STERLING HEIRS

The Golden Shadow

Episode 4

The final bell rang, officially releasing the freshmen from their first lecture. Adunni didn't wait for the dust to settle. She shoved her notebook into her school bag, zipped it with a fierce snap, and stood up, wanting to escape the heavy, suffocating atmosphere of the classroom.

She needed to find the library, secure her study materials, and figure out how to navigate this maze before her afternoon elective.

As she burst through the heavy mahogany doors into the bustling hallway, she completely lost her bearings. The signs pointing toward the west wing blurred together under the bright lights.

"Hey, wait up—" a voice called out.

Adunni kept her eyes fixed straight ahead, marching faster. But the hallway was crowded, and within seconds, a tall figure smoothly stepped into her path, forcing her to halt.

It was the blond boy from the airport.

Cole Ashford stood before her, looking impeccably neat in his charcoal-and-gold upperclassman uniform. Up close, he smelled like clean rain and expensive mint, his blue eyes searching her face with wide, surprised intensity.

"I told you to wait," he said softly, his perfect smile turning a bit sheepish as he held his hands up in a gentle, calming gesture. "I’m sorry about the airport. Truly. I didn’t mean to startle you back there, or make you drop your things."

Adunni hardened her expression, refusing to let his disarming looks break her armor. "Look, blondie, I don't know what your problem is, but I don't need your apologies. You sat there at the airport watching me scramble on the floor like I was an entertainment act. You thought a scholarship girl couldn't handle herself?"

Cole blinked, a look of genuine shock and hurt crossing his features. "No! You got it completely wrong. I went still because... well, it doesn't matter. But I saw you walking out of the freshman block looking completely turned around. I was just trying to look out for you. The library is across the courtyard."

Adunni let out a low, cynical scoff. "Look out for me? Save your charity, blondie. I can look out for myself."

She turned on her heel and walked away, her gold-trimmed skirt swishing.

Cole stood dead in the center of the crowded hallway, completely frozen, his heart hammering against his ribs. Nobody spoke to him like that. Nobody turned their back on an Ashford. But as he watched her magnificent afro disappear around the corner, a fierce, protective ache tightened in his chest. She was a firecracker, and in a predatory place like Sterling Heights, firecrackers got put out fast if they didn't have backup. He needed to find out exactly who she was.

Adunni took a sharp left down a quieter corridor, trying to escape the noise. The hallway here was lined with vintage oil paintings of the school's founders, casting long shadows on the marble.

Suddenly, a tall, imposing figure stepped out from the recess of an arched doorway, blocking her path entirely.

Adunni skidded to a halt, her breath catching in her throat.

It was the boy from the orientation hall—the one with the stormy gray eyes and the sharp British accent who had dropped his pen. He stood there with his hands lazily tucked into his trouser pockets, his tie slightly loosened, looking down at her like a hawk that had just trapped its prey.

"Well, well," he murmured, his voice a low, gravelly baritone that shivered down her spine. "The scholarship girl isn't just a pretty face. A freshman who can bite back against Christina Vance on day one. Fascinating."