The Cook’s Daughter at His Majesty Academy

13- Wait There

Eveline

The game finally ended in absolute chaos.

HM4 won.

Students screamed loud enough to shake the rink while players slammed into each other across the ice in celebration. Cameras flashed nonstop. Somewhere behind us a girl was crying over Cassian scoring the winning goal.

I still hadn’t emotionally recovered from him tapping the glass in front of me like we were starring in a sports documentary.

“Evie,” Amelia whispered beside me in horror. “RoyalTea just posted you three times in under ten minutes.”

“I’m going to die.”

“Probably.”

The teams started skating off the ice while the crowd slowly shifted toward the exits. I exhaled quietly, already planning how fast I could disappear before anyone stopped me.

Then Cassian looked directly at me from across the rink and pointed toward the hallway behind the benches.

Wait there.

My stomach flipped annoyingly.

A few minutes later the players disappeared toward the locker rooms and Amelia immediately grabbed my arm. “We should leave before someone throws a drink at you.”

“That’s comforting.”

Before we could move, Cassian appeared again wearing a black hoodie now instead of his uniform, hair still damp from the game.

People immediately noticed.

Of course they did.

He walked straight toward me like the entire arena wasn’t openly watching.

“Give me ten minutes to change properly,” he said. “Then I’ll walk you back.”

Amelia looked seconds away from cardiac arrest.

Cassian’s eyes moved briefly toward her. “You’re staying with her.”

That sounded significantly less like a request than it should have.

“Oh,” Amelia said immediately. “Actually I just remembered I have to leave.”

I turned toward her in betrayal. “Amelia.”

“I can’t stand near Leonard Kingsley and function properly,” she whispered rapidly. “Please write another letter for me later.”

Then she vanished into the crowd before I could stop her.

Traitor.

“Your friends abandon you very quickly,” Cassian observed.

“I’m noticing a pattern.”

He laughed softly before someone from the team called his name further down the hallway. “Ten minutes,” he repeated before disappearing again.

And unfortunately for me, Leonard appeared almost immediately after.

Of course he did.

“Hey,” I said too quickly.

Leonard’s mouth twitched slightly. “Congratulations?”

I winced. “That sounded wrong.”

“It did a little.”

Heat rushed into my face. “I meant congratulations on winning.”

That finally made him laugh quietly. “Thank you.”

We started walking slowly toward the main hallway outside the rink while students moved around us in loud chaotic groups. And everywhere we walked, people stared.

I could feel it constantly now.

Whispers.

Phones.

RoyalTea notifications still exploding in my pocket.

Leonard noticed too.

“You’ve become very popular tonight,” he said calmly.

“That’s one word for it.”

For a moment neither of us spoke.

Then Leonard glanced sideways at me. “So,” he said lightly. “What’s going on?”

My stomach dropped immediately.

“The jersey,” he clarified.

“Oh.”

Smooth, Eveline.

“I…” I looked down briefly. “It’s complicated.”

Leonard stayed quiet, waiting.

Which somehow made it worse.

“Are you together?” he asked finally.

My head snapped up immediately. “No.”

The answer came out too fast.

Leonard’s eyebrow lifted slightly.

“No,” I repeated, quieter this time. “It’s not… real.”

Silence.

Then:

“I see.”

My brain caught up with my mouth approximately three seconds too late.

Wait.

“I thought Cassian told you guys,” I said carefully.

Leonard looked genuinely surprised. “Told us what?”

Oh no.

Horror crawled slowly across my entire body.

“Oh my God.”

Leonard stared at me for one second before understanding hit him completely. Then suddenly he laughed.

Actually laughed.

“Please don’t tell him I told you,” I whispered immediately.

“That depends.”

“Leonard.”

“You realize this explains literally everything?”

“I am aware,” I muttered.

His smile lingered slightly after that, softer than before. “For the record,” he said calmly, “you’re both terrible actors.”

“That’s comforting.”

“I wasn’t trying to comfort you.”

I covered my face briefly with both hands. “This is humiliating.”

