Chapter 14: The Banquet plans

The announcement about the banquet should have sounded like every other pointless Vineyard Academy tradition. Another polished event for rich families to show off their perfect children, their perfect marriages, their perfect reputations. Another night of fake smiles, expensive gowns, crystal glasses, and people pretending they were better than everyone else in the room. But the moment those words came through the speakers, something changed in the air around me and Kaelric. The hallway, the whispers, Thorne’s glare, Lyssandra’s sharp stare, all of it seemed to fade behind one brutal truth.

Both families had to attend.

Which meant my mother and Kaelric’s father.

Which meant the same man who had built his empire and reputation on control would be forced to stand in a ballroom and watch his son parade around with the housekeeper’s daughter like she belonged on his arm.

And for some reason, the thought sent a dangerous thrill through me.

By the time the final bell rang, the rumors from the hallway kiss had spread through the entire school like wildfire. Everywhere I turned, people were whispering, staring, pretending not to stare. I could feel their eyes on me in class, in the corridor, even in the courtyard when I stepped outside for a breath of air. But instead of shrinking under it, I found myself standing a little straighter. Let them talk. Let them choke on it. If Aurelia and Thorne wanted to turn me into a joke, then I would make sure I was the punchline they never recovered from.

That was exactly where Kaelric found me after school, leaning against the stone railing near the academy’s east garden, pretending I wasn’t replaying the morning kiss in my head for the hundredth time.

He came up beside me like he always did now, too quiet for someone his size, his hands in the pockets of his dark slacks, his tie already loosened like the school day had personally offended him. I didn’t look at him right away because I knew if I did, I would remember the way his hand had settled on my waist in front of everyone. The way he had looked at me afterward like he wasn’t entirely sure whether he should laugh or kiss me again.

“You caused chaos today,” he said, his voice smooth and low.

I turned my head slowly. “Me?”

He gave me a lazy look. “You kissed me in front of half the school.”

“And you seemed very traumatized by it.”

His mouth twitched.

The sight of it sent an irritatingly warm ripple through my chest.

“Depends,” he said. “Are you planning to make it a habit?”

I folded my arms, trying very hard not to let that question affect me. “Maybe.”

He leaned closer, just enough that I could smell the clean, sharp scent of him, and my stupid pulse jumped immediately.

“Then I’ll prepare myself.”

I rolled my eyes, even though my cheeks had started warming. “You’re impossible.”

“And yet,” he said, his gaze dropping to my mouth for one brief, dangerous second, “you keep choosing me.”

That should have been funny. It should have been part of the act, just another line in the ridiculous performance we’d built together. But something about the way he said it made the words settle too deep under my skin.

I forced myself to look away first.

“The banquet,” I said, clearing my throat. “We need a plan.”

That got his full attention. The amusement in his face didn’t disappear, but it sharpened.

“You’re thinking what I’m thinking?”

I turned back to him, and despite myself, a slow smile spread across my face. “That we make it worse.”

His gray eyes darkened with interest.

“How much worse?”

I pushed off the railing and stepped closer, lowering my voice even though no one was near enough to hear us. “If we show up together and act like we’re deeply, disgustingly in love, it’ll drive them insane.”

For one second, Kaelric simply stared at me.

Then he laughed.

Not the cold, arrogant laugh he gave everyone else. A real one. Low, warm, surprised. It hit me in the chest so hard that I forgot what I was saying for a second.

“That,” he said, still looking at me with that dangerous spark in his eyes, “is the best idea you’ve ever had.”

A thrill rushed through me, wicked and sharp.

“Your father will hate it.”

“He’ll hate it so much he might actually combust.”

“And if Aurelia sees it, she’ll lose her mind.”

“Bonus.”

I bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself from grinning too much. This was insane. It was reckless and childish and probably a terrible idea.

Which was exactly why I wanted to do it.

“So,” Kaelric said, shifting until he was directly in front of me now, close enough that the afternoon breeze didn’t matter anymore. “If we’re doing this, we do it properly.”

“What does properly mean?”

His gaze moved over my face with slow, deliberate focus, and suddenly I was very aware of every inch of space between us.

“It means we stop looking like two people pretending.” His voice dipped lower. “And start looking like two people who can’t keep their hands off each other.”

My breath caught.

“That sounds dramatic, “It needs to be dramatic.”

I swallowed. “And how exactly do you suggest we do that?”

His mouth curved slowly.

“We rehearse.”

I should have said no.

I absolutely should have said no.

