HER THREE CRUEL MATE

Chapter 7

ISLA POV

The air in the Academy felt different today. Or maybe it was just me. Ever since the night in the Blackwood dorms—ever since the kiss that felt like a fire and the slap that felt like a death sentence—something in my chest had shifted. I felt restless, my skin humming with a strange energy I couldn’t explain. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw those flashing red and yellow eyes.

But I pushed the memory away. I had enough problems. My cheek still had a faint, tender bruise from Lady Vance’s slap, and my stomach was empty from the dinner I wasn't allowed to eat. All I wanted was to be invisible. I just needed to survive the day without crossing paths with Rowan Blackwood.

I was walking through the main hall, clutching my books to my chest, when I saw them. Amy and Sera were standing near the lockers with a group of their friends. They were dressed in perfect uniforms, their hair styled to perfection.

Immediately, they spotted me.

Amy made a dramatic puke face, whispering something to Sera that made the whole group burst into cruel, high-pitched laughter. They turned and walked away, their heels clicking like a countdown. I didn't even blink. Compared to what was going on in my head, their middle-school bullying felt like a mosquito bite. I couldn’t care less.

I found Lina and Derek near the entrance to the library. Seeing them was the first time I felt like I could breathe all morning.

"Isla! You look like you haven't slept in a week," Lina said, her eyes full of concern.

"I'm fine," I lied, forced a smile. "Just a long night at the estate. Tell me something funny. I need a distraction."

Derek started telling a story about how he accidentally tripped in chemistry class and turned a potion bright purple. I started laughing, really laughing, for the first time in twenty-four hours. For a second, I forgot about the "mercy contract." I forgot about the attic. I forgot about Rowan.

But then, the atmosphere in the hall changed.

The loud chatter of hundreds of students died down into a low, buzzing hum. Then came the screams. Not screams of terror, but that high-pitched, worshipful sound that followed the Blackwoods everywhere they went.

The heavy double doors at the end of the hall swung open. Rowan, Soran, and Cairo stepped inside.

They moved like they were one single, dangerous entity. Cairo was smirking, looking around at the girls who were fainting at the sight of him. Soran looked bored, his hands in his pockets. But Rowan... Rowan looked lethal. His face was a mask of cold stone. There was no smile, no smirk. Just a dark, focused intensity.

My heart did a somber somersault in my chest. I stopped laughing mid-breath. My eyes landed on him, and for a split second, his gaze cut through the crowd and locked onto mine.

His brow furrowed into a deep frown. He didn't look away. Instead, he started walking. He wasn't just walking into the hall; he was walking toward me.

"I have to go," I whispered to Lina and Derek, my voice trembling.

"What? We just got here!" Lina said, confused.

"I forgot... I forgot something in my locker. I'll see you at lunch!" I didn't wait for them to answer. I spun on my heel and bolted in the opposite direction, ducking through a side door and taking the long way to my next class. I knew if I could just avoid him for the rest of the day, I would be safe. If I stayed out of his reach, he couldn't "claim" me. He couldn't make me feel that terrifying heat again.

The cafeteria was packed. The smell of fried food and cheap juice usually made me hungry, but today it made me feel sick. I sat with Lina at our usual table in the back. I had managed to get my tray—some mystery meat and a side of mashed potatoes—but I couldn't bring myself to take a bite.

My eyes kept wandering. I tried to stop them, but it was like a magnet was pulling my head around.

There he was.

Rowan was sitting at a large, circular table in the center of the room. He was surrounded by his brothers and a group of elite students who looked like they were auditioning for a movie. He was talking, his expression serious, but suddenly, he stopped.

He turned his head. His eyes landed directly on me.

He didn't wave. He didn't smile. He just stood up. Slowly. Methodically. Like a hunter who had finally spotted his prey across the field.

No. No, no, no.

"Uhm, I have to go," I told Lina, standing up so fast my chair screeched against the floor.

"Isla, you haven't even eaten!" Lina cried out, but I was already moving.

I grabbed my tray and hurried toward the exit. I didn't look back. I didn't want to see how close he was getting. My heart was thumping against my ribs like a trapped bird. I was moving so fast, looking over my shoulder to see if he was following, that I didn't see the person standing right in front of me.

