiplying. Threads exploding.

Cillian Ashbourne crossing the nave.

Thorn heir in Aster pew.

His hand buried deep in Moon’s hair while the prince just sat there.

Prince didn’t even flinch.

Aster has a Thorn problem.

Photos of those scarred fingers threaded through my strands hit hard. Too fucking obvious. Heat crawled up my neck. My stomach twisted as the comments poured in.

omg Cillian Ashbourne sat with Moon Hyun-seo during initiation… do they know each other??????

“Thorn + Aster??? this is insane”

“Moon looking back like that… sir the OPTICS”

“legacy heir folding for a criminal? embarrassing”

“you can’t trust the Irish, everyone knows that”

“I thought Vivi and Hyun were dating at Harvard?? did they break up???”

“bet this is one of the academy games. Blood Writ someone call it”

“this is staged. has to be”

“they’re so cute stop i’m screaming”

My knees almost buckled. The phone suddenly weighed too much. Everyone was talking about me. About him. Bile burned the back of my tongue.

The entire academy had already written the story for me.

Father would see this. House of Moon would see this. “What the hell?”

Well, fuck.

One fucking incident and I'd handed Thorn exactly what they wanted.

Zara watched me. “That’s all anyone’s talking about on The Gallery. You and Mr. Ashbourne. They’re calling it the nave incident. Creative, right?”

“There’s nothing between us,” I said.

Zara’s smile turned knowing. “Of course not. That’s why you’re asking a senator’s daughter to play girlfriend on day two.”

I handed the phone back. My fingers brushed hers.