Instead, thirty minutes later, I found myself standing in an empty music room after school with Kaelric Viremont, the late sunlight spilling through the tall windows, dust floating in the golden light, my heart pounding for reasons I refused to examine too closely.

“This is ridiculous,” I muttered as I stood in the middle of the room, arms folded tightly.

Kaelric leaned against the piano with infuriating calm. “No. What’s ridiculous is the fact that you still look like you’re preparing for battle every time I stand too close.”

“That’s because you enjoy making me uncomfortable.”

“That’s because you’re cute when you’re flustered.”

My jaw dropped. “Did you just call me cute?”

He pushed off the piano and walked toward me with the slow confidence of someone who knew exactly what he was doing to my nervous system. “Focus, Zephyra.”

“You focus.”

“I am focused.”

He stopped in front of me, close enough that I had to tilt my head up to keep looking at him. The teasing in his expression had softened, replaced by something intent.

“If we’re selling this,” he said, “you need to stop freezing every time I touch you.”

“I do not freeze.”

He lifted one brow.

Then, without warning, he slid one hand lightly around my waist.

I froze.

He didn’t say anything.

Didn’t even smirk.

He just waited.

Heat rushed straight to my face.

“I hate you,” I whispered.

“No, you don’t.”

I should have argued.

Instead I became very aware of how large his hand felt against my waist. How naturally my body seemed to fit against his. How his thumb brushed once, almost absentmindedly, over the side of my uniform blazer, and the tiny movement made my stomach flip.

“Okay,” he said quietly. “Step one. Stand closer.”

“We’re already close.”

“Closer.”

“There is literally no space left.”

“Still too much.”

I glared at him.

He looked completely serious.

And because I was apparently committed to losing my dignity, I stepped closer.

My chest nearly brushed his.

The air changed instantly.

It became warmer, heavier, filled with something electric that made my skin feel too tight.

“There,” he murmured. “Better.”

“Your idea of better is disturbing.”

“My idea of better is believable.”

He adjusted his hold on my waist, his other hand coming up to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear in a movement so gentle it made my throat go dry.

“This,” he said softly, “is what people notice. Small things. Familiar things.”

I stared at him.

For a moment I forgot this was supposed to be practice.

Because the way he looked at me didn’t feel fake.

The way his fingers lingered near my face definitely didn’t feel fake.

My voice came out thinner than I wanted. “What else?”

His gaze dropped to my mouth again.

And there it was.

That dangerous little pause.

“That depends,” he said.

“On what?”

“On whether you’re going to panic if I kiss you again.”

My entire body went still.

The room seemed to shrink around us.

“You are enjoying this way too much,” I managed.

His smile was slow and unfair. “I’m starting to.”

I hated how much that answer affected me.

I hated how my pulse jumped.

I hated how part of me wanted to call his bluff.

“Fine,” I said before I could stop myself. “Do it.”

His eyes sharpened instantly, like he hadn’t expected me to say that.

For one breathless second, neither of us moved.

Then he leaned down giving me every chance to pull away.

I didn’t.

His lips brushed mine softly, almost carefully, and the contact hit me like a shockwave. This wasn’t like the hallway. That kiss had been reckless and public and fueled by anger. This one was different. Slower. Hotter. Deliberate.

My fingers clutched at the front of his shirt before I even realized I’d moved.

A low sound escaped him, barely audible, and his hand tightened at my waist as the kiss deepened just enough to make my knees feel weak.

When he finally pulled back, we were both breathing harder than we should have been.

Neither of us spoke.

Because what exactly could we say?

That the rehearsal had become something else?

That I could still feel the shape of his mouth on mine?

That the fake relationship was beginning to feel a little too real?

Kaelric rested his forehead lightly against mine, and for one dangerous moment, I let him.

“We’re in trouble,” he murmured.

I let out a shaky breath. “That’s not exactly new.”

His thumb brushed my waist again, and I knew with terrifying certainty that if we stayed like this much longer, I was going to forget every reason this was supposed to be pretend.

Far away, outside the music room, footsteps passed in the hall.

And somewhere else in the academy, hidden from sight, Lyssandra stood in the shadows near the sports wing, her arms crossed as she watched Thorne pace furiously under the bleachers.

“You still want Zephyra back,” she said coldly.

Thorne looked at her sharply. “I want Kaelric to stop touching what’s mine.”

Lyssandra’s expression darkened.

For the first time, they were united by the same ugly thing.

Jealousy.

And as the two of them exchanged a long, dangerous look, an alliance was born in secret.

One that was going to make everything worse.