My tray flew out of my hands. The mystery meat and gravy splashed upward, landing right on the chest of a tall, muscular boy in a senior blazer. My mashed potatoes slid down his trousers like a slow-motion disaster.

"Don't you have eyes, b***h?!" he yelled.

His voice was like a thunderclap, silencing the nearby tables. He didn't wait for an explanation. He reached out and shoved me hard. I wasn't expecting it; my feet slipped on the spilled gravy, and I went down. I hit the floor hard, the cold plastic of the tray clattering beside me.

"I—I'm so sorry," I gasped, my face burning with a mixture of shame and fear. "I didn't see you there. I was in a hurry."

"I don't want to hear it!" he roared. He was a big guy, one of the school’s athletes, and he looked like he wanted to break something. "Look at this! This uniform cost more than your life! Who's going to pay for the uniform you ruined, huh?"

He stepped closer, looming over me while I was still on the ground. He shoved my shoulder again with his foot, pushing me back down as I tried to sit up. "Answer me, peasant! How are you going to fix this?"

I scrambled to my feet, my hands shaking. The entire cafeteria was watching now. I could see Sera and Amy in the distance, laughing and pointing. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a clean napkin.

"I can help... I can clean it up," I said, my voice small. I reached out, trying to dab at the thick brown gravy on his chest, but he snarled and swiped my hand away so hard it stung.

"You're only making it worse with your filthy hands!" he yelled. "You're a stain on this school. You shouldn't even be allowed to breathe the same air as us."

He raised his hand, his face twisted in rage. He looked like he was about to strike me right there in front of everyone. I closed my eyes, bracing for the impact, waiting for the pain.

"What’s going on here?"

The voice was low. It was quiet. But it carried a weight that made the air in the room feel like it had turned to lead.

My heart skipped a beat. I knew that voice. I would know it anywhere. I opened my eyes and turned around.

Rowan was standing there.

He was now in front of me, standing between me and the angry athlete. He wasn't looking at me. He was staring at the boy who had pushed me. His eyes weren't gray anymore. They were shifting, that dangerous flicker of red and gold dancing in the pupils.

The athlete, who had been so loud and brave a second ago, suddenly looked like he wanted to disappear. He turned pale, his hand dropping to his side.

"Rowan," the boy stammered, his voice trembling. "She... she ruined my uniform. She was being careless."

Rowan didn't say anything for a long moment. He just stepped closer to the boy, his presence so suffocating that the boy actually took a step back. Rowan reached out and flicked a piece of potato off the boy's shoulder with one finger.

"You pushed her," Rowan said. It wasn't a question.

"I—I was angry! It's an expensive blazer—"

"I don't care about the blazer," Rowan interrupted. He turned his head slightly, finally looking at me. His gaze swept over my messy hair, the gravy on my skirt, and the way I was trembling.

Then, he looked back at the boy.

"You touched what belongs to me," Rowan whispered.

The silence in the cafeteria was absolute. You could have heard a pin drop. Sera’s jaw dropped. Lina gasped. I felt the world tilt.

"I'm sorry!" the boy squeaked, his knees practically knocking together. "I didn't know! I swear, I didn't know she was yours!"

"Now you do," Rowan said. He didn't shout. He didn't have to. He looked at the boy with a look of such pure, cold promise that the athlete turned and ran out of the cafeteria without another word, leaving his ruined blazer behind.

Rowan turned to me.

The cafeteria was still watching, hundreds of eyes burned into my back, but Rowan didn't seem to care. He stepped into my space, his scent of mint and tobacco surrounding me. He reached out, his thumb catching a stray bit of sauce on my cheek. He didn't wipe it away gently; he smeared it, his touch firm and possessive.

"I told you not to run from me, Isla," he said, his voice only for me. "Look what happens when you don't listen."

He reached down and grabbed my hand, his fingers locking with mine in a grip that told me he wasn't letting go ever again.

"Come with me," he commanded.

I looked back at the crowd, at the shocked faces of my friends and the murderous look on Sera’s face. I knew that by walking out of this room with him, my life as I knew it was over. I wasn't just a maid or a student anymore.

I was a Blackwood’s mark. And the whole world had just seen it.