The Crownwell Academy

Aslan I came to Crownwell Academy on a scholarship and a promise to myself: Keep my head down. Don’t make waves. Survive. I didn’t plan on standing up for anyone. I didn’t plan on becoming a target. And I definitely didn’t plan on catching the attention of Garrett Williams. The king of Crownwell. Cruel. Untouchable. Beautiful in the most dangerous way. Now the school watches my every move. His friends circle like predators. And Garrett makes my life hell in ways I don’t always understand—hot, cold, violent, confusing. The only safe place I find is with Aitor. Quiet. Kind. Gentle. The boy who keeps saving me when things go too far. But safety doesn’t stop my pulse from racing when Garrett looks at me like I’m something he wants to destroy… or devour. And I’m starting to realize: At Crownwell, kindness is a weakness. And attention can be lethal. Garrett I didn’t bring my past to Crownwell. I buried it. Here, I’m power. Control. Fear. Here, no one knows what I was forced to become—or what I still fight not to be. Then Aslan Rivers walks in, all effortless perfection and amber eyes that drag my attention where it doesn’t belong, in his refusal to break… He shouldn’t matter. He shouldn’t exist in my head. He definitely shouldn’t make me lose control. So I push him. Humiliate him. Hurt him. Because if I don’t… I might want him. And wanting him is dangerous. I don’t do love. I don’t do weakness. But Aslan is a risk I can’t seem to eliminate. And if he finds out who I really am… I don’t know whether I’ll destroy him— Or burn my world down to keep him.