Page 31 of Legacy Found

Ander doesn't take it. He doesn't even look at it. His eyes stay on my face, cool and flat and deeply unimpressed, and he lets my hand hang there in the air between us.

"Are we finished?" he says.

I blink. "...I was just saying thank you. To Luke."

"You've done that." His voice is perfectly calm, perfectly even, which somehow makes it worse. "Now return to your table."

The hall goes so quiet I can hear the candles.

I shrug, and lower my hand, and let it go, because I genuinely have better things to do than fight with someone determined to be unpleasant.

"Okay," I say.

I turn back to Luke. "Thanks again. Really." Then to Soren, because he at least tried, I give a small genuine smile. "And it was nice meeting you. Both of you." I look pointedly at two of the princes. "Two out of three isn't bad."

And I pick up my tray and walk back to my table.

I make it maybe three steps before someone deliberately steps into my path.

I stop so abruptly my tray nearly sloshes.

The girl blocking me is gorgeous. Blonde hair twisted into a flawless knot. Immaculate uniform. Not a wrinkle anywhere. She stands with the kind of perfect posture that says she was probably born standing at attention.

She gives me a slow once-over.

Not the curious kind.

The you tracked mud onto my white carpet kind.

"Who do you think you are?"

I blink.

"...Jessica?"

A couple nearby students snort before immediately pretending they didn't.

She doesn't even crack a smile.

"You don't deserve to speak to them."

I frown.

"I was just thanking—"

"I know exactly what you were doing."

She takes one deliberate step closer.

"You don't deserve to look at them."

The hallway around us has gone eerily quiet.

I glance around.

Seriously?

People have stopped walking.