“You’re blushing.”

“That observation wasn’t necessary either.”

Leonard laughed quietly again and for one dangerous second I forgot how nervous I was.

Then he glanced down at me. “Can I ask you something?”

“…Okay.”

“Can I have your number?”

I blinked.

“Oh.”

For some reason that felt significantly more intimate than it probably should have.

Leonard looked almost uncertain now, which somehow surprised me more than the question itself.

“You don’t have to,” he added calmly.

“No,” I said quickly. “I mean yes. You can.”

Very smooth again.

Leonard’s smile deepened slightly just as footsteps approached from the hallway behind us.

Cassian.

Of course.

I handed Leonard my phone and tried very hard to act normal while he typed his number in.

Which was difficult considering my brain had completely stopped functioning somewhere around:

Can I have your number?

“There,” Leonard said, handing the phone back.

Our fingers brushed briefly and heat immediately rushed into my face again because apparently embarrassment was just my permanent emotional state now.

Then Leonard’s eyes lifted past me slightly.

I already knew who was there before I turned around.

Cassian walked toward us slowly, dark hoodie half unzipped now, hair still damp from the game. His gaze moved once between Leonard and me before settling briefly on the phone still in my hand.

Oh no.

Leonard stepped back first.

As he passed Cassian he tapped his shoulder once lightly in that quiet way boys acknowledged each other without actually saying anything. Cassian nodded once in return.

Then Leonard looked back at me.

“Goodnight, Eveline.”

“Goodnight.”

He disappeared down the hallway leaving me alone with Cassian almost immediately.

Cassian stopped in front of me, eyes narrowing slightly. “I expect you to hold onto your little crush if you want this arrangement to work.”

I blinked. “What?”

“Kingsley.”

“There is no crush.”

“Mhm.”

“He just asked for my number.”

Cassian’s expression shifted almost invisibly.

“Well,” I said quickly, “that actually makes things easier because now if Amelia ever wants to—”

I stopped myself immediately.

Cassian looked at me expectantly. “If Amelia ever wants to what?”

“Nothing.”

“Winter.”

“It’s not important.”

His eyes stayed on me another second longer like he knew I was hiding something but decided not to push. “Fine.”

The hallway suddenly felt quieter than before despite the crowds still moving around us.

Then Cassian reached for my hand.

Not dramatically.

Not hesitantly either.

Just naturally, like he had already decided it belonged there.

I looked down at his hand before slowly placing mine in it, painfully aware of the students still staring openly every time we passed.

Immediately more whispers started.

Phones lifted again.

“This is actually insane.”

“They’re holding hands.”

“RoyalTea’s going to crash.”

Heat rushed into my face all over again.

Cassian looked entirely unbothered as he started leading me toward the main exit. “Relax, Winter.”

“Easy for you to say.”

“You’re doing great for your first public scandal.”

“That is not reassuring.”

The corner of his mouth lifted slightly.

As we walked outside into the cold night air, I glanced back once toward the upper levels of the rink. “Aren’t you supposed to go see your guests?”

Cassian looked down at me. “Guests?”

“The girls in the VIP lounge.”

Realization crossed his face immediately.

“Oh.” His eyebrows lifted slightly. “You mean the royal vultures.”

I tried not to laugh. “That seems politically dangerous to say out loud.”

“I scored the winning goal. They’ll forgive me.”

“You’re unbelievably confident.”

“You noticed.”

But something underneath his tone had changed slightly now. Smaller. Sharper somehow.

I glanced at him carefully. “You don’t like them much.”

Cassian looked ahead toward the academy buildings instead of answering immediately.

“Most of them don’t actually care about me,” he said eventually. “They care about the idea of me.”

Something about the way he said it made my chest tighten unexpectedly.

Before I could ask anything else, Cassian glanced sideways at me and the lighter expression returned almost instantly. “Besides,” he said smoothly, squeezing my hand once. “I was busy walking my fake girlfriend home.”

And somehow that answer felt far more dangerous than it